Lake Conasauga Entrance
I’m not going to write too much about Lake Conasauga because I want it to be known enough to where it keeps getting maintenance, visits, and appropriate use without being overrun…because if you know…you know.
Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest
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Overlook near Hogpen Gap in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest of North Georgia
The Appalachian Trail in Georgia has a lot of granite overlooks in the mountains but especially on the Appalachian Trail. During winter, you can see a long ways off, and in the summer, they are often the only break in the green tunnel of vegetation.
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Rice Camp Branch in the Cohutta Wilderness
Rice Camp Branch is one of my favorite little creeks running along the Rice Camp trail in the Cohutta Wilderness.
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Cove on Chestnut Lead Trail in the Cohutta Wilderness
Appalachian Coves are a beautiful, fascinating forest community, no matter the season. In the winter, you can appreciate the sheer height of the Tulip Trees and the passage of light during the day.
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Beeches on Rice Camp Trail in the Cohutta Wilderness
I love how beeches hold on to those leaves far past Fall.
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Waterfall in the Chattahoochee National Forest
Waterfalls in the Southern Appalachians are rarely grand and tall. They are mostly stair-stepped and draped rhododendron. But they have a human scale and plant diversity around them that makes them so lovely.
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Conasauga River in Late Fall
The Conasauga River is especially beautiful in late Fall with floating leaves and remnant pops of color from maples and beeches.
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A Beaver Chewed Stump
I love seeing direct evidence of wildlife in the forest. This area had lots of evidence of beavers just working hard on their dams.
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Forest Service Road 68 in the Chattahoochee National Forest
Forest Service roads are incredibly scenic, especially in the Fall. I’m never surprised at the number of folks slowly cruising,…
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Autumn in the Cohutta Wilderness
The colors in the background are the focus, but the composition is deliberate here. The irony of the southern Appalachians is that it’s hard to photograph the trees, thanks to all the trees.
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Cohutta Wilderness from East Cowpen Trail
East Cowpen Trail affords some of the best views of the interior of the Cohutta Wilderness.
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North View from Rabun Bald
Rabun Bald is the second highest point in the state of Georgia. It’s also one of the wettest spots east of the Mississippi River. I also love it because unlike Brasstown Bald, which has a parking lot, a paved trail, and a visitor center on top, Rabun Bald has only the remains of a fire tower.
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Cottonwood Patch Campground
Cottonwood Patch Campground is a Forest Service Campground in far north Georgia in the Chattahoochee National Forest.
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Small Creek in Southern Appalachians
Sometimes hiking in the southern Appalachians can get brambly and overgrown, but I love spots where several forest communities are living close together. At this spot, there is dry, upland pine in the background and shaded, wet fernbank in the foreground.
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Chattahoochee River near the Headwaters
The Chattahoochee River is one of the (if not *the*) most important river in Georgia. It starts far up in the Chattahoochee National Forest in the southern Appalachians. This photo is a few miles south of its source where it’s gathering the flow of Henson Creek.
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Murray’s Lake in the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest
Murray’s Lake is a small recreational lake in the Chattahoochee National Forest near the Conasauga River and near the Lake Conasauga Campground.
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Forest Road in the Oconee National Forest
The Oconee National Forest does not have the mountains of the Chattahoochee National Forest, its northern partner, but it does have plenty of scenery and diverse flora & fauna.
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Old Beaver Lodge
Around Murray’s Lake in the Chattahoochee National Forest, the beavers have completely taken over. The wetlands upstream from the (man-made) lake have a series of dams with old lodges and lots of fallen trees. It’s so cool to see in person.
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Appalachian Trail, Southbound at Hogpen Gap, Georgia
The Appalachian Trail is such an incredible achievement in construction, planning, coordination, and *maintenance* – props to the many volunteers and Forest Service land managers who keep this trail wide open and wonderful.
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Hickory Ridge Trail in the Cohutta Wilderness
The Hickory Ridge Trail in the Cohutta Wilderness in the Chattahoochee National Forest is a favorite interior trail of mine.
