Providence Canyon State Park
(Lumpkin, GA)
In a region known for its rural towns and peanut farms, it is startling to come across the large natural canyon featured in this state park. Known as Georgia “Little Grand Canyon”, the multicolored sandstone of the area has led to many interesting rock formations. You can hike along the river bed of the canyon floor for quite a ways.
Franklin D Roosevelt State Park
(Pine Mountain, GA)
This large 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 others polio. 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 VP 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 smaller Lake Buncombe (the larger Federal Lake only being for campers) and enjoyed a very isolated and serene time near rushes where I think 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 and beautiful lilypad fields on the quiet back end but it’s 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.
