Plan Your Vacation to the Mountains of North Georgia

This afternoon (after Kristy's "ladies lunch" with area church planter's wives) we are heading for an excursion and picnic to Amicalola Falls State Park and Lodge, one of the many mountain parks in our area. (I promised Schaeffer we'd go catch crawdads today, and so we're making a day of it.)

Anyway, if you are looking for a spring or summer (or fall) getaway, please consider the North Georgia mountains. We'd love to come visit you! Check out http://gastateparks.org/ (or just click here) for a list and description of the parks. Below I've highlighted some that are within easy driving distance of our house and have excellent lodges (in addition to RV and tent camping). I'll probably post pics from today's excursion tomorrow, but for a link to my latest visit to Amicalola (with some pictures), click here. Also, for link to the parks listed below, just click on the bold type.

This is Vogel State Park. We can't wait to visit in May when the mountain wildflowers are in peak bloom.

This is Unicoi State Park. I visited this park about six weeks ago. The hike around the lake is beautiful, with a small mountain stream feeding it. There is also a smaller pond with a trail to it which provides a very peaceful, easy hike. Of course, if you are looking for a more strenuous hike, each park offers multi-mile wilderness hiking (including sections of the Appalachian Trail).

Below is Smithgall Woods Conservation Area and Lodge (near the alpine village of Helen), which is home to Georgia's premier mountain trout stream, Dukes Creek. It also has miles of hiking and biking trails (as do most of the other parks), and hosts various hunts throughout the year. We were planning on going to Smithgall today, but a turkey hunt has most of the park closed to non-hunters. Also, I understand the lodge is particularly excellent, and is great for a "romantic" weekend getaway.

Fly-fishing on Dukes Creek at Smithgall Woods.

Below are scenes from Fort Mountain State Park.