Martha's Falls

Fort Payne, Alabama

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Martha's Falls, also known as "The Hippie Hole," is a popular swimming destination located within Little River Canyon National Preserve. The popularity of this area has increased in recent years due to international media coverage touting it as one of the nation's best swimming holes. The hike to the river from the parking area is roughly a mile. The addition of stone steps makes the hike down more manageable but it is still considered a moderate trail. Be prepared to pack out what you pack in. There are no restrooms available at this site, so plan to go before you leave the parking area. We encourage visitors to foster an attitude of stewardship when visiting any of the sites on Little River, but especially this one due to the number of visitors and the distance of the hike in.

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Water Quality

Passed water quality tests 60-95% of the time
Historical Status
This status is based on the latest sample, taken on August 29th, 2019. Little River Waterkeeper updates the status of this beach as soon as test results become available. These results were posted to Swim Guide on August 29th, 2019 at 4:30 PM.

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Monitoring Frequency

Source Information

At all sites, water is sampled for E. coli, total coliform. Disclaimer: The Little River Waterkeeper reserve the right to publish test results for public knowledge. Test results are fact-based science research used to identify types and location of pollution issues. The tests are 99.9% accurate. The Little River Waterkeeper utilizes the standardized state and federal criteria of 235 col/100 ml for collecting and analyzing water samples. Test results are expressed as Most Probable Number (MPN) of E.coli CFU (colony forming units) per 100 ml.Water samples are collected every Wednesday from May 21-September 3. Results are posted as soon as lab results are available. Results posted here on Swim Guide indicate E. coli concentrations. Data from water monitoring is used by the Little River Waterkeeper to determine a source of pollution. Further sampling is taken by the Waterkeeper when necessary. A beach is marked Green when single sample results are under 235 E.coli / 100 ML water.A beach is marked Red when the results are equal to or above 235 E.coli / 100 ML water. A beach is marked Grey when there are no current results or there is no available information.

Water Quality Graph