14 Beautiful Waterfalls in North Alabama to Discover

North Alabama is home to some of the most beautiful waterfalls in the Southeast – I have been incredibly impressed with the incredible cascades that can be found throughout the state.e

From the impressive cascades at DeSoto Falls to the various falls around Little River Canyon, there is a huge variety of what you can experience when chasing waterfalls. Some waterfalls are easily accessible, perfect for a quick stop, while others require a bit more effort, rewarding you after hiking through quiet forests and stunning natural scenery.

You’ll find picnic spots, swimming holes, and sometimes even camping options near many of these falls.

There are great waterfalls in North Alabama for families and expert hikers alike, and in this post we’re sharing 14 of our favorite Alabama waterfalls we’ve had the pleasure of experiencing.

The guide divides North Alabama into two regions, east and west, to help you easily plan out your waterfall adventures.

North East Alabama Waterfalls

1. DeSoto Falls

Let’s start this list out strong with what is one of my absolute favorite waterfalls in Alabama. Desoto Falls, located in Desoto Falls State Park, features smaller cascades before dramatically dropping over a curved cliff into a vivid turquoise pool.

There are three different spots from which you can experience the falls:

• Overlook Trail: Outside the paid state park area is the trailhead to Overlook Trail – this easy 0.8-mile trail leads through the woods to a cliffside clearing. The overlook is on the cliff edge, offering views through the trees and a great vantage point to see the falls’ multiple drops and the turquoise waters below. The view is gorgeous and is my favorite of the 3 viewpoints.

• Bluff Trail: This 1.4-mile trail also begins from the same trailhead as Overlook Trail, and descends steeply to the river level. Following the river, you’ll reach the pool at the base of the falls. The views from below might not showcase the upper cascades as well, but being next to the clear, turquoise water makes it a great spot to relax and soak in the natural beauty.

• Picnic Area: Situated within Desoto Falls State Park, this area has picnic tables, a boat launch, and a small beach by the dam. While the view from the short pathway at the top of the waterfall isn’t quite as spectacular, it offers a nice glimpse of the cascades and drops since you’re so close.

2. Little River Falls

Little River Falls is part of Little River Canyon Natural Preserve, which is a part of the National Park System. This deep canyon cuts through Lookout Mountain and is a beautiful, deep gorge in eastern Alabama.

A short, paved path from the parking lot takes you to the official Observation Deck, where you get a great view of a semi-horseshoe shaped falls. While the falls have only a 45′ drop, it’s a very dramatic waterfall!

You can also view LIttle River Falls from the Little River Falls Overlook, which is off the Little River Canyon Rim Parkway road on the opposite side of the river.

3. Martha’s Falls in Little River Canyon

Martha’s Falls, formerly known as Little Falls, is also in Little River Canyon. To get here, you’ll take the 1-mile trail from the parking lot near the Observation Deck, which takes you downstream and then down a steep rock staircase to the riverbed.

Here, you can walk and play on the rocky shoreline and enjoy the views of the small but wide Martha’s Falls.

This is a popular swimming area in the summer (but be careful of the current and don’t go in if the water level is high and fast).

4. Grace’s High Falls

Grace’s High Falls is also a part of Little River Canyon National Preserve and is located along the Rim Parkway Drive. This is a quick overlook to stop at (no hiking required), where you look across the canyon to the long skinny waterfall plunging off the cliff walls on the opposite side.

This waterfall is seasonal and is dependent on rainfall runoff, so if it hasn’t rained recently there will not be any waterfall. Because of this, generally, winter and spring will be the best times to see the falls.

5. Noccalula Falls

Noccalula Falls is a very unique waterfall in Alabama – as the powerful waterfall plummets down over a deep overhang with a large cave area behind the falls -it’s a beauty!

The waterfall is located right in the center of the town of Gadsden, and there are parks and multiple parking lots on both sides of the river.

There is a great viewpoint from the top where you can look down and see the waterfall and see behind it. If you swing around to the north side of the stream, there is an informational stand where you can take a trail map, and access the bottom of the falls.

While there might be a way to get from the rim trail down to the bottom of the canyon, it was not super obvious to us while looking at the map and walking along the rim.

We opted to scramble down a section of the rock to get to the bottom (both me and my 9-year-old felt totally fine doing this scramble, but we saw a family with a younger child and they were struggling.) You can find this scramble spot here.

When you get down, you’ll follow a trail right up to the bottom and behind the falls. The cave behind the falls is massive and very rocky, with a lot of wet, slippery uneven surfaces. But the view of the falls from behind the overhang cave is fantastic!

You can also go downstream a little bit and hang out, wade, or swim. It’s a beautiful area that can get very busy.

6. Pisgah Gorge Falls

Pisgah Gorge is a nice, short walk along a canyon rim to see two different waterfalls. After you start walking down the trail from the parking lot, you’ll very quickly (within 2 minutes) reach an overlook of the first falls.

From here, a short trail off to the left takes you around to the top of this waterfall and a little farther upstream, where you can enjoy pretty stream views at the water’s edge and play in the creek (make sure you’re farther upstream).

If you come back to the main overlook, the trail heading right is a little longer and takes you up along the gorge rim. Here you can admire the second waterfall, visible on an exposed, sheer cliff.

I much preferred these falls, which tumble dramatically over many ledges and are surrounded by trees and a deep gorge.

7. Griffin Waterfall

Griffin Waterfall is a much more secluded waterfall on this list, and is a beautiful area to visit. The hike up to the falls is only a 0.3-mile round trip hike, but the path is quite rocky and steep and you have to scramble over logs a couple of times.

The falls are really pretty with a couple of different drops at the top before the main cascade. There’s a ledge where you can walk behind the falls and a lot of big rocks to climb around and explore.

Note that the parking lot is small and off a dirt road, and when you first get on the trail from the parking lot, it looks like you just keep heading straight, but the trail turns left pretty quickly to go up to the falls.

8. High Falls Park

High Falls is SUCH a pretty waterfall, and is a surprising favorite for me on this list (I wasn’t expecting it to be a top favorite).

High Falls Park is free to visit, but there are set hours, and the park closes and gate is locked at 6pm sharp. You will walk a short (<5 minutes), paved path down to the river, where there is some flat rock that you can walk out right along the edge of the falls and get a close-up view of the slanted cascade.

What’s particularly impressive about High Falls is that you can get SO CLOSE to what is quite a thunderous waterfall.

You can also walk up on the river a little bit and cross the footbridge above the river (and can continue on the trail on the opposite side of the falls to get down to the base of the falls, but I don’t think the view is quite as good there).

There are also several pavilions open for groups to come and enjoy nature.

9. Honeycomb Natural Bridge

Honeycomb Natural Bridge is just ridiculously charming and cute. A small waterfall comes out of the center of a natural bridge (like an arch) in the middle of a small, rocky wall.

The bridge and waterfall are actually on private property, with a realtor sign out front and a house off to the side. Visitors are welcome to enjoy the view, just stay on the path and don’t go anywhere marked “no trespassing”.

When you arrive, the bridge is right in front of you and there is an open grassy area right in front of the bridge to enjoy the view. However, you definitely want to go down the stairs to the left of the viewpoint. Because the waterfalls starts about halfway up the natural bridge, the view gets WAY better the farther you go down.

North West Alabama Waterfalls

10. Cane Creek Nature Preserve Waterfall

Cane Creek Nature Preserve is a large wilderness area filled with crisscrossing trails, a stream, and several waterfalls.

While you can hike for a long time in the preserve (it’s 7 miles round trip to the very back of the preserve), the Cane Creek Waterfall is just 1/4 mile from the parking lot and is absolutely gorgeous.

You will cross the stream at the top of the waterfall on a little footbridge bridge, where you will have a very limited view of the falls. The trail continues up the side of the hill, but you want to head to the edge of the cliff and follow the little path that will take you down to the first of two ledges of the waterfall.

You will swing down and around behind the waterfall (be careful here the rocks are very slippery), and continue to the far side, where a little switchback path that will take you down to the base of the falls.

This is a gorgeous waterfall that drops against two ledges in a bowl-shaped gorge. I loved the layers of rock that are visible in the gorge, the pretty pool of water at the bottom, and the adventurous scramble down to the base. The view from the top of the falls is very mid, you really need to come down to the sides to really appreciate the waterfall.

We continued hiking through the rest of the preserve, and there are a few great spots – like the lookout over the valley, or Blue Hole and the Narrows, which are pretty spots along the stream a little bit farther in.

But, I don’t know that it’s worth going all the way to the back of the preserve to see the other waterfalls (they were just okay, and much farther away) – the main Cane Creek Waterfall at the beginning is for sure the highlight of the area.

Cane Creek Natural Preserve is open Fri, Sat, Sun from 9am-5pm, and is free.

11. Sougahoagdee Falls

Sougahoagdee Falls is a 40 ft waterfall located on the eastern edge of Bankhead National Forest and is a beautiful, 4-mile round trip hike to a lovely waterfall. While it is certainly a longer waterfall hike, the trail is wide and mostly level and follows a charming, light turquoise stream for almost the entire length of the path.

Along the trail you will cross four very small streams that feed into the main creek, and each stream has a small waterfall just off the trail. Between the main creek and the side streams and waterfalls, there is a lot of visual interest to enjoy as you are hiking. 

Sougahoagdee Falls is a medium-flow waterfall that drops over a dramatically curved shelf into a pool of calm water. It’s very pretty, and there is a sandy beach-like area right next to the pool of water that is popular for wading and swimming. You can also walk behind the waterfall (it’s much bigger than it looks in the picture).

12. Holmes Chapel Waterfall

Holmes Chapel Falls is just 10 minutes from Sougahoagdee Falls in Bankhead National Forest. Within just a couple minutes from the parking area, you are at the top of the waterfall. The top is a pretty shallow stream, where you can walk on the flat rocks in the stream.

You can also take a short but fairly steep path down to the base of the falls, which drops over a curved shelf ledge to a pool of water below. Overall, this is a quick and easy 0.4 mile round trip hike to a pretty waterfall with some fun spots to play in at the top.

13. Shangri-La Falls

Shangri-La Falls, another waterfall in Bankhead National Forest, is really fun for many reasons. The trail starts in a meadow and forest and then descends into a gorge. The descent from the ridge into the gorge is fairly steep and not a very well-marked path, so you end up scrambling down the side of the cliff a little bit.

However, the scramble is so worth it – the gorge is beautiful.

The tall canyon walls have a lot of texture and inlets and variation in the rock, and a little stream flows through the middle. The waterfall drops off into a little cove on the side of the canyon wall and creates a great, lightly turquoise-colored swimming pool (about 5.5 feet deep).

This hike is 1.6 miles round trip.

14. Dismals Canyon

Dismals Canyon is a unique area in a deep canyon that is home to the “Dismalites,” rare insects that emit a blue-green glow, creating a magical atmosphere during nighttime tours.

During the daytime though, you can hike the easy 1.5 mile loop trail through massive boulders and fun rock formations that pass next to a gently flowing stream.

There are two waterfalls to enjoy on this hike, one smaller falls at the beginning of the trail and adjacent to several large boulders and a charming footbridge. This is a popular place to swim in summer. Another taller waterfall off a short side trail is in the back part of the park.

My Favorite North Alabama Waterfalls – The Wrap Up

We really enjoyed hiking and exploring all of the waterfalls on this list, and if they are on the list, we think they’re worth visiting (not every waterfall we visited made the cut for this post!).

That being said, a few of the falls were clear favorites, including:

• Desoto Falls
• Noccalula Falls
• Cane Creek Canyon
• Shangri-La Falls

Happy waterfall chasing!