lula lake & land trust

My wife, Kim, and I were in search of a hike we could do on a beautiful day in February 2015. I remembered going to Lula Lake many years ago but had not been there recently. I searched on their webpage (www.lulalake.org) and found that the property was open to the public on the 1st and last Saturday of the month. As luck would have it, the day we were looking at was the opening day of the season! So we headed out on a short but beautiful drive from Chattanooga, TN to Lookout Mt., GA. We plugged the address given on the webpage into our GPS which led us to the Lula Lake & Land Trust office but we quickly back-tracked and found the entrance to the property clearly marked. We arrived early in the day and but there were already several cars in the parking lot. There was a shelter near the parking area where we signed in, received a trail map and got our questions answered by a Lula Lake representative.As we began our hike, we really didn't know what to expect. The trails were clearly marked and the landscape was beautiful. We headed toward the falls, and soon we heard the water. The first falls we came to emptied into Lula Lake. The colors were spectacular! We continued down a gravel road for about 200 yards and saw that the first falls we saw was not the main falls! From a view at the top of the gorge we saw the Lula Falls!! We decided to descend to the base of the Falls on the rocky gorge trail. It was steep in many places but the trail had been constructed so that the rocks formed stairs on the trail. Also, rope hand holds were available on the steep and muddy areas. When we got to the bottom of the gorge, the view of the Falls was awesome! Since it was still February, the temperature at the base of the Falls was such that there was ice on the rocks!! We got close enough for a picture, then headed back to the top of the gorge. Next, we decided to head back to the parking area by taking the Bluff trail at the top of the ridge. The elevation of the hike was a little strenuous, but the view was worth it at the top! You could see for miles over the valley below and there were several hawks flying through the valley! What a view!! The trail headed along the ridge for a while and then headed down the mountain. Again, the trails were clearly marked and after a few trail changes, we made it back to the parking area. So we recommend the Lula Lake & Land Trust highly and will go back again!!

We came here while staying at Cloudland and absolutely loved it. They had just opened the new trail down to the falls--there's a few spots that you need to be careful of, but the view at the bottom is so worth it. We will definitely come here again when we are up here and it's open.

Found this place in our Waterfalls of Tennessee book and thought we would check it out. We found the trail down to the big waterfall basin was well taken care of but some places could use better markers to know where the path is. We also found out it is a pet friendly location and will be going back next weekend with my nephew and our dog.

clear water falls across rocky cliffs atop lookout mountain past the tourist and ruby falls and see rock city attractions. peaceful, quiet contemplative this magic place is an oasis surrounded in natures beauty. gentle hike to the pools.

Since we have never been to Lula Lake, we decided to check it out during open gate day. I'm really glad we did. It is not only a great place to walk around, but the creek and surrounding woods are gorgeous. In many ways it's much better than Cloudland Canyon. The falls certainly are more spectacular. I only gave it a rating of 4 because the lower falls were a little more difficult to get to. The trail has gone through some nasty erosion. Hopefully that is fixed soon. I also don't know if there is a good vantage point to see the lower falls from the trail above, but that gives me a reason to do some more hiking up there and update my review when I find that out.All in all, Lula Lake is definitely worth the short drive from Chattanooga to check out.

Our group of 11 just happened to be camping nearby and found out that this property would be open the weekend we were in the area. It is very scenic, a nice shady level walk to a waterfall, lake and picnic area. But don't end your hike there! The actual Lula Falls is a little further down the path and well worth the visit. A beautiful waterfall awaits you providing there has been sufficient rain. There are about six miles of other hiking trails on the map the volunteer host will give you and if I had known ahead of time about these other trails, we would have come more prepared with hiking shoes, etc. and planned to spend most of the day on this property. The volunteer said they are continuing to add to the trail system.Well worth the visit!

Must see if you are there at the right time. This place is gorgeous and untouched, partially because of a double murder years ago. Take your hiking boots and a picnic!

Little known haven of rest on Lookout Mountain. Can we say "best kept secret"? You have to experience the trails and waterfall and soak in the beauty!

This was closed for about 20 years to the public. When they reopened it they cleaned it up, and it is very nice again. Natural (so called bottomless) lake, with a natural 80' waterfall.

Only open seasonally but well worth the trip. Fantastic hiking with great scenery.

Must see. Beautiful place to hike on days when it is open to the public - check their website.

Preserved and managed by a land trust, this is a wonderful little (well not that little) nature area that I've hiked in at least once a year for the past five years. A fairly easy hike with a gentle climb from the parking area will take you out to some nice bluff views of Chattanooga Valley and the distant mountains to the east. Continue on around the loop and come down to a great overlook of Lula Falls; you can even hike down to the base of the falls if you're up for a more serious hiking challenge. Or you can hike to the falls and the nearby small lake directly from the parking area via a dirt and gravel road; that's less than a mile each way with little elevation change. There are picnic tables at the parking area and at the lake overlook. Most of the trails are also suitable for and used by mountain bikers. One caution - the one-way dirt and gravel road is a bit rutted and bumpy, especially on the way in; but just take it easy. The entrance doesn't have a large easily noticeable sign, so you can breeze right by it if you're not careful. Use the mileages referenced in the directions on ther website. And note that they are normally only open on the first and last Saturdays of the month! Here's the website: http://www.lulalake.org/