Trip to North Georgia

This week, I completed my summer goal of traveling to at least three parts of Georgia outside of Atlanta by visiting the northeast corner of the state: Rabun, Towns, and Union counties. My secondary goals were to visit as many State Parks, local breweries, and other points of (my) interest as I could in those three counties.

July 30 - Day 1

I left Atlanta after lunch and drove to Moccasin Creek State Park. This is the smallest state park in Georgia and it consists mainly of a campground on the shore of Lake Burton. It is between Clayton and Hiawassee on the scenic state highway 197. It took about two hours to drive there. I walked around the campground loop to look at the lake and then I went across the highway to the Moccasin Creek Trailhead. The trail to Hemlock Falls was easy; it follows the creek and there are several little rapids and side falls along the way. Some of the trail is slippery and there are a lot of tripping roots. The falls were pretty and there were no other people around when I got there. I didn't realize there is another set of waterfalls a short distance further up the trail so I did not see them.

On the shore of Lake Burton at Moccasin Creek State Park

The trail to the falls.

Moccasin Creek

Hemlock Falls

After my hike, I drove to Clayton and checked in to my AirBnB which was an efficiency apartment over a garage at the end of a tiny street. It was very cozy, and a short walk three blocks downhill to reach Main Street, which I did almost immediately to have dinner at The Hush, a Cuban restaurant. I overindulged with both a cocktail and dessert to celebrate the start of the trip. After dinner I walked up Main Street to see the shops and then visited the Rabun County courthouse (new; but the bell from the historic courthouse is on display). 

With the old courthouse bell.

July 31 - Day 2

I bought a sandwich and fruit for lunch at the grocery before driving to Tallulah Gorge State Park. Tallulah Gorge is one of the "Seven Wonders of Georgia" and I have been looking forward to seeing it. There is a large visitors center with exhibits on the history of the area, the plants and animals, and a film. There is also a gift shop. I talked to the ranger on duty about which hikes to do. Some of the trails (on the gorge floor) require a special permit and I didn't get one. Only a limited number of permits per day are issued, some days less depending on weather and other conditions. Today, the ranger said they only issued 39 permits because it is dangerously hot and humid. There are steel stairs that go down to a bridge over the river that has a good view of Hurricane Falls, but they were also closed because of the extreme heat.

I think this is Hurricane Falls.

More waterfalls in the gorge.

L'Eau D'Or (LaDore) Falls, I think

View of the dam and highway bridge

Tempesta Falls

North Wallenda Tower ruin

I first hiked along the north rim of the gorge, which has five overlooks and a spur trail up to Inspiration Point, the highest point in the park, at the downstream end. There were lots of good views of the cliffs on the opposite side, and some views of four of the five waterfalls in the gorge. Also ruins of the north steel tower used by Karl Wallenda when he crossed the gorge on a cable in 1970. The upstream end of the north rim trail ends at the dam and highway bridge over the gorge. One could walk over the bridge and continue on the south rim, but I paused for lunch. I drove my car to the day-use area that is on the lake above the dam and ate lunch at a picnic table overlooking the swimming area. After that, I walked back to the dam and hiked the south rim trail, which also has five overlooks. The south rim had fewer people, and was a prettier trail. There was a mural painted on a retaining wall and many stonework walls, steps, and benches built around the overlooks. I tried to go up to the south Wallenda tower but that trail was closed. On my walk back to the day-use area, it started to rain. A thunderstorm with lightning came over the mountains to the west and I decided to wait it out in a small shelter built next to the top of the stairs (these connect with the bridge at the bottom and the other set of stairs on the north rim). I waited about 45 minutes and only saw two other people who had also been caught by the storm as they jogged through. 

Swimming area in the lake above the dam.

Waiting for the storm to pass.

Upstream of the day-use area is a section of the Tallulah Falls Railroad right-of-way that has been converted to a nice paved trail called the Shortline. It follows the river for about a mile, crosses over, and then almost-but-not-quite makes a loop back to the beginning. I had to walk on a road a short distance to get back over the river and reach the starting point. There are a couple of interpretive signs on this trail.

Shortline Trail

Tallulah River upstream of the lake and dam.

On my way back to Clayton, I made a few stops. First, at the honey store on the highway just south of town. The store sells lots of honey, honey products, products featuring bees, and art and items suggestive of bees and/or honey (such as a silicone honeycomb baking tray). They also sell supplies for beekeepers and, apparently, live bees. I arrived just as some excitement was ending: a semi truck tried to drive out through the back way, up a steep driveway, and had gotten stuck so the guys had to lift the trailer with a forklift to free it. The employees in the store were all talking about it.

My next stop was at the Rabun County Welcome Center. I talked to two women about all the things to do in the county and they loaded me up with brochures and advice. Once I escaped, I took their advice to drive east on US-76 to the South Carolina border. Immediately after the bridge over the Chattooga River, there's a parking area. From there, a short trail leads down to the river's edge at a rapids called Bull Sluice, and I happened to arrive in time to see a group of rafters passing through the rapids. I watched all four boats go through; everyone clapped and cheered as each boat finished.

Raft finishing Bull Sluice

Returning to Clayton, I had dinner at Fortify, a pizza and burger bar. Then I treated myself to artisan ice cream at Bean & Basil (the flavor was brown butter cookie dough).

August 1 - Day 3

I spent all day in Towns County. First, I drove to Brasstown Bald, the highest mountain in Georgia. It is managed by the Forest Service, and there is parking, restrooms, and a gift shop, plus a shuttle that one can ride to the lookout on top. Or, like me, one can hike up the 0.6 mile trail. It was a cloudy morning and I worried that there would be nothing to see when I got there; the advertisements say on a clear day it is possible to see the Atlanta skyline almost 90 miles away. Well, this mountain is not the tallest I've visited but it was tall enough. The summit was above the clouds and I had good views of forested peaks in all directions, though Atlanta was not visible. The lookout has a visitors center with the usual exhibits of plant and animal life, indigenous people, and European settler history. The main attraction is the observation deck with 360-degree views and I had it to myself for quite a while because I was there so early. 

Brasstown Bald summit from the parking area

View from the summit

Proof that I was there

After hiking back down and checking out the gift shop, I visited the town of Hiawassee. This little town on the shore of Lake Chatuge is a short distance from the North Carolina border. The Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds are on a peninsula north of town, with Hamilton Rhododendron Gardens inside the grounds. That was my next stop. The Gardens are free to visit, and there are several well-maintained trails down the slope of a hill that ends on the lake shore. Many types of rhododendrons and other plants are featured, although none were blooming during my visit. It was a quiet place to walk, except for the loud passage of speedboats on the lake. I had lunch back in town at Hiawassee Brew, which provided me with a good quesadilla and a good dunkel.

Hamilton Rhododendron Gardens

Lake Chatuge from the gardens

For the afternoon, I decided to visit High Shoals Falls in Towns County. There is a one-mile gravel road from the highway up to the trailhead, but at the beginning it is necessary to ford a small creek and I decided to park instead of driving through with my car. I waded the creek and hiked up the road, which was relatively strenuous in the heat of the day. At the top was the trailhead and a 1.2 mile hike to the falls on the other side of the ridge. I wasn't sure I could do it, but after a short rest I felt better and started down. The first falls is called Blue Hole Falls because of a beautiful blue pool at the base. It was crowded with families swimming there, jumping off the rocks, and splashing around in the cool water. A little farther is High Shoals Falls that has a smaller pool and was almost empty when I arrived. I took time to sit on a rock and rest watching the cascade. When the people showed up, I decided to hike back, which was 1.2 miles back to the trailhead and another mile down the road to my car. One car stopped to offer me a ride, and I was impressed and grateful, but I declined since I was still feeling all right. I did a total of 5 miles round trip and was definitely tired at the end but proud of my accomplishment.

Blue Hole Falls

High Shoals Falls

I drove back to Clayton and was not hungry for dinner, so I just had ice cream again at Bean & Basil (raspberry chocolate).

August 2 - Day 4

On Saturday, I drove to Union County to visit Vogel State Park. Their new visitor center had just opened the previous day and it was very nice. The park is in a valley around Lake Trahlyta, which was formed by damming Wolf Creek. There are cabins and regular camping sites, a swimming beach, a miniature golf course, and a playground. I did an easy hike around the lake which also took me to Trahlyta Falls. Then I walked the Reece Nature Trail on the other side of the park. Very hot again today, but it was nice to be under the trees.

The trail around the lake

Trahlyta Falls

Reece nature trail

Only a few miles from the park is the Reece Farm and Heritage Center, built on property previously owned by Byron Herbert Reece (who was born in a cabin on Wolf Creek, now within Vogel State Park). Reece was a farmer and well-known mountain poet. The Heritage Center preserves many farm buildings and has information about life in this area during Reece's time. I walked through all the building exhibits; unfortunately the visitors center and gift shop was closed. I met an interesting person while exploring there: a woman with a big dog who had hiked to the farm from Vogel State Park (about 3 miles) and had hoped to use the restroom (which was inside the closed visitor center). She told me about the hike, about her dog, and about meeting a bear at another state park earlier in the week. She looked to be about my age, maybe a little older, and was clearly having a good time camping and hiking by herself. 

Sculpture at the Reece Farm

Next I visited the county seat: Blairsville. The old courthouse, built in 1899, is in the center of town and is now used by the Union County Historical Society. There is a self-guided tour of the exhibits, which include the restored courtroom and judges' offices on the second floor. A nice local was staffing the desk and she was full of information about the history of the county and the courthouse. I noticed with pleasure that the courthouse bell still tolls the hours, and at noon it played a tune.

Union County Historic courthouse

Courtroom

A couple of blocks away, I found lunch at Pizza Belly. I had a personal size Detroit-style pepperoni pizza that was incredibly good. I enjoyed relaxing on the patio with a book while I waited for the food. I also walked next door to have a beer (Buried Roots brown ale) at Blairsville Brewing Company.

After lunch I checked out Meeks Park, a large municipal park east of downtown. It has lots of recreation areas and trails; I only drove through. I decided to find another waterfall and chose Helton Creek Falls. I was able to drive the 2 mile gravel access road to the trailhead and stop with everybody else at the top of the ridge with no trouble. The hike was only about 0.3 miles down, and there are upper and lower falls to see. Lots of families swimming and wading again.

Helton Creek Falls

On my way back to Clayton (it was about 45 miles, but a little more than an hour by car) I stopped one more time on the Towns-Rabun county line where the Appalachian Trail crosses US-76 at Dicks Creek Gap. There is a little parking area at the trail access so I could get out and look at the trail itself.

Dicks Creek Gap boulder, Appalachian Trail

Again, I did not feel like dinner so I just had ice cream at Bean & Basil (chocolate), then went over to Currahee Brewing and had a beer while I listened to the live band play covers of songs I know. Currahee is from North Carolina, but I didn't want to leave Clayton without at least having a beer there.

August 3 - Day 5

Sunday was the final day of this trip. I had to pack the car and stop at the grocery for a sandwich, and it was drizzly and surprisingly cold (only about 20 C; this was the only time it felt warmer inside my cottage than outside). Just north of Clayton is Black Rock Mountain State Park, the third state park in the county. The road up is paved but very narrow and winding, and in the drizzle it was also quite dark. I may have been the first guest of the day; the rangers were still getting themselves organized in the visitor center. The clouds were so thick I couldn't see anything from the overlook; I could barely see the opposite side of the road. I didn't let this stop me from hiking, though. As it was even colder on top of the mountain (16 C), I put on a rain jacket and boots. First I walked down to Ada-Hi Falls, which is a short distance from the visitor center. This waterfall only runs in wet weather, so I guess it was good that there was rain overnight and drizzle in the morning. In fact, there was so much water dripping from the trees above me that I couldn't tell when the fog/drizzle turned into actual rain, as it certainly did. Past the waterfall, I continued to Tennessee Rock Trail, a 2.2 mile loop that took me to the summit of Black Rock Mountain which has some impressive rockpiles. Just as I reached the top, the rain stopped and it got windier, which blew some of the clouds away, enough to see a little of the valley views. By the time I finished the loop (about 1.5 hours total), I could see neighboring mountains and the valley floors below from the overlooks. I was pretty well soaked with rain, but my clothes dried quickly as I ate my lunch in the picnic shelter near the visitors center. I did need to put on a warm sweatshirt though!

Overlook at the visitors center when I arrived

Ada-Hi Falls

Tennessee Rock Trail in the rain

Summit of Black Rock Mountain

Crossing the Continental Divide

Overlook at the visitors center when I finished the hike

Finally, on my drive back down the mountain, I stopped at the Foxfire Museum and did the self-guided walking tour, which was an easy 45 minute loop. Each building is either an original mountain building brought to the property and restored, or an authentically constructed example. There are a couple of barns, some cabins, a chapel, and others. The exhibits in each building contain information about the history of the southern Appalachian mountain people and about the Foxfire project. I remember reading some Foxfire books many years ago, so it was interesting to learn about how the project was started by a local high school teacher in 1966, and the students who worked to collect and preserve the mountain heritage by interviewing and writing magazine stories about local residents.

At the Foxfire Mercantile (visitors center and shop)

Then it was time to head home to Atlanta. In about two hours, I arrived at my little house in the city.