Georgia – Amicalola Falls

With a beautiful day ahead, we decided to drive an hour to Amicalola Falls State Park.

Amicalola Falls State Park is known as the gateway to the southern end of the Appalachian Trail (AT for short). The AT runs 2,160 miles from the top of Springer Mountain, Georgia to the top of Mt Katahdin, Maine. Neither of these mountains have parking lots, so technically you hike a little further to get to the nearest parking lot. In Georgia, it is at Amicalola Falls State Park – 8.5 miles from Springer Mountain.

It is here where AT hikers sign in. Hikers who begin or end the trail (you can go northbound or southbound) often mark their trip by taking pictures here.

the entrance to the former AT approach

We stopped in the visitor center and rangers advised us on a nice loop trail climbing to the top of the falls on the East Ridge Trail then going down 604 steps along the falls on the Appalachian Approach Trail; Bill added on an additional trail through Mountain Laurel. We saw the mountains in the distance at the top.

This is what the falls look like from the top.

the sign for the first set of stairs

Glimpses of the falls can be seen through the trees while going down the stairs until reaching viewing platforms.

the top of the falls

The falls were lovelier and longer than our pictures capture. On our way down the stairs we saw 3 hikers starting the AT with their full backpacks.

Afterward we drove up to Amicalola Lodge with its spectacular mountain view.

We tagged on an errand at the end of our outing, going to an Amazon locker to pick up a package (a case for Barbara’s new cell phone). That was a new thing for us, but a convenient way to get a package while on the road.

Camped at: Unicoi State Park, Helen, Georgia (There is a campground at Amicalola Falls State Park, but we stayed at Unicoi to avoid the steep road.)

Distance from Unicoi: 44mi, 1h2min