Amicalola State Park, GA
Hike to the Top of Georgia's Highest Waterfall
by Celeste Lipford and Terry Lipford
This was our first stop on our
Blue Ridge Adventure route, pretty much straight north from Sarasota, past
Atlanta, 583 miles from our home in Sarasota. Northern Georgia is very pretty, mountains because you are on the southern tier of the Appalachian
Mountain Range.
Amicalola State Park is a gateway to the Appalachian Trail, where thru-hikers begin their northbound journey. The park offers campsites, cabins, and a visitor center showcasing the region's rich biodiversity. You can soak in the crisp mountain air, explore cascading waterfalls, and experience the beauty of Georgia's Appalachian wilderness at Amicalola State Park.
Click above Image to view larger Google MapExploring Amicalola Falls State Park Map
Our first day of travel was occupied by the drive from Sarasota, FL to Amicalola Falls, GA. This Park & Lodge is an 829-acre Georgia state park located between Ellijay and Dahlonega in Dawsonville, Georgia. The park's name is derived from a Cherokee language word meaning "tumbling waters". The 429 foot high Falls are the tallest in Georgia
The Southern entrance to the Appalachian Trail can be reached here via the Appalachian Approach Trail an 8 mile trail starting near the Park Visitor Center. It is possible to drive to the Appalachian Trail starting point, but it is all dirt roads, seriously uphill and has very little parking.
Demonstrates how good it felt to not be driving any further, and how comfortable the temperature was that day. We celebrated our arrival, and then set out to explore the area.
The stream that was immediately behind our cabin, is a very picturesque setting and the sound the stream made all night long was very relaxing.
The Amicalola Falls Park Lodge is located near the top of the falls, so if you were to walk all the way up those stairs, you would arrive here at the lodge. Good restaurant here!
Looking upstream from behind our cabin. You can see the next cabin just beyond the trees. Cabins were placed far enough apart to where noise was not a factor.
Looking at the rear of our cabin from the stream.
This is the "bedroom-side" of the cabin, as you can see, this is a good sized cabin and very comfortable.
Amicalola Falls - Lower Falls
In the left side image the stairs parallel the falls and stream bed all the way up. The walk up those stairs was steep, but worth every step as the views of the stream were nice.
In the right side image, Amicalola Falls stairs do seem to go on forever, much easier going down than it was going up! You get a constant serenade from the water as it cascades down to the bottom of the hill, ending near our cabin.
The hiking trail behind our cabin, which led us to the waterfall stairs.
You can see how steep the stairs are, but that is where you have to go to reach the top of the falls.
Top of the falls, fantastic view of the waterfall from the observation deck on the stairs.
Scenes around the Park
Useful Links for Amicalola Falls State Park
- Just Traveling Thru Travel Planning Tips
- Amicalola Falls State Park Lodge Website
- Insiders Guide to Amicalola State Park Site
- Best Trails in Amicalola State Park on the "All Trails" site
- VRBO Search Results list for rentals near Amicalola State Park
- Lodging near Amicalola State Park on the "Expedia" site
- Amazon Search Results list for "Amicalola State Park"
- Youtube Search Results list for "Amicalola State Park, GA"
- Google Search Results list for "resorts in or near Amicalola State Park GA"
- Our Image Gallery for Amicalola Falls State Park
- Wikipedia Article for Amicalola Falls State Park
- Google Image Gallery for Amicalola Falls State Park
Trip Itinerary & Destinations List
The overall trip was approximately 2,300 miles and we had laid out the routes and stops to allow us to become more familiar with areas that we had not previously visited. We go into more detail on each destination page, click any destination in the list below right;
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