In May 2022, we visited destinations in Georgia and Kentucky. Why no Tennessee? We were limited on time and had already visited Tennessee on two separate trips in the past. Two of our main destinations on this trip were the Southern Terminus of the Appalachian Trail on top of Springer Mountain in northern Georgia and Mammoth Cave National Park in Kentucky. These were new destinations for us.
We started with three nights at Morganton Point Campground in northern Georgia. This was a beautiful campground right on Blue Ridge Lake. Our campsite had a trail that led right down to the lake. It was also centrally located for visiting our other northern Georgia destinations.
Tallulah Gorge State Park
We kicked off our first full day in Georgia with a visit to Tallulah Gorge State Park. This was about an hour and a half drive from Morganton Point Campground. We spent the morning exploring the gorge on the North Rim, South Rim, and Hurricane Falls trails. These trails took us across the gorge on a suspension bridge and down into the gorge (via lots and lots of steps).
Helen, Georgia
For lunch, we drove to the town of Helen, Georgia where we found a local restaurant (Brickhouse Burgers, Pizza, and Pasta) with some delicious strombolis. Helen is a small, Bavarian-style town with plenty of local shops and restaurants. After eating, we explored the town on foot. We also stopped just outside of town at Habersham Winery for a wine tasting.
In the afternoon, we hiked Yonah Mountain, about 10 minutes south of Helen. This is an out-and-back trail that is just over 4 miles round trip. After the hike, we returned to camp for a relaxing evening.
Amilacola Falls State Park and Springer Mountain
On our second day in Georgia, we got an early start and visited Springer Mountain, the location of the Southern Terminus of the Appalachian Trail (AT). This was about an hour’s drive from camp. Driving to the nearest trailhead to Springer Mountain required travelling about 6 miles up a gravel forest road to the mountain. It was well worth the effort! From the parking lot, we hiked about a mile to the official trailhead.
After visiting Springer Mountain, we drove about an hour to Amicalola Falls State Park, the unofficial start of the AT. There is an 8-mile AT Approach Trail that begins at Amicalola State Park and ends at Springer Mountain. Our main reason for visiting the park was for its connection to the AT, but we were so impressed with the falls! We hiked up lots and lots steps from the bottom of the falls to the top and then set out a ways on the AT Approach Trail. We knew we wouldn’t make it to Springer Mountain and back, but we wanted the experience of hiking a stretch of this trail.
Meandering Back to Camp
After our time at Amicalola Falls State Park, we meandered back to camp, making several fun stops along the way. We stumbled upon a cidery (Reece’s Cider Company) with live outdoor music, so we stopped in and shared a flight of hard cider while listening to the band outside. Our next stop was at Panorama Farm Market where we had some delicious apple tarts, Both these stops were near Ellijay, GA which is known for its apples.
Our final stop was closer to camp at the town of Blue Ridge. I really enjoyed walking through the town. There were local restaurants and shops. We ambled around town for a while before heading back to camp for our final night in Georgia. The town of Blue Ridge was only about 10 minutes from camp.
Cumberland Falls State Resort Park
We woke up early the next morning and began our drive to Kentucky. Our next destination was Cumberland Falls State Resort Park. This park is home to the “Niagara of the South”. Cumberland Falls was massive. We also really enjoyed a hike to the smaller and more secluded Eagle Falls. We camped that night at the Corbin/Laurel Lake KOA.
Mammoth Cave National Park
Our last major stop on this trip was Mammoth Cave National Park. We were excited to check another national park off our list. We booked the 3-hour Violet City Lantern Tour. This was a 3-mile 3-hour tour through the cave illuminated only by real flame lanterns. It was really cool! We exited the cave via a different entrance and a bus drove us back to the visitor’s center where we started.
We had originally hoped to camp inside the park, but we ended up at Wax Campground about 45 minutes away. I’m glad we did! This campground was on a beautiful lake and we were able to pull out the paddle boards that evening.
Heading Home
Finally, it was time to head home. We made one last stop on the way home for a tour at Green River Distillery in Owenboro, Kentucky. This is one of the distilleries on Kentucky’s famous Bourbon Trail. We were the only two on our tour, so we were able to ask lots of questions and got to know our tour guide.
