AMICALOLA FALLS STATE PARK

'Amicalola Falls State Park' is an 829-acre (3.35 km²) 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 park is home to 729-foot (222-meter) waterfalls, making them the highest in Georgia. They are considered to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia. The park contains an eight-mile trail that leads to both Amicalola Falls and the in-park Springer Mountain, famous for being the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. The park also offers many hiking trails, a guest lodge, and accommodations at the new Len Foote Hike Inn.

Contents

History

Today

References

External links

History

Little is known about the falls before the 19th century. The Cherokee tribe controlled the area that the state park now is until 1838, when the Treaty of New Echota forced the Cherokee to leave and go further west into the Ozarks. This mass removal would later be known as the Trail of Tears. The first written account of the falls was penned by a local citizen by the name of William Williamson, who was exploring the area looking for land that he would take during the Sixth Georgia Land Lottery. Williamson wrote: Williamson would also write about his attempt to climb the nearby hills around the waterfall, which he gave up on halfway up the climb. After the lottery had taken place, an unknown settler was given the land, but chose not to live on it because the terrain proved to be too rugged. Nearby settlers knew a Cherokee woman who lived in the area until the 1850's, who refused to leave along with her tribe. ^[1]
Amicalola Falls State Park was not developed at all until the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club decided that the nearby Springer Mountain would be where they would move the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail from Mount Oglethorpe in 1958. An 8.5 mile long trail was blazed from the base of Amicalola Falls to the top of Springer Mountain so that Appalachian Trail hikers would be able to access the trail from a major highway.

Today

Amicalola Falls State Park has four groups of trails within it, including the trail leading up to the top of the waterfall. The park has a full-time staff of park rangers, and has a lodge that serves as a starting point of Appalachian Trail hikers. The park also owns a nearby facility called the Len Foote Hike Inn, a backcountry eco-friendly inn that is one mile from the Appalachian Approach trail and 4.4 miles from Springer Mountain. The inn is operated by a non-profit organization known as the Appalachian Educational Recreational Services, Inc. or AERS. ^[1]

References

1. Amicalola Falls, Gateway to the Appalachian Trail, retrieved on 2007-03-20
2. Amicalola Falls, Gateway to the Appalachian Trail, retrieved on 2007-03-20

External links

★ Georgia State Parks