When I describe Pisgah Gorge, I am fond of saying it starts out with three great waterfalls in a short distance - and then gets better. When I do, I′m referring to the short, Little Bryant Creek section which begins at an old dam site on the northeast edge of the Pisgah Civitan Park. You can access the shoulder of the first (and highest) waterfall just below the dam via an easy footpath that parallels the rim of the gorge for about a half a mile. There are photo-op overlooks along the path at several points.
The shoulder of the second falls is also accessible. You get to it by following a small stream that flows under the footpath at about its midpoint. Here you can carefully descend into the gorge along a shelf on the canyon wall. At the edge of the creek, cross on a footlog to the keyhole bluff, in view on the left, that is your only way around the third falls at certain water levels. The keyhole can be safely free-climbed, but the most agile member of your group had best set a rope for the rest. This short, splendid chasm features high escarpments on both sides, and some say it′s the only place in Alabama where hemlock and rhododendron intermix.
A safer, easier place to enter the gorge can be found at the southwest end of the footpath where the Civitan Park road nears the rim of the gorge. You will face a steep scramble to the floor of the gorge, but you will be below the keyhole bluff and on your way to the junction of Little Bryant and Bryant Creeks about a quarter mile or so downstream. At that point, lunch or meditate for awhile as great, jagged bluffs tower above you in all directions, the three streams stitched together in benevolent chaos.
The Bryant Creek section also begins with a waterfall just below the Hwy 71 bridge. This is the much longer branch of the Gorge at approximately two miles. It is, however, a little more shallow than the Little Bryant and Jones Creek section, especially in the first mile or so. There is an old bridge site about half way down where access to the gorge can be accomplished, but you will need landowner permission.
And be aware of what you′re "up against". This is some of the most difficult hiking on the continent. You will be climbing, scrambling, and vaulting yourself - not actually hiking. The going will be slow. Add poison ivy to sprains and fractures at the top of the list of possible hazards.
In places the edge of the creek bed is the path of least resistance. In others great boulders block your way. Just below the confluence, a small stream enters Jones Creek from the right. Follow it to the canyon wall and you will discover another unforgettable waterfall, where the branch tumbles off the rim. Jones Creek empties into the Tennessee River between the Pinnacle and Middlebrook Point. Your topo quadrangles will be Henagar and Hollywood.
I have seen kayakers on Bryant and Jones Creeks, but I don′t recommend Pisgah Gorge - even for expert paddlers - due to the danger posed by great boulder sieves.
I have been using superlatives. See for yourself by taking Hwy 35 east from Scottsboro. Cross the Tennessee River and turn left onto State Hwy 71. Follow the signs that say Pisgah and Pisgah High School. Turn left at a cemetery toward the Civitan Park. Park at the ball field and walk into the woods behind it to a point on the rim path.