Site designed by Sherry
Vacations for the past 10 years have been to Georgia State Parks where residents of the state receive discounts on cabin rentals. In 2011, we decided to try a park in South Carolina (still within a 2-hour drive), and visited it again in 2012.
Oconee State Park
Just outside Walhalla, South Carolina, and within Sumpter National Forest, this park offers cabins situated around a large lake where many family activities are available. Moderate to long hiking trails meander off the lake trail,
crossing creeks and leading to waterfalls.
A short drive from the cabin brought us to the historic Oconee Town site, where we explored the buildings
and hiked to a beautiful waterfall.
Black Rock State Park
Near Clayton, Georgia, this park has several hiking trails (home to many wildflowers where we have collected seed), a lake and nearby access to Highlands, NC and to War Woman Dell (a national forest area with at least 8 waterfalls).
Black Rock Lake, and Waterfalls from War Woman Dell
Cloudland Canyon State Park
This park is on the western end of Lookout Mountain near Chickamauga, Georgia (memorial site of a Civil War battle).
A deep canyon with two intersecting rivers is viewed from an overlook and rim hiking trails where there are
always many deer and bird sightings. Two waterfalls along one of the rivers are accessed by steep trails and stairways.
It is only a short drive from this park to Chattanooga, TN where we have visited the Tennessee Aquarium,
Rock City and other sites.
(Place mouse over picture to see image of Sherry on trail.)
F. D. Roosevelt State Park
Located in Pine Mountain, Georgia, this park was created by Franklin Delano Roosevelt because it was near Warm Springs, where he came for the therapeutic waters and eventually built the 'Little White House'. The park has a number of short hiking trails as well as a long steep climb to one of Roosevelt's favorite overlooks. Nearby sites include Callaway Gardens and the Warm Springs fish hatchery.
View of Lake Delano from cabin area
Fort Mountain State Park
In the southern Appalachian Mountains near Chatsworth, Georgia, this park offers a lake, scenic creeks with cascading falls, and a hiking trail to the top of Fort Mountain, where are found the ruins of an ancient stone wall 855 feet long with heights varying from 2 to 6 feet. Several theories as to its origin have suggested it was built by native Americans (Cherokee, perhaps), Welsh explorers or Spanish conquistadors.
Fort Mountain Lake
Little River Canyon
Creating one of the longest and deepest canyons in the eastern U.S., Little River is a national reserve with unique geological characteristics. Almost all of the river's waters flow on top of the Lookout Mountain plateau in Alabama and
northwestern Georgia. Overlooks, picnic areas with restrooms and short walks to waterfalls
make this area a nice daytrip from the Cloudland Canyon cabins.
