Amicalola Falls State Park
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Amicalola Falls State Park is an 829-acre (3.35 km²) Georgia state park located between Ellijay and Dahlonega. 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 |
[edit] 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:
| “ | In the course of my route in the Mountains I discovered a Water Fall perhaps the greatest in the World the most majestic Scene that I have ever witnessed or heard of the Creek passes over the mountain & the fall I think can't be less than Six hundred Yards. The Mountain is a least three fourths of a mile high. I made great exertions to get on the summit but the ascent was so great that I was completely exhausted by the time I reached half way. My position was such that I had a perfect view of the entire Fall The Steam is Called Um-ma-eolola from the Fall (Sliding Water) [1] | ” |
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. [2]
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.
[edit] 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, which is a small hotel that is about three miles from the beginning of the Appalachian Trail access trail. The inn is run by volunteers of the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club and is funded by the Georgia state park service. [2]
[edit] References
- ^ Amicalola Falls State Park, retrieved 2007-03-20
- ^ a b Amicalola Falls, Gateway to the Appalachian Trail, retrieved on 2007-03-20
