Lula Falls is a 105-foot plunge waterfall on Rock Creek on Lookout Mountain in Walker County, Georgia. It sits inside the Lula Lake Land Trust preserve, a privately owned conservation property that opens to the public only on scheduled Open Gate Days, by paid reservation.
The falls
Rock Creek drops in a single leap off a sandstone ledge where the cliffs of its gorge close in, the kind of plateau-rim fall typical of the Cumberland Plateau escarpments. The World Waterfall Database gives 105 feet for the drop. Other accounts quote 110 to 120 feet, and a 1904 report on the area's coal deposits estimated about 60 feet.
Getting there
The preserve is at 5000 Lula Lake Road, Lookout Mountain, Georgia. It is not open daily: the public is admitted only on the first and last weekends of each month, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern. Entry requires an online reservation through Eventbrite, released two months ahead and not available by phone; without one, visitors are turned away. The conservation use fee is $16 per vehicle, and one reservation covers one parking space. Vans, buses and motor coaches aren't allowed, and parking on Lula Lake Road or at Rock Creek Fellowship Church is prohibited. Late arrivals aren't admitted after the gate closes in the early afternoon, so check the booked date's instructions.
The standard out-and-back to the lake and falls is 4.2 miles with 350 feet of gain, rated easy; the Classic Loop is 4.5 miles with 700 feet of gain. The route follows gravel before a steep, uneven descent on the Lula Falls Trail.
When to go
Access is limited to the Open Gate Days, and reservations open two months in advance. Visitors should not head down to the base of the falls after 3 p.m.
On site
Swimming in Lula Lake is not allowed, but wading in the creek and entering the water at the base of Lula Falls are permitted. Dogs are welcome on a leash. There is no drinking water on site, so bring your own. A small number of accessible parking spaces sit near the lake and falls, though reaching them still involves uneven ground, and the terrain is not wheelchair accessible.
History and name
Robert M. Davenport began buying land around Lula Lake in 1958. His will created the Lula Lake Land Trust in January 1994, and the land has since been restored after years of mining, logging and dumping.
Nearby
Lula Lake Falls, on the same creek, is about 0.2 miles away, and Sawmill Branch Falls is 0.9 miles away. Across the Tennessee line, Glen Falls is about 4.1 miles away and Ruby Falls about 6.2 miles.
Distances are straight-line.