22. February 2020 5 min read

Hiking and nature in Georgia USA - Northern part

I decided to make a long roadtrip for whole day which included visiting some of the famous Georgian natural parks and then I could just not resist to venture into South Carolina to tick additional state off my visited list.

Toccoa falls

The drive from Atlanta to first stop of the day was not really long, but due to accident I had to leave the highway a bit sooner and driving around the country side feels exactly like in the movies. Long straights up and down the hills with some curvy roads into the valley, past Toccoa reservoir lake, brings you to Toccoa Falls university. Once past that you get to the Gate Cottage which provides a scenic entrance to the valley of the Toccoa falls.I was a bit early, but as a first visitor I was all alone and could really soak the nature and peace that this nice waterfall presents.

Tallulah Gorge

After Tocca falls in the near vicinity there is Tallulah Gorge State Park, which was a decently promoted and publicized so it was a choice to stay for some time. The house at the entrance has some stuffed local animals on display, but the beauty starts in the nature. The hikes are made easier by wooden pathway which even has a suspension bridge over the gorge as well as some view points above the gorge and closer to waterfalls. What you will miss is a direct touch of nature as where pathways are made, the road is near or the forest is just nicely arranged that the pathway is wide enough for a bigger group to walk. There are a lot of warnings about snakes and other dangerous animals, so you constantly stay alert and that is something that was kinda bothering me for the whole trip. Anyway the waterfalls are impressive and so is the Tallulah Dam. It is worth mentioning that the of hour hike around the whole Gorge is something you should definitely do.

Black Rock Mountain

Next stop after Tallulah Gorge State Park was the Black Rock Mountain state park. I drove through Clayton which is a typical American movie town. Black Rock Mountain is where you are really close to nature. The amazing thing is that there is road to top of the mountain, but I stopped a bit before and decided to go by foot along the footpaths. No masses of people in woods here, so you can observe the forest and nature in best. It is not a quiet forest, but the hike is also not really difficult, but just because paths are 1 person wide only I would not recommend it to toddlers. Nothing really dangerous, like big drops was on the way to the top. On top the view is non-existing as forest is all around, but there are some view points along the way, which make you realize you are high above the valley.