I’m featuring parks this July for Wanderlust Wednesday, and today I want to talk about Tallulah Gorge State Park in Georgia, a place we visited about a year ago after visiting Athens for a University of Georgia football game. (Go Dawgs!)

The Georgia State Parks website describes Tallulah as “one of the most spectacular canyons in the eastern U.S.” Two miles long and nearly 1,000 feet deep, the Gorge offers dramatic scenery in a part of the country better known for rolling hills and quiet countryside.

Steep stairs help you descend into the canyon, so be prepared for nature’s own version of a Stairmaster. Additionally, you cross the canyon at several points on high-up suspension bridges, so it’s not for the acrophobic either. However, once you make it into the gorge, you’ll be rewarded with beautiful waterfalls and clear, blue-green water.

In fact, waterfalls motivate me to keep going on strenuous hikes. If I know that a view awaits me, I’m usually happy to deal with some treacherous terrain.

Also, interesting fact: almost exactly 45 years ago, on July 18, 1970, Karl Wallenda, a stunt daredevil, crossed the gorge on a highwire. In the section where he crossed, the gorge is 750 feet deep and 1,200 feet across — totally insane! — but Wallenda did it in 19 minutes! Tragically, he fell to his death about eight years later on another crossing, but his feats were admired by many.

Wanderlust Wednesday is a weekly travel post originally started on the Wanderlusty Writer. It features places I’ve been and places I want to go that fuel my wanderlust.