Toccoa Falls, a waterfall with a vertical drop of 186 feet, in Stephens County, Georgia.

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Toccoa Falls

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This dramatic 186ft-high waterfall, reached along a 500ft path from the visitor center on the campus of Tocca Falls College, is one of the tallest free-falling waterfalls east of the Mississippi River (it's taller than Niagara – a paltry 167ft). It's a definite wow moment as the falls come into view. But this beauty does not come without tragedy: a dam above the falls failed in 1977 – the resulting flood killed 39 people, Georgia's worst natural disaster in more than 40 years.

Though there is a nominal fee to access the falls, they are free outside visitor-center opening hours (the gate should be open).


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