Overview
Amicalola Falls State Park is located just a little over an hour North of Atlanta in the North Georgia mountains. Like most Georgia State parks, it features a many activities and attractions. At 749 feet, the park's waterfall is, according to the state of Georgia, the tallest cascading waterfalls East of the Mississippi river. Fishing in the trout pond is popular, and there is a very nice playground and visitor's center with lots of local wildlife on display. Amicalola also features two lodges. The first, accessible by car, features all the modern amenities including a restaurant. The second Lodge, the Len Foote Hike Inn requires a 5 mile hike to reach, but it's guaranteed to be a visit you won't soon forget.

Amicalola Falls State Park is also the access point for the Southern end of the Appalachian Trail. Hikers often stay in the park on the first night of their journey.
 

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Note: Flat Stanley accompanied us on this adventure. If you are unfamiliar with Flat Stanley, click here to learn more.

Adventure Journal
Entry Date: April 2007
Amicalola Falls is a pretty spectacular site, but at their age, the kids seemed to enjoy the playground more than the view. As with most Georgia state parks, the campground is absolutely awesome. The sites were level and had built-in wooden retaining walls and railings that made our site like a self-contained outdoor room. It was great for the kids! For those of you that don't enjoy camping, there are cottages and a big lodge with all those "city folk" amenities.

Saturday morning we made the short walk to the top of the falls and enjoyed the view, but the weather wasn't looking too promising and the kids had gold fever, so we headed for Dahlonega. It's only a short 20 minute drive from the park. 

First we hit the Dahlonega Gold Museum which is located in the oldest courthouse in the state of Georgia. We looked at some really cool old mining equipment, watched a video, then headed for lunch at the "world famous" Smith House. One of the coolest things about the Smith House (besides the food) is the old mine they found (in 2006) hidden below the floor for over 100 years. Apparently, mine owners were taxed for their mine shafts, so this smart home owner decided to hide his under the house. 

After lunch we headed for the Consolidated Gold Mine Company for a tour, gem grubbing, and gold panning. The gem bags are "enriched" for the entertainment of the kids, but the gold panning is for real (I think).  Altogether, I figure the gold we got from panning cost us about $18,000 an ounce. 

By the time we finished at Consolidated Gold Mines, it was late in the afternoon and the weather was really looking bad, so we headed for home (after watching the gopher near the parking lot for a few minutes). In summary, the weekend was shorter than we'd hoped for, but in all, it was a good experience and a lot of fun, and that's what it's all about.
                         
The Richardson Tribe

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