Amicalola Falls
Apr. 11th, 2025 06:51 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerGeorgia Travelog #11
Amicalola Falls State Park - Thursday, 10 Apr 2025, 4:30pm
All that driving we did today— 325 miles and still going— has gotten us to Amicalola Falls State Park in northern Georgia. It's quite a haul from Savannah. I wouldn't recommend it as a day trip! Fortunately we're not just here for the day; we'll visit other parks for the next few days. But Amicalola was the stake in the ground for this leg of our trip. It was the park we saw pictures of and said, "Wow, we have to visit that park, let's plan a trip around it!"
The trail starts from the park road at the bottom of the mountain and goes up, up, up. At first it's on a paved ramp. Later it's on nicely constructed wood and steel stairs.
Amicalola Falls is said to be the tallest waterfall east of the Rockies. I'm not sure which part of it is considered "the waterfall" for purposes of this comparison.... I can tell it's not the tallest single drop (that would be Taughannock Falls in New York, I believe) but does it also include the cascades lower down the stream canyon?
Well, regardless of how the official superlatives are determined, it's an amazing and beautiful waterfall. At about the halfway up point, just below the biggest plunge, the trail crosses the stream on a footbridge. That's said to be the best view... though as you can see from the two photos above the views from below the bridge are not exactly weak.
The trail continues up from the bridge to the top of the canyon. We stayed on the bridge a while, drinking in the views of the falls while we discussed whether or not to continue the ascent. Ultimately we decided to turn back at the bridge, though for good reasons. One, the staircase trail above this point veers off to the side and does not afford good views of the falls while climbing. Two, there's a road to the top so we can enjoy the top-of-the-falls view without the additional toil to get there.
I'm really pleased with how this hike turned out. Driving 325 miles and then hiking was a bit of a risk. How long would the drive take? Would we have enough time in the day left to hike afterwards? Indeed, we hit traffic in Macon and Atlanta that slowed us down. Would the weather be okay? It was cloudy most of the afternoon, and it even rained around 2pm as we were driving. But then the skies cleared and left us a beautiful late afternoon for hiking. In beauty I walk.
Update: Does it seem like something's missing in these pictures? You're right! Read my next blog to see what I forgot to bring this trip. 😱
Amicalola Falls State Park - Thursday, 10 Apr 2025, 4:30pm
All that driving we did today— 325 miles and still going— has gotten us to Amicalola Falls State Park in northern Georgia. It's quite a haul from Savannah. I wouldn't recommend it as a day trip! Fortunately we're not just here for the day; we'll visit other parks for the next few days. But Amicalola was the stake in the ground for this leg of our trip. It was the park we saw pictures of and said, "Wow, we have to visit that park, let's plan a trip around it!"
The trail starts from the park road at the bottom of the mountain and goes up, up, up. At first it's on a paved ramp. Later it's on nicely constructed wood and steel stairs.
Amicalola Falls is said to be the tallest waterfall east of the Rockies. I'm not sure which part of it is considered "the waterfall" for purposes of this comparison.... I can tell it's not the tallest single drop (that would be Taughannock Falls in New York, I believe) but does it also include the cascades lower down the stream canyon?
Well, regardless of how the official superlatives are determined, it's an amazing and beautiful waterfall. At about the halfway up point, just below the biggest plunge, the trail crosses the stream on a footbridge. That's said to be the best view... though as you can see from the two photos above the views from below the bridge are not exactly weak.
The trail continues up from the bridge to the top of the canyon. We stayed on the bridge a while, drinking in the views of the falls while we discussed whether or not to continue the ascent. Ultimately we decided to turn back at the bridge, though for good reasons. One, the staircase trail above this point veers off to the side and does not afford good views of the falls while climbing. Two, there's a road to the top so we can enjoy the top-of-the-falls view without the additional toil to get there.
I'm really pleased with how this hike turned out. Driving 325 miles and then hiking was a bit of a risk. How long would the drive take? Would we have enough time in the day left to hike afterwards? Indeed, we hit traffic in Macon and Atlanta that slowed us down. Would the weather be okay? It was cloudy most of the afternoon, and it even rained around 2pm as we were driving. But then the skies cleared and left us a beautiful late afternoon for hiking. In beauty I walk.
Update: Does it seem like something's missing in these pictures? You're right! Read my next blog to see what I forgot to bring this trip. 😱
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Date: 2025-04-11 10:31 pm (UTC)That is an amazing looking falls. I'm glad you had such an enjoyable hike!