June 4, 2024
Dead Man Branch & Trestle Loop Trails to Contentment Falls & Cave and Wells Viaduct
from Toccoa Falls College, GA
As a first hike on this trail, this turned out to be an adventure and fun . The weather was mild, but quite humid from the overnight rain making the trail quite wet. Dead Man Branch Trail is unmaintained and not blazed. It is still in fair condition with several shallow water crossings where getting your wet feet from the slippery rocks is a real possibility. The Trestle Loop is actually a old road now used for ATV activity. Nevertheless, the Trestle Loop is also in fair condition and a pleasant walk. However, it did have a number of short hills topped with large mud puddles. Contentment Cave/Falls is a single feature with a small falls cascading over an extended ledge creating a cave beneath. Access is via a side trail off of Trestle Loop marked by a cairn. The view at the top of the falls is quite limited, but the ledge beneath the falls can be reached by carefully traversing across the hillside adjacent to the falls. Access to the bottom of the falls was not attempted today due to wet and slippery conditions. While not a large amount of water over the falls, it was still quite scenic and fun under the waterfall. Continuing further down the trail, we worked our way under the massive supports of the Norfolk Southern Wells Viaduct. This structure is quite impressive from beneath.
Internet information states, "Named after W.H. Wells, chief engineer of the project, it is sometimes called North Broad Trestle. Spans north fork of Broad River just west of Toccoa, GA. Construction began in 1915 and was completed in 1919. Part of a larger Southern Railways project to reduce curves and grades along Southern Railway's Atlanta – Charlotte mainline, it is over 1500 feet in length, and just over 200 feet in height at its highest point. This makes it the highest bridge on the Norfolk-Southern RR between Washington DC and New Orleans. All in all, this was a great adventure hike and one worth repeating.
TODAY'S HIKERS: Pam Hembree, Shelia Getman, Kim Johnson, Lynn Steele, Jack Treadman, Ken Kellerman & Cutie Pie, Linda Shultz, Renee Corbett, Rich Brown, Mary Smith, Jane Brown, Matt Henderson & Toby, Jenny Bell & Mike Bell.
The route
6.2 mi · 856 ft climbing · 4h 26m out, 3h 48m walking · 1.6 mph moving
Elevation
Hover over the profile to see the elevation and steepness. Your position will be shown on the map.
- Steepness
- Gentle under 5%
- Moderate 5–10%
- Steep 10–15%
- Very steep over 15%
26 photos are shown on the map where they were taken — click one to see it full size.
Photos (27)
Contentment Falls & Cave Today's Hikers (L-R): Shelia, Pam, Mike, Kim, Lynn, Jack, Ken with Cutie Pie, Linda, Renee, Rich, Mary, Jane, Matt with Toby & Jenny Headed to the trailhead. The trailhead is not very obvious, but the trail is not too bad , although not blazed. Got to cross Dead Man Branch early on only to cross back just a short distance up the trail. Toby is leading this section of the hike. Very interesting. Not a lot of wildflowers today on this trail, but this instance of Phlox was a pleasant sight. The character of this tree's bark caught our attention. Headed down the Trestle Loop with trail conditions more like this. Still not bad for an ATV trail. We don't normally see much of this Butterfly Milkweed on our hikes. The cairn marking the turn-off to Contentment Cave & Falls Unnamed branch above Contentment Falls Headed down to Contentment Falls. Better watch that slippery trail. Photo by Renee Corbet. A view from underneath the falls looking downstream. Heading away from Contentment Falls and into one of the sections of the cave. A last look at Contentment Falls and Cave as we leave. Our first sighting of the Wells Viaduct (aka North Broad Trestle) from the approach trail. Some of our lady hikers like Linda Shultz decided to ford the north fork of the Broad River to get a better view. And yes, quite a view beneath the trestle. In this case looking westward to include several of the 200-foot high supports. Another view by Renee Corbett looking up between two of the supports . . . . so impressive. So let's take a break while we're here. A Norfolk Southern photo of the Wells Viaduct, 200-feet high and 1500-feet in length. Some colorful fungus on our way back. Geeze Pam, there was another way across the branch. It looks like Cutie Pie as well as Squirt and Toby got their paws a bit muddy today. Just a last photo of a tall, but small falls behind the old power house near the trailhead on the Toccoa Falls College Campus.