Little River Canyon National Preserve is a United States National Preserve located on top of Lookout Mountain near Fort Payne, Alabama, and DeSoto State Park. Created by an Act of Congress in 1992, the preserve protects what is sometimes said to be the nation's longest mountaintop river, the Little River. The canyon was historically called "May's Gulf", "gulf" being a common term throughout the Cumberland Plateau for this sort of feature. Prior to being assigned to the National Park Service, the canyon area formed the southmost unit of Alabama's DeSoto State Park. The river The Little River flows for almost its entire length along the middle of Lookout Mountain in northeast Alabama. Over eons of geologic time, Little River has carved out one of the Southeast's deepest canyons as it winds its way from headwaters in Georgia before exiting the mountain and emptying into the Coosa River (Weiss Lake impoundment) near Leesburg, Alabama. Legend has it that a minor Civil War skirmish occurred on the rim. The main stem of the river is formed by the confluence of the East Fork and the West Fork. The Little River flows another from the confluence of the forks, through the canyon, to its end at Weiss Lake. The canyon The river is said to be among the cleanest and wildest waterways in the South, undammed aside from a small and derelict hydroelectric project at DeSoto Falls on the West Fork near Mentone, Alabama. Sandstone cliffs tower up to above the narrow canyon floor, frequently visible from the scenic drive known as Little River Canyon Rim Parkway (AL 176, Dekalb C.R. 148, Cherokee C.R. 275) on the canyon's western rim. The northern half of this road was built under federal supervision in the New Deal era. The southern half was built by local authorities. The river boasts three major waterfalls: DeSoto Falls, Little River Falls (at the beginning of the canyon), and the seasonal Grace's High Falls, which falls into the side canyon created by Bear Creek and is Alabama's highest waterfall at . Eberhart Point, above the confluence of Bear Creek and the Little River, is the most convenient point for descents to the bottom of the canyon. Hikers may follow a rough eroded path. This is the remnant of a vehicle access-way which was constructed during the course of a ski-lift and amusement park project that the State of Alabama permitted