Franklin D Roosevelt State Park
(Pine Mountain, GA)
Georgia’s largest state park is located along the Pine Mountain Range and stretches along a scenic highway from Pine Mountain to Warm Springs. The park has many overlook points over the valley including spectacular views at the visitor center and Dowdell’s Knob. The area is named for FDR because this was the place he usually came to enjoy the nearby warm springs as a part of helping his and other patients’ polio symptoms. He even had a home built in the area where he died which is a state historic site. Around the trails is the well-known Pine Mountain Trail as well as a couple of lakes and many camping and picnic sites.
A.H. Stephens State Park
(Crawfordville, GA)
A.H. Stephens was the Confederate States Vice President and a GA state governor after that. This state park bearing his name is fronted by his historic home and grounds. Despite his infamous legacy, it’s quite interesting to visit and see the original furnishings of this nineteenth century home, including his bedroom kept in its original condition and the specialized law library out back. The park itself is largely one for camping and horseback riding as it has several equestrian trails and stables. I went there in order to paddle around on the small Lake Buncombe (the larger Federal Lake only being for campers) and enjoyed a very isolated and serene time floating near the rushes where I saw several lakebirds including what I believe was a young anhinga.
Hamburg State Park
(Mitchell, GA)
Tucked away in a fairly rural area of GA, Hamburg State Park was a great place for some fun kayaking. Not only are their stump fields all over that make it a bit of an obstacle course but there are also beautiful lilypad fields on the quiet back end. It’s also far enough south that there’s at least a chance you might get to see alligators on the shore as well! (Unfortunately, I didn’t.) The park itself has not only a large RV campground area but the lake is formed by a dam on which sits an old corn grist mill that you can still visit today.
Hard Labor Creek State Park
(Rutledge, GA)
Hard Labor Creek is one of the larger state parks in Georgia and is a bit confusing to navigate as it is spread out in order to connect a golf course, two lakes formed by two different dams, multiple cabin sites, and trails for hiking, bikes, and horses. While Lake Brantley is the focus for the walking trails, the large Lake Rutledge is the one where you can paddle, swim at the beach, or fish from shore. (I saw many more people doing that than I’m used to at other state park lakes so perhaps its particularly good fishing there?)
Magnolia Springs State Park
(Millen, GA)
Named for the aquifer of clear water pooling up millions of gallons of water a year at the site, this park is a bit out of the way but well worth the visit for me. I happened to be there when many things were in brilliant bloom–waterlilies and bladderwort on the water as well as the flowering shrubs throughout the surprisingly well-landscaped park. While the trails are a bit nondescript, the areas that have boardwalks (especially at the spring) are quite nice, and the few cottages here have a very homelike appearance. The small lake there was quite fun to navigate just for the challenge of all the lily pads everywhere but even moreso because it’s gator country which always adds an air of anticipation as I paddle around. I was disappointed not to see any as I made my way around–only to find one waiting right near the dock when I got back!
Indian Springs State Park
(Flovilla, GA)
Indian Springs is immediately impressive as you drive up because the spring-fed creek in front of it can be seen cascading down through slope of rocks at the entrance. It’s got some of the nicest set of meeting places of any of the state parks—from Roosevelt-era stone pavilions to a large conference center to a century-old farmhouse as the visitor center. This doesn’t even count the ‘village’ around that is not part of the park but it might as well be with disused old hotels and storefronts converted to event space and more. The lake in the middle of the park is formed by a large earthen dam that is also a fun play area. A spin around the lake leads you up the Sandy Creek. I happened to be there while they were having a large marathon of runners lapping the trail through the woods around it.
Watson Mill Bridge State Park
(Comer, GA)
This state park lies along the South Fork River and is known and named for the 1880s historic covered wooden bridge at its heart. The bridge straddles the river just above the dam where water spills down the shoals below. Once the site of a mill and powerhouse of which only stone wall traces remain, the park is now full of trails including a very large area for horse riding with stables and cabins nearby. The river itself is fairly calm so it is easy to put in above the dam for a relaxing paddle up stream about 2 1/2 miles before you come to a bend that marks the end of the park area. I also really enjoyed watching numerous birds feeding in the shallow flowing water at the shoals, including a large hawk diving in for fish!
