SEE ROCK CREEK
The
Lula Lake Land Trust protects over 4,000 acres of land on top of Lookout
Mountain just south of Chattanooga, Tennessee.
The preserve includes several notable features, including Lula Lake and
two waterfalls on Rock Creek. The
preserve is open to the public on the first and last Saturday of each
month. It just so happens that our visit
to the Chattanooga area coincided with the first weekend of July. Even though I’d spent Saturday morning hiking
at Fall Creek Falls State Park, I wanted to take advantage of the opportunity
to see Lula Lake and Lula Falls on Rock Creek.
It
took a little over an hour to drive to Chattanooga from Fall Creek Falls State
Park. From Chattanooga I drove up
Lookout Mountain, passing the turn for Rock City along the way. At the top of the mountain I crossed the
state line into Georgia and continued on to the entrance to the Lula Lake
Preserve, which was marked with a small sign.
From the entrance I drove a ways down a dirt road to a busy parking area
in a field. I signed in, picked up a
trail map, and started my hike. It was
2:30 and the preserve is only open from 9-5, but I was confident that I would
have plenty of time to see the highlights of the area. The hike to Lula Lake and Lula Falls is less
than a mile (one-way).
I
studied the map briefly before I started my hike. The preserve actually has 7 miles of trail,
mostly on old roads. After a couple of
minutes I decided to make a short loop hike that would include two waterfalls,
the lake, and views from the crest of Lookout Mountain.
I
descended to cross Rock Creek on a footbridge.
I was relieved to see that there was some water in the creek (though not
much). On the far side I picked up the
Middle Trail, which is just a gravel road.
Although it wasn’t the most exciting hike, it did pass through some nice
meadows and open forest. A moderate
climb took me away from Rock Creek before I reached the crest of the
mountain. There I was treated to a fine
view from the northeast to the southeast.
The view largely consisted of the valley below, with its roads,
buildings, and other signs of civilization.
However, more mountains were visible to the south. It was a rather hazy view due to the summer
heat, but it was still a pleasant place to stop for a few minutes.
From
there I hiked north along the ridge crest, following the High Adventure
Trail. There were more views along here,
though none rivaled the first one I’d been treated to. After a few minutes I began descending into the
Rock Creek Gorge. The descent started
out on switchbacks but got steep and ugly before long. Several areas featured fixed ropes for
safety, but the trail was badly eroded.
Before
long I bottomed out on the preserve’s main trail, which follows an old railroad
grade above Rock Creek. I picked up a
spur trail and resumed the descent towards the base of the falls. This stretch of trail was even steeper, but
it was worth the effort. My first view
of Lula Falls was breathtaking, even though water levels were low. At Lula Falls, Rock Creek free falls about
100’ over an impressive cliff. Lots of
other people were already there enjoying the view, and some were splashing
around in the pool at the base of the falls, enjoying the cold water. Apparently the Lula Lake Land Preserve is pretty
well known in the Chattanooga area.
I
spent a good bit of time there trying to get photos of the falls without people
in them. I managed a few before giving
up and making the climb back up to the main trail. However, instead of starting back, I followed
it down the gorge a short distance. From
the base of the falls I’d noticed an impressive rock outcrop looming just
downstream. That cliff appeared to offer
an intriguing angle for more photos.
I
found the cliff adjacent to the trail and scrambled up. I worked my way out to the end, but found the
view obscured by trees. I looked around
and realized I’d climbed up the wrong rock!
I returned to the trail and tried another outcrop. This one turned out to be wrong, too. Fortunately I was able to down climb into a
crevice and then work my way up a crack onto the correct outcrop. Finally I walked out to the end of the rock,
which extends out into the gorge. From
there I finally had the view of Lula Falls I’d been seeking. Unfortunately I really needed a zoom lens for
a good photo, but I made due with what I had before
starting the hike back.
On
my return I stopped at lovely Lula Lake.
It’s a beautiful blue, surrounded by cliffs. Rock Creek tumbles over a second waterfall
and into the lake, and it had a surprising amount of water given the dry
conditions.
I
returned to the car just before 5pm. I’m
glad I was able to visit Lula Falls. I’d
like to go back again, but hopefully my next visit will be less crowded.
Christy,
Marsha, and Ian all competed in the triathlon the next morning. Since they left for Chattanooga before 5 I
slept in. I decided against doing
another hike Sunday morning for a couple of reasons. First, I was a little worn out from two days
of hiking in brutal heat. More significantly,
Boone had been acting strange, like he wasn’t feeling well, starting on
Saturday evening. I wanted to keep a
close eye on him, so I stayed at the house for most of the morning. Later I met Christy, Marsha, Ian, and Audrey
for lunch in Chattanooga. It was a nice
way to end a great weekend.
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