On our way from Birmingham AL to Sheffield AL, Shae, Truffles and I stopped off in Bankhead National Forest. We’d heard that it has some great waterfalls, so we decided to visit Mize Mills Falls as that looked like one of the most beautiful waterfalls there.
It was even more beautiful than we’d hoped and – even better – we were the only people there the entire time. This is surprising not only because it’s such a picturesque waterfall, but it only takes 10-15 minutes to get there.
I think one of the reasons why is because it’s so well hidden. There are no signs for it, no clearly marked trail and barely even a parking lot. This is a waterfall you don’t want to miss though, so check out for yourself how beautiful the falls and its setting is, along with our detailed guide for how to get to Mize Mills Falls.
The falls are close to Sipsey River Picnic Area & Trailhead. This has a fairly large parking lot and we stopped there first to use its restroom and have lunch. Having lunch was a bit of a mistake – we ended up wishing we’d saved it to eat at the falls due to how peaceful it was there.
Once you’re done, turn left when exiting the parking lot, cross over the bridge and drive about half a mile until you reach a short gravel area on the left hand side of the road to pull off. There should be space for three cars, so long as they’re parked far enough apart at either end.
The GPS coordinates for the parking area are 34.282263, -87.406730. Here’s a link to its location on Google Maps so that you can easily get directions to take you there.
As you get out of your car, you’ll see a well-marked path / gravel road heading into the forest – this isn’t the route that you need to take.
Instead, cross over the road (be careful of fast cars) and you’ll see a much less well-defined path heading into the forest on that side.
At this point you should hear the sound of falling water in the distance. Follow the trail into the forest where it heads off to the right. There aren’t any trail blazes or route markers, but the path’s worn enough to show you where you need to go.
The path will start heading towards the creek and you’ll soon come to a spot where you’ll have to clamber down. It’s not too difficult, but it’s best to have good footwear rather than flip-flops.
From here, you’ll be able to see Mize Mills Falls in the distance.
The falls are in a magical setting. Moss-covered rock faces line both sides of the creek, while sunlight streams through the treetops. If fairies existed, this’d be where they hang out.
To get closer to the falls, you’ll need to cross over the creek. People have already kindly laid a stone path to make it easier to cross. Truffles was a little nervous when crossing over, so she pulled me into the water as I was holding her leash at the time. The water was fairly shallow though, so it was only my feet that got a bit damp.
After crossing over, you’ll be able to get much closer to the falls.
We took a moment to enjoy the beauty of both the falls and the hollow we were standing in.
Truffles was a little thirsty, so she had a drink from the fresh, cold water.
There are a couple of ways to get closer to the falls. One option is to cross back over the creek further up where there’s another set of stones that have been placed in the water.
On the other side there’s a sandy area behind some large rocks. That’ll lead you right up to the falls.
It was tempting to climb up the rocks but they were very slick, so I thought better of it. We took a selfie instead.
To get an alternative view of the falls, cross back over to the other side where there are several ledges. One in particular stretches all the way up to the falls.
Once up on the ledge, you’ll have a good view of the hollow.
That’s not why you climbed the ledge though. This is why you climbed it.
I’m sure the pool is lovely for wading in during the summer, but it wasn’t warm enough to take a dip when we visited at the end of March. The only downside to visiting in the summer is that the falls might not have as much water flowing over them. It had rained a day or two before we visited, so we were especially fortunate with the strength of the falls.
Final Thoughts
Mize Mills Falls is one of the – if not THE – best waterfall I’ve ever visited. It’s not just that it’s a nice waterfall, it’s that its surroundings are beautiful, it’s secluded, it’s peaceful and we didn’t see anyone else there during our visit (we were there for about 90 minutes).
To be honest, if there had been a bunch of other people visiting at the same time as us it might not have seemed so magical. So I guess the moral of the story is to visit Mize Mills Falls on a weekday afternoon in March 😉
It is my understanding that this is Mize Mills Falls, and on further down the same trail is Turkey Foot Falls. I have visited them, just not sure why so many people confuse the names, not really sure myself.
Thanks for confirming that. We’d gotten a little confused about the location of Turkey Foot Falls, so had assumed this was it. I’ll update the post to show that it’s actually Mize Mills Falls – thanks!
Thank you for sharing this use to hick all over but this was truly beautiful do to health reasons can’t see these beautiful site makes me sad but happy to get to Alabama God’s country Thank you more then can ever imagine
God bless you and keep you safe
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You can send them this link https://nohomejustroam.com/a-hidden-gem-mize-mills-falls-in-bankhead-national-forest-alabama/
This used to just be called Turkey Foot Falls, and then you would follow the stream bed down to the next falls. That was called Lower Turkey Foot Falls.