Vickery Creek Falls remains one of Roswell's most popular hikes. The city estimates more than 5,000 visitors a day during peak summer months, according to a March 2026 city agenda report. But anyone planning to cool off in the water below the dam should know: the City of Roswell banned all water access on August 16, 2024, and violators face fines up to $250.
The ban, formally codified by the Roswell City Council at its Sept. 23, 2024 meeting, came after years of overcrowding, environmental damage, and repeated injuries from people slipping on rocks near the spillway.
"Unfortunately, because we let ourselves go at this park, the people destroying the park have ruined it for all the well-behaved people," City Councilwoman Lee Hills said at the September 2024 meeting. "There are fewer and fewer and fewer well-behaved people at this park."
The creek bank on the city side is chained off and posted with "No Access" signs, according to WSB-TV reporting on the ban's enforcement. Visitors who want to enter the water can still do so from the National Park Service side of Vickery Creek, which falls outside the city's jurisdiction.
The safety concerns have proved well-founded. In summer 2025, Vidal Perez, 32, drowned while swimming in Vickery Creek near Old Mill Park, according to WSB-TV. Roswell police had been warning swimmers to stay out of the water.
A Civil War site hiding in plain sight
The "waterfall" is actually a man-made spillway dam built in the 1800s to power the Roswell Manufacturing Company, incorporated in 1839 by Roswell King and his son Barrington King. Two textile mills rose beside the dam in 1839 and 1853.
In July 1864, Union forces under Gen. William T. Sherman burned both mills. About 400 workers, mostly women, were arrested and deported north by train. Few ever returned. A memorial monument honoring the Roswell Mill Women was dedicated in July 2000 near the mill site, according to the New Georgia Encyclopedia.
One mill was rebuilt after the war, only to burn again in 1926. The stone and brick ruins, including a two-story machine shop, still stand on the west bank of Vickery Creek.
What hikers need to know
The trail network offers loops ranging from about 2.3 miles to more than 5 miles, with moderate difficulty, unpaved surfaces, exposed roots, and about 295 feet of elevation gain on shorter loops to 400 feet on the longest. Hours are sunrise to sunset, year-round. Dogs are welcome on leash.
The most popular trailhead is Old Mill Park at 95 Mill Street in downtown Roswell, where parking and admission are free. The park has restrooms and water fountains near the mill building. A second access point is the Riverside Road trailhead, managed by the National Park Service, which charges a small parking fee. Free alternatives include Don White Memorial Park and the Oxbo Trail access, both connecting into the same network.
Old Mill Park's wooden covered bridge, dedicated Sept. 22, 2004, spans nearly 160 feet and sits about 30 feet above the creek. It links the city trails to the National Park Service trails on the far bank, and it's where families and wedding parties line up for photos on weekends.
New for 2026: parking reservations
With only 69 city-owned parking spaces serving those thousands of daily visitors, the city launched a free reservation system for Old Mill Park this summer. According to the March 2026 agenda report, the system runs from May 18 through Sept. 20, 2026, requiring reservations between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily.
The Old Mill Park trailhead sits a few blocks from Canton Street's restaurants and breweries, making it easy to pair a morning hike with lunch downtown.
