Amicalola Falls State Park & Lodge is an

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

state park State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the sub-national level within those nations which use "Federated state, state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on accou ...

located between Ellijay and

Dahlonega Dahlonega ( ) is the county seat of Lumpkin County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,242, and in 2018 the population was estimated to be 6,884. Dahlonega is located at the north end of Georgia h ...

Dawsonville, Georgia Dawsonville is a city in and the county seat of Dawson County, Georgia, Dawson County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. The population was 3,720 in 2020. Dawsonville is included in the Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA Metropolitan ...

. The park's name is derived from a

Cherokee language file:Cherokee Speakers by County, 2000.png, 350px, Number of speakers file:Lang Status 20-CR.svg, Cherokee is classified as Critically Endangered by UNESCO's ''Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger'' Cherokee or Tsalagi (, ) is an endangere ...

word meaning "tumbling waters". The park is home to Amicalola Falls, a

waterfall A waterfall is any point in a river or stream where water flows over a vertical drop or a series of steep drops. Waterfalls also occur where meltwater drops over the edge of a tabular iceberg or ice shelf. Waterfalls can be formed in seve ...

that is the highest in Georgia. However, an analysis conducted by the World Waterfall Data base suggests that the main part of the falls is in height, followed by a prolonged gently sloping run in which the flow drops another . It is considered to be one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia. An trail that winds past Amicalola Falls and leads to

Springer Mountain Springer Mountain is a mountain located in the Chattahoochee National Forest on the border of Fannin and Gilmer counties. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Georgia, the mountain has an elevation of about . Springer Mountain serv ...

, famous as the southern terminus of the

Appalachian Trail The Appalachian Trail, also called the A.T., is a hiking trail in the Eastern United States, extending almost between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine, and passing through 14 states.Gailey, Chris (2006)"Appalachian Tra ...

, begins in the park. Amicalola Falls State Park also offers many hiking trails, a guest lodge, restaurant, cabins, a shelter for long-distance Appalachian Trail hikers, a campground, and access to the eco-friendly Len Foote Hike Inn.

History

Little was known by European Americans about the falls before the 19th century. Until 1832, the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...

, an Iroquoian-speaking tribe believed to have migrated in ancient times from the Great Lakes region, controlled a large territory that included this area of the state park. That year they signed the

Treaty of New Echota The Treaty of New Echota was a treaty signed on December 29, 1835, in New Echota, Georgia, by officials of the United States government and representatives of a minority Cherokee political faction, the Treaty Party. The treaty established terms ...

with the United States, which forced the Cherokee to remove into the

Ozarks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, and Oklahoma, as well as a small area in the southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover ...

in Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. They called their mass removal and overland journey the

Trail of Tears The Trail of Tears was the forced displacement of about 60,000 people of the " Five Civilized Tribes" between 1830 and 1850, and the additional thousands of Native Americans and their black slaves within that were ethnically cleansed by the U ...

, during which many people died of the thousands traveling. Nearby settlers knew a Cherokee woman who lived in the area until the 1850s; she refused to leave when her tribe was removed.Amicalola Falls, Gateway to the Appalachian Trail
retrieved on 2007-03-20 The first written account of the falls was by William Williamson, who was exploring the area seeking land to claim in the Sixth Georgia Land Lottery. Williamson wrote: An unknown settler was given this land after the lottery. He decided not to live on it because the terrain proved to be too rugged. The state purchased the falls in 1911. Amicalola Falls State Park was not developed at all until the

Georgia Appalachian Trail Club The Georgia Appalachian Trail Club (GATC) is a non-profit organization that was organized in 1930 in Dahlonega, Georgia. Its membership consists of individual volunteers who share a love for the Appalachian Trail. The GATC is responsible for the ...

decided in 1958 that they would move the southern terminus of the

from

Mount Oglethorpe Mount Oglethorpe is a mountain located in Pickens County, Georgia, United States. The southernmost peak in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the mountain has an elevation of , making it the highest point in Pickens County. Mount Oglethorpe served as the ...

to the nearby

. An 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.

Today

Amicalola Falls State Park & Lodge has four groups of trails within it, including the trail leading up to the top of the waterfall. The park has a lodge that serves as a starting point for Appalachian Trail hikers. The park also checks in guests for a nearby facility called the Len Foote Hike Inn, a backcountry eco-friendly inn that is 5 miles from the park, one mile from the Appalachian Approach trail and 4.4 miles from Springer Mountain. In 2012, Amicalola Falls State Park was privatized and its operations transferred to Coral Hospitality, a Florida-based hotel and resort management company.

Gallery

File:Amicalola-Falls Main Dawsonville-GA 02.jpg, Lower cascades File:Amicalola-Falls Lodge.jpg, Amicalola Falls State Park Lodge File:Amicalola Falls looking down on stairs.jpg, View looking downward showing the stairs of the trail alongside of the waterfall File:Amicalola Falls stairs.jpg, Series of stairs to an observation overlook File:Amicalola Falls trail bridge.jpg, An observation bridge spans across the waterfall

Notes

References

External links

* {{authority control Protected areas of Dawson County, Georgia State parks of Georgia (U.S. state) State parks of the Appalachians Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia (U.S. state)