Pisgah Gorge

Difficulty: Easy to Difficult depending on the trail
Distance: 1.5 miles
Entry Fee: Free

Pisgah Gorge is a secluded park in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains. It offers amazing views and a few different waterfalls.

More Waterfalls

Pisgah Gorge is located an hour’s drive east from Huntsville. It is located near Guntersville Lake.

You can google Pisgah Gorge, but we have the exact location of the parking area linked here.

Parking Lot

This parking lot is very POORLY marked for Pisgah Gorge. There is a small sign that says “Pisgah Gorge on it with an arrow pointing into the park, but it is better to look for the larger sign that reads “Pisgah Civitan Park”. We advise parking next to the street even if the gate is open. From here you will walk through the park, past the abandoned baseball field, and to the pavilion with picnic tables. The trail begins behind the pavilion.

Pisgah Gorge Upper Falls Overlook

The Pisgah Falls Overview area is located right behind the Pavilion. A trail leads to the left and the right when you get to the overview. If you are looking at the waterfall to the left takes you to the top of the falls and the trail to the right takes you to the bottom of the falls and the canyon views.

Summer Hiking Essentials
Summer Camping Essentials
Outdoor Sandal

Bridge

This unmonumental bridge is a marker for the “trail” that leads down to the bottom of the falls. It really isn’t much of a trail, it is mostly a creek bed to follow. When you get to the bottom, you will be standing at the top of a waterfall. You can follow the river upstream to the upper falls or downstream to the middle and lower falls as well as the arch. If the water is low enough to navigate, head upriver to get to the bottom of Pisgah Gorge Upper Falls.

Pisgah Gorge Falls

To get to the bottom of these falls, you have to navigate upriver. If the river is too high, getting to the bottom of these falls will not be possible. Trecking upriver can be difficult as you will be walking on slippery rocks and steep banks. Be careful hiking to the bottom of these falls. If you can manage to get here, you will be rewarded with a wonderful view of Pisgah Gorge Upper Falls. To get out you will have to go back the way you came.

Bottom of Pisgah Gorge Upper Middle Falls

Instead of going up stream to get to the upper falls, you can go downstream to get to the bottom of the upper middle falls. This is a bit of a scramble. Hug the right side (looking downstream) of the canyon. There may be a path that others have taken or not. you will hug this sid until you can find a scramble down some rocks. You may need to bring about 30 ft of rope and tie it off to a tree. ONLY do this is you are capable and comfortable doing a dangerous scramble.

The Arch

After you get to the bottom of the upper middle falls, you’ll need to cross the stream and find your way down the left side of the stream. Theres a short waterfall (Lower Middle Falls not pictured) and you will need to find your way down it and down stream. You can see the arch from the Lower Middle Falls. After you get to the arch there is one more waterfall downstream (Lower Falls not pictured). This is all very difficult to navigate especially with higher water levels. I suggest being comfortable getting your shoes wet!

Pisgah Gorge Lower Falls Overview

If you continue straight across the bridge (or come back up from the bottom of the falls and turn left) you will come across a path heading off to the left. Take the path to the left and you will have a view of the lower falls and can see a bit into the canyon. Head back up the way you came after you are done with this view.

Pisgah Gorge Canyon View

After you get back up the trail from the Lower Falls Overview, take a left and continue to follow the main trail. There is another trail that veers of to the left. This is not a well-kept trail and is not marked. It may be so overgrown that it looks like a small rabbit trail. This is not one you want to miss though. You may have to push a bush or two out of the way to get here, but keep your explorer cap on and you’ll find it.

Do Not Enter

If you come across this sign, you have gone too far. Everything in this guide is located off of private. If you missed something in this guide, turn around and go find it!