Distance: 2.5 Miles
Elevation Gain: 380 Feet
Location: Dawsonville, GA
Just off State Road 53 in Dawsonville, GA, there’s a small parking lot on the side of the road just before the bridge. If you aren’t paying attention you’ll go right past it. There isn’t much signage and it definitely makes you question if you’re in the right place when you get there.
At the end of the parking lot, there is a large staircase going down. Here you’ll find Amicalola Creek Trail. Each person over 16 years old must have a valid hunting license, fishing license or Georgia Lands Pass to enter the property, even if you aren’t hunting or fishing. You can get this pretty easily online or with a quick phone call.
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An hour loop on mostly level ground running alongside the Amicalola Creek. AllTrails has it listed as an “easy” hike, for good reason. A large section of the loop is on a well maintained boardwalk with offshoots for fishing / water access. Keep in mind if its rained, the boardwalk will be slippery.
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After about 15-20 minutes of boardwalk you get to a split in the trail to continue on or go to the creek. There’s some root structures that act as pretty good staircases to get down to the rocks. Depending on the day of the week, it’s a popular place for swimming & tubing in this section. We went on a pretty quiet afternoon but there were a handful of people enjoying the rapids.
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There’s a few areas over here with calmer water and access right into the woods. It’s easy to forget when you’re over there but if you see anywhere that looks like snakes would be there, there are. There’s people hanging out, swimming and tubing, but you are just in the middle of the woods down some stairs off a dirt parking lot. We saw a water moccasin & copperhead snake, but they don’t hang around for long. They don’t want to see you either.
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The rest of the trail is well blazed, but pretty narrow with overgrowth. Overall, whether you’re there to go swimming or not, it’s a lovely hour out of your day to check this place out. The trail is fully accessible and has a special parking lot for access if needed.
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Amicalola Creek Trail
5872 SR-53
Dawsonville, GA 30534
United States
https://gooutdoorsgeorgia.com/
1-800-366-2661