Tallulah Gorge State Park

Tallulah Gorge State Park, near Tallulah Falls, Georgia, protects a gorge nearly 1,000 feet deep and roughly two miles long, cut by the Tallulah River. In the late 19th century the gorge was a major tourist destination, drawing visitors to hotels along its rim in an era when it was sometimes called the 'Niagara of the South.' A hydroelectric dam built in the early 1900s greatly reduced the river's natural flow, though Georgia Power now schedules periodic whitewater releases for recreational rafting and viewing. A suspension bridge crosses the gorge partway down, giving visitors a close view of the river below.