After discovering the beauty of the north Georgia mountains through my initial introductions to Dukes Creek Falls and Anna Ruby Falls, my next favorite place to visit was another falls, Amicalola, outside of Dahlonega, Georgia. What an amazing place!
My wife and I honeymooned in Dahlonega, a small town northeast of Gainesville. It is home to North GA College & State University, whose expansive campus sits just southeast of the small downtown. From there, we explored the surrounding area.
U.S. 19 runs through town, north-south, and the town square is the main tourist destination. Many interesting places are nearby, including “Babyland General Hospital” in Cleveland, where the famous “Cabbage Patch Dolls” are made. (Yes, we went there too.)
In the center of that square is the old county courthouse, which is now home to the “Dahlonega Gold Museum,” which tells the history of Dahlonega as the center of a gold rush, in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, when a rich vein of gold deposits was discovered nearby. It was such a rich vein that a branch of the U.S. Mint was established there, and turned that gold into coins. Some 20% of the gold coins minted in this country during that period were made at that mint. To this day, Dahlonega is also known as “Gold Rush City.”
Restaurants, shops, and art galleries of various types are on that square, and we always try to visit them when we are in town. An old movie theatre on the south end of that square now hosts a community theatre; but we have unfortunately not been there when a show was playing, so have not yet had the chance to see what it looks like now.
Two places we always visit there are the Dahlonega General Store, on the eastern side of that square, and a café on the northwest corner. The General Store is an oldtimey one, with all sorts of things in it. We always find something interesting or tasty to bring home! The café is small but has good food, and hosts local musicians on the weekend in the evenings.
Amicalola Falls State Park is about 17 miles west of Dahlonega, I think on GA Route 52, which leads to Ellijay, heart of the apple country. (We have been there too.) The falls themselves rise 729 feet above the base, and are the third-largest cascading falls in the eastern United States. It is an amazing place.
A state lodge sits at the top of the falls, with a magnificent view of the valleys to the west. We have stayed there several times, and always enjoyed it. They have a wonderful onsite restaurant, cabins for rent, and hiking trails. The top of the falls are just west of the lodge parking lot, with a long curved road reaching around the mountain to the base of the falls below.
“Amicalola” is an old Indian word meaning “singing waters.” When we first discovered the place, there were semi-paved paths going one-third up the falls from the base, and another coming down one-third from the top, both with viewing platforms built at intervals.
Some years later, the two sections were connected, so that one could start at either the top or bottom, and go all the way, either up or down. But, unless one had a car at the other end, you’d have to come back the way you came, to get back to your wheels. That’s a long walk!
The base of the falls is the more popular place, as there is a picnic area there, with tables and parking, so folks usually come there when on day trips. There is a pool at the base of the falls, with various fowl who enjoy getting bread crumbs and such from visitors. But it’s not for wading.
One of the nice things about hiking falls and parks like this is simply the smell of the surrounding woods, especially after a recent rainfall. Clean and fragrant, and just invigorating!
One of the more unusual items we came across in the gift shop in the lodge at the top of the falls was “F.R.O.G. Jam.”
It looked like fig preserves I have gotten elsewhere, once in a while. But the letters stood for “Fig, Raspberry, Orange and Ginger” – an unusual combination that actually tastes quite good. I have gotten several jars for gifts to friends and family, over the years.
One year we spent Thanksgiving weekend at that lodge. I had broken my ankle, a couple of months earlier, and was still hobbling around on crutches.
So my wife did the driving (six hours from our home), and we enjoyed their Thanksgiving Weekend package, and then went up to nearby Blue Ridge, GA for a half-day trip on the Blue Ridge Railway, which took us up a scenic ride to McCaysville, GA and Copperhill, TN – a town split by a river that doubled as the state line. (I wrote about that in an earlier column.)
One last quick note. Another very interesting place, just east of Amicalola Falls that we stumbled across one visit was the “Funky Chicken Art Gallery,” about half-way back towards Dahlonega. Their sign on Hwy. 52 kept getting stolen, so you had to know where to turn to get there. It was about half a mile down that small side road, in an old “chicken house,” a long, low building.
To my surprise and astonishment, that gallery held an amazing collection of varied art items, of all types, all on consignment. I saw things there from $10 to $6,000! Very interesting place; unfortunately now out of business.
North Georgia has many interesting places to see and enjoy!
Rafe Semmes is a proud graduate of (“the original”) Savannah High School and the University of Georgia. He and his wife live in eastern Liberty County, and are long-time Rotarians. He writes on a variety of topics, and may be reached at rafe_semmes@yahoo.com.