Tallulah Gorge State Park: Gorge Floor Permits, Suspension Bridge, Fees and Which Trail to Pick

Parking at Tallulah Gorge State Park costs $10 per vehicle (or $70 for an annual ParkPass), and the park is open from 8 a.m. to dark. The rim trails need no permit, but the gorge floor does: a free, same-day permit from the Interpretive Center, capped at 100 a day and not issued on water-release days. The Hurricane Falls loop takes you down to a suspension bridge 80 feet above the rocks on a trail with 1,099 stairs.

Tallulah Gorge is in Rabun County, at 338 Jane Hurt Yarn Drive in Tallulah Falls. Georgia State Parks describes it as two miles long and nearly 1,000 feet deep. Fees, hours, rules and dates below come from Georgia State Parks and Georgia Power (checked September 19, 2026); where nothing is published, we say so.

Tallulah Gorge at a glance

Which Tallulah Gorge trail should you pick?

Lengths and ratings are the park’s. Where a trail isn’t named in the pet ban, the statewide rule applies: leashed dogs, 6-foot maximum.

The park doesn’t say whether the High Bluff and Stoneplace permits cost anything. Stoneplace leaves the park for a wildlife management area, and the park suggests wearing reflective orange during hunting season.

How do you get a Tallulah Gorge floor permit?

In person, at the Jane Hurt Yarn Interpretive Center, on the day you hike (checked September 19, 2026). The rules the park publishes:

• 100 permits per day. They are free, can’t be reserved in advance and can’t be transferred. The park says that on busy days they “often run out early in the morning.”
• A safety briefing comes first. The main park page says briefings start promptly at 8 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon, while permits last, and that late arrivals may miss out.
• Footwear: no flip-flops or Crocs, or you won’t get a permit.
• Age: not recommended for hikers 8 and under. The park calls the trail very strenuous and says hikers must be in good physical condition.
• No dogs.
• Groups: up to 20 on Saturdays and Sundays, and up to 30 Monday to Friday. No group larger than 30 is allowed.
• Closed days: no permits during scheduled water releases (dates below). Weather, rain and water flow can also close the floor, and the park says wet rocks are “deceptively slippery.” Call 706-754-7981 before you drive.

One thing doesn’t add up. The park’s trails page says permits aren’t issued after 4 p.m. (3 p.m. during daylight saving time), but the main park page lists the last briefing at noon. We’d treat the noon briefing as your last chance and call ahead to confirm. On days when the heat index reaches the National Weather Service’s “Extreme Caution” level, the park closes the stairs from noon, hands out permits only at 8 a.m., and requires permit holders to be out of the gorge by noon. It posts the next day’s staircase status by 5 p.m.

How many stairs are there, and how high is the suspension bridge?

The trails page counts 1,099 stairs on the Hurricane Falls Loop, including the staircase down to the gorge floor. The main park page says the gorge floor trail includes “1,000 stairs.” The suspension bridge is on the Hurricane Falls Loop, and the park says it “sways 80 feet above the rocky bottom.” The park lists 2 suspension bridges in its facilities but doesn’t describe the second one.

The loop needs no permit. Dogs aren’t allowed on it, though, because the park bans pets from the Hurricane Falls staircase to the bridge. On water-release days the park says the “southside staircase is closed to hikers.”

What will you see from the rim trails?

Each rim has five numbered overlooks, and the trails page gives the gorge depth at several of them. North Rim Overlook 1 gives the best view south into the gorge, 750 feet deep there. It is also where Karl Wallenda began his 1970 tightrope walk across to the south rim, and the towers he used are still standing. From the South Rim you can look across at Hurricane Falls and Oceana Falls, and the park puts the bluff to the far right at about 1,000 feet high. You reach the North Rim from behind the Interpretive Center. The South Rim Trail is on the opposite side of the gorge.

When are the 2026 water releases at Tallulah Gorge?

Georgia Power releases extra water over Tallulah Falls Dam. On a normal day 35–40 cubic feet per second (cfs) flows through the gorge. An aesthetic release raises that to 200 cfs, and a whitewater release to 500 cfs on Saturday and 700 cfs on Sunday. On every release date the gorge floor and rock climbing are closed. These are the 2026 dates on the park’s page (checked September 19, 2026):

Georgia Power’s lakes page gives the usual pattern for whitewater releases: the first two weekends in April and the first three in November. The 2027 dates were not announced as of Sept. 19, 2026. According to the Tallulah Falls Business Association, you can watch kayakers go over Oceana Falls from both the North and South Rim trails.

Can you bring a dog or a stroller?

Dogs: yes on the rim trails, on a leash no longer than 6 feet. The state park rules say pets aren’t allowed in buildings, swimming areas or beaches, or on “some trails” at Tallulah Gorge. The park names those trails as the gorge floor, the Sliding Rock Trail, and the Hurricane Falls staircase to the suspension bridge. There are no kennels.

Strollers: the park recommends the paved Bill and Dustie MacKay Trail, 3 miles on an old railroad bed reached from Terrora Circle Road. A short recycled-rubber path from the Interpretive Center reaches Overlooks 2 and 3. Our stroller-friendly waterfalls guide rates that overlook walk as doable with a jogging stroller because of exposed roots. Tallulah Gorge isn’t among the parks that lend a free all-terrain wheelchair, according to our all-terrain wheelchairs guide and the park’s accessibility page, which lists an accessible campsite (#37), day-use restrooms and the Lake Pavilion shelter.

Can you camp or swim at Tallulah Gorge?

Yes to both. The park has 52 tent, trailer and RV campsites, a pioneer campground and 2 backcountry Adirondack shelters, which you book on 800-864-7275 or through Georgia State Parks’ online reservations. Campsite prices appear only in the booking system. Overnight guests pay the $10 ParkPass once per vehicle for the whole stay, and parking isn’t included in the reservation. The park also has a 63-acre lake with a sand beach, and it lists swimming as seasonal without giving dates. Dogs aren’t allowed on the beach. For swimming inside the gorge itself, see our Georgia swimming holes guide.

What should you do in your situation?

• With a toddler: Skip the gorge floor, which the park doesn’t recommend for age 8 and under, and skip the 1,099-stair loop. Take the rubber path to Overlooks 2 and 3, then push the stroller on the paved MacKay Trail.
• With a dog: Walk both rim trails on a 6-foot leash. The suspension bridge is off-limits, because pets are banned from the staircase that leads to it, and so is the gorge floor.
• Fit hikers: Be at the Interpretive Center before the 8 a.m. briefing in closed-toe shoes, collect a floor permit, and add the Hurricane Falls Loop. On a release date the floor is closed, so hike the 4-mile High Bluff Trail instead (it also needs a permit from the Interpretive Center, so ask whether they’re being issued that day). For more hikes of this kind, see our best hikes in Georgia.
• For fall color: Our fall-color timing page lists Tallulah Gorge State Park at 1,566 feet, with a usual peak window of Oct. 25 to Nov. 8. That is our estimate from elevation, not a forecast. The window includes aesthetic releases on Oct. 31 and Nov. 1 and the first whitewater weekend on Nov. 7–8.
• On a release weekend: Come for the view from the rim, not the floor. Floor permits and climbing are suspended, and the park closes the southside staircase. Kayakers run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the November whitewater weekends.

FAQ

How many Tallulah Gorge floor permits are given out each day?

100 per day. They are free, same-day only and issued in person at the Jane Hurt Yarn Interpretive Center after a safety briefing (8 a.m., 10 a.m. and noon on the park’s main page). You can’t reserve or transfer them (checked September 19, 2026).

How much does it cost to visit Tallulah Gorge State Park?

Parking is $10 per vehicle per day, or $70 for an annual Georgia State ParkPass. The gorge floor permit is free, but you still pay to park.

Are dogs allowed at Tallulah Gorge?

Yes on the rim trails, on a leash no longer than 6 feet. Dogs are banned from the gorge floor, the Sliding Rock Trail and the Hurricane Falls staircase to the suspension bridge, according to Georgia State Parks.

How many stairs are at Tallulah Gorge?

The Hurricane Falls Loop has 1,099 stairs, including the staircase to the gorge floor, according to the park’s trails page. The suspension bridge on that loop sways 80 feet above the rocky bottom.

Can you hike the Tallulah Gorge floor on water-release days?

No. On aesthetic and whitewater release dates, hiking and rock climbing in the gorge are not allowed. The remaining 2026 dates run from Sept. 26 to Nov. 22, with whitewater weekends on Nov. 7–8, 14–15 and 21–22.

Can kids hike the Tallulah Gorge floor?

The park doesn’t recommend it for hikers 8 and under. It calls the trail very strenuous, with about 1,000 stairs and rocks rather than soil. Flip-flops and Crocs aren’t allowed.

Is Tallulah Gorge stroller friendly?

Partly. The paved, 3-mile Bill and Dustie MacKay Trail works for strollers, and a recycled-rubber path from the Interpretive Center reaches Overlooks 2 and 3. The rim trails, stairs and gorge floor don’t.

How we checked this guide: Dates, hours, admission and parking prices, and access details were verified against the official sources listed below on September 19, 2026. Operators change schedules and raise prices without notice, so confirm anything time-sensitive before you drive. The figures in this guide also feed our Georgia Attraction Transparency Index and Family Day-Out Cost Index.

Sources

• Georgia State Parks — Tallulah Gorge State Park (hours, permits, pet notice, 2026 water releases, facilities)
• Georgia State Parks — Trails at Tallulah Gorge (lengths, ratings, stairs, overlooks)
• Georgia State Parks — ParkPass fees
• Georgia State Parks — Park Rules (pet policy)
• Georgia State Parks — Park accessibility, facilities by park
• Georgia Power — North Georgia Lakes (Tallulah whitewater release pattern)
• Tallulah Falls Business Association — Whitewater Releases

About Hank Whitlock

Hank Whitlock is the pen name of the It's Georgia editor. Every guide is built around the questions a busy family actually asks before a trip: how long is the drive, what does parking cost, can the stroller make it, are dogs allowed. Details are checked against official park, city, and venue sources, and each guide shows the date it was last updated.