The views from the top of Bell Mountain are spectacular! The drive up the mountain is not for the…read moreweak either. My husband and I took some great photos, but at the very top deck I could barely stand still due to all of the gnats flying around!! (Nov 1)

Definitely worth checking out! It's a great view, and it's super convenient that you can drive to…read moreit. We had a rental minivan that made it alright (although we stopped in the parking lot right before the really big danger sign and hiked the last little bit). If you had an SUV you could be completely confident driving all the way. The roadway seemed to be well maintained and the signage was clear!

Vogel State Park is one of North Georgia's most scenic and well-kept spots, perfect for anyone who…read moreloves the outdoors. The lake is a great place to fish, whether you're an experienced angler or just relaxing on the shore with family. The hiking trails are well-marked and offer a mix of easy loops and more challenging climbs, all with stunning mountain and forest views.The new visitor center is a real highlight--it's modern, clean, and packed with helpful information about the park's history, wildlife, and local attractions. The staff is friendly and always ready with tips on the best hiking routes or picnic areas.Overall, Vogel State Park is a peaceful escape that combines natural beauty, recreation, and great facilities. It's definitely worth a visit year-round.

What a beautiful campground! It's so nice at night curled up in our teardrop camper…read more Each reserved lot has access to electricity, a picnic table, and a nice fire pit. One thing I really enjoyed were the private bathrooms. Each has a toilet, sink (with handsoap), and a shower that can be adjusted for small children. The bathrooms are kept sparkling clean by the park. Dogs are more than welcome. In fact, most of the people there brought one or two dogs. The lots vary in size from canvas tent and car all the way to travel bus. It's great for a weekend trip away from the city noise!

This was definitely a different landscape for us and we loved it. We were happy we had a four wheel…read moredrive because the drive here is not paved at has steep hills. When you get here there is no signage at all. You just drive and look for it. There is really no parking except for parking on the side of the creek. There are areas for people to camp but they are not defined. We drove as high as we could and someone else driving down. They told us to follow them to one of the falls, but there was not much of a fall bc of the lack of rain. We had also parked at the spot they pointed to us for a break from the uphill steep drive. We went down more and parked by the creek and went down to see the water. When we got there, we looked up and saw the fall, but it was a bit of a distance for us to drive back to, plus we would have to walk over rocks to get to it. I didn't get to take a pic but it was pretty. We did like this trip, but I think I wished I could have seen more. The day before we went to the Edge of the World in Dahlonega and enjoyed that more.

Place was beautiful, but it kinda sucked that the upper falls are closed due to some construction…read moreto the trails. It really doesn't tell you anywhere either, you just find out when you get there. Place is so amazing though!

Easily accessible water area, lots of shade. Families with kids. Can get very crowded. Should be…read moreable to navigate slippery rocks if you want the water wading experience. Great photo ops on the covered bridge.

Poole's Mill is like a semi-hidden gem of a park. Not only does it have the amazing playground for…read morethe kids with the large dome, play set, and swings, BUT the "hidden" part is the best part of the park itself...the bridge and the water! The bridge and the water with the large rocks is an amazing photo opp not to mention being fun to explore. Such a fun mini-adventure that many people who stop for the playground don't even realize is there. Definitely don't leave this park off of your list it's a great one to visit.

Venue Smithgall Woods State Park ( Smithgall Cottages) 5 out of 5 stars…read more After copious amounts of research and several venue tours, we decided on Smithgall Woods state park, and more specifically the cottages as the venue for our wedding on June 8th. We just have to say we loved the team we worked with at Smithgall, mainly Todd, Patty, and Art. Todd at Guestservices was simply fantastic! As he will be quick to mention "the venue sells itself", however having him as our man on the inside was a pretty huge selling point on its own. He was with us every step of the way to answer our plethora of questions, work with vendors, and generally keep our minds at ease. Honestly, I doubt the wedding weekend would have gone as smoothly and been as much of a success had it not been for Todd's guidance and cooperation. The venue is magical. I know how that sounds, but it's the truth. It's tucked away deep in the beautiful North Georgia mountains, surrounded by a lush forest teaming with wildlife. This majestic property consists of five "cottages", in quotations because they are more like log cabin style mansions. The two largest being; the expansive 4 bedroom 4.5 bathroom cottage called the Smithgall Cottage, and the even larger 5 bedroom 5 bathroom Dover cottage. The Creekside Cottage is 3 bedrooms, and The Laurel and Garden cottages are one bedroom cottages with hot tubs on secluded side porches. All the cottages were clean, modern, and a huge hit with our guests. We were able to house both our families, close friends and wedding party all on the same property. Which saved us a great deal on lodging. Which after factoring in the cost of rooms made this one of the more affordable wedding venues out there. Also you get it for the whole weekend!!! We used the Smithgall Cottage for our wedding location due to the large wrap around porch and decks, and also due to the picturesque, covered foot bridge under which flows a gorgeous champion trout stream. We had some difficulty deciding where on this property to hold our ceremony because it is simply lovely all over. Unfortunately, the record rainfall that weekend made the decision for us. Even though the storms limited our use of the enormous field in front of the Dover cottage, and the gardens next to Smithgall we still were able to comfortably host our 50 or so guests and dozen vendors, at the Smithgall Cottage and our ceremony and reception went along wonderfully. We would highly recommend this venue to anyone wishing to have a once in a lifetime event at a once in a lifetime location.

I came here to see the covered bridge, but discovered they have so much more…read more THE SCENE Smithgall Woods may not be someplace Georgians are familiar with, unless you are an avid hunter or trout fisherman. It was once private property that was gifted to the state by conservationist Charles A. Smithgall Jr. in 1994. A large section still remains private property for the Smithgall family, but what was gifted is a treasure trove of beautiful mountains, streams, meadow fields and wetlands. I began my solo hike around 12:15pm from the Visitors Center. There I was given a map and a few brief highlights of points of interest, like the waterfalls and gold mine. I then set off one what turned out to be a 4.5 hour adventure. Probably not the smartest of ideas since I had surgery just three weeks ago. But I was tired of resting around the house and desperately wanted to get out and do something. Besides, nature brings a calmness to my inner being and allows me to relax my mind in ways I just can't at home. It was a perfect day with perfect temperatures for hiking. In my entire time there, I only ran across one other human. ----- THE HIKE Inside the Visitor's Center is a gift shop and small wildlife museum of the nature plants and animals. I walked down the paved Tsalaki Trail towards the Cathy Ellis Trail (approximately 2.6 mile away). The trail starts off as a fairly steep incline. Along the way I saw a sign saying "caution - bees". I thought that was a curious warning until I noticed the white honey bee houses in the woods nearby. Next came the wetlands with a one mile looping trail and a boardwalk into the marshes. Here you have a strong possibility of seeing a beaver at work on a dam. I decided to save this area for my return hike and I'm glad I did. My energy on the return leg was running very low and I needed the benches here for a nice long rest. I reached the covered bridge about 37 minutes after leaving the visitors center. It was a real beauty made in the simple Town Lattice style. The memorial plaque at the entrance was titled "Bay's Bridge In loving memory of 'Bay' Elizabeth Smithgall Watts", whom died the year the land for the state park was gifted. It crosses the amazing mountain stream known as Duke's Creek. The creek from here will be a large part of your journey. The trail turns to gravel just past the bridge. MARTIN'S MINE was one of the first Gold mines in Georgia. Most of the mining occurred from 1829 to 1935. By the 1840's most of the easy gold was gone and hard mining began. Miners dug tunnels and shafts to remove ore from deep underground. You can still see some of the entrances and shafts. The trail is well marked with numbers, so be sure to pick up the Mining Trail brochure at the Visitor's Center to help you decode the locations. There is a spur trail off the Martin's Mine loop that takes you to a waterfall used for hydraulic mining, which began in the 1850's. It is an uphill hike, but the waterfall is very nice. Back on the main trail I traveled another 1/2 mile to Cathy Ellis Trail. This 1/2 mile trail starts off uphill, but once you reach the shelter it's all downhill from there. The trail ends at the beautiful Chunannee waterfall (which means friendship). Lots of vegetation on this portion of the hike. This land was once the home of Lucy Bryant, a Cherokee Indian widow whom was granted this 640 acre parcel in the Treaty of 1817. But by 1839 the Trail of Tear forced all Cherokee Indians off their land to relocate in Oklahoma. They curiously chose to name the trail after a 19 year old girl who fell over a waterfall in a different county altogether instead of the Indian widow Lucy. I don't get that, but whatever. The waterfall here is beautiful. I sat here about 25 minutes resting and admiring its beauty and feeling sad for the ancient Cherokee Indian nation. I arrived here approx. 2.5 hours after I began my journey from the visitors center. NOTE: Prior to arriving at the Cathy Ellis trail there is another steep incline, similar to the one near the Visitor's Center. ----- FINAL THOUGHTS In total I hiked approximately 7.5 miles today. I would normally have done this in probably 3 hours, but I tried to go at an easier pace since I'm still recovering from surgery. I allowed myself plenty of places to sit and rest, the most enjoyable of them being the waterfall on the Cathy Ellis Trail. Smithgall Woods State Park is indeed a wonderful place for those who love nature and peaceful hiking venues. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND giving them a visit.

Went with a friend who had been recently and loved it. So crowded. Parking was already up and down…read morethe two roads coming in. Makes them one-way. Roads not sedan friendly. We had to back out to let others get out and backed into ditch. Not a big issue because so many people stopped to help immediately. We were finally able to get up to the trailhead, but unable to park until way way past it. We decided to just go on a scenic trip all the way back out, the opposite way. It was beautiful and peaceful. We met a couple, stopped on the road, checking out the largest rattlesnake I have ever seen. We have found, in the last few years, that you have to arrive at any trailhead super early to be able to get in and out. We'll go back to hike it for sure.

This is my GOTO for any season ... doing this hike in summer is just extraordinary. We did this…read morehike with our dog , it's medium with lil elevations . I love the swimming hole here , not so deep for you n ur fur babies . Mine is a 78 pound lab mix who loves water . Most of the trail is covered with trees so even on a hot summer day you can totally attempt this .

If there wasn't a recent rain or snow, the falls are not really falling. Even with the little…read morewater fall I was there for, it was still memorable. Plenty of parking. BUT, not free and definitely not easy. No cell phone signal to download app that is required to pay the $5 fee. Driving in can be stressful, as there are motorcycles zooming all around you on the winding roads. Also the loud motorcycles take away from the sound ambiance at times. There are toilets, but they are literally holes in the ground with no lighting, so just be mentally prepared for that. There is a north waterfall and a south waterfall. The north is not only larger, but an easier climb. South waterfall is tiny and basically switchback stairs. The best activity here would be camping in either tent or rv by the beautiful creek.

Definitely a good set of falls (Upper and Lower falls) to see in the area…read more This is one of the easier falls to get to in the area. It is right off of 19 which is a 2-lane road. To get to either the upper or lower falls you park at the DeSoto Falls recreation area. This location has a campground and a parking lot next to it. There were about 40 parking spots for cars at the parking lot portion along with a bathroom and informational board. If you are going to go here make sure you look at their website and download the app or purchase a parking pass before you get there. There is very poor cell service when you are at the parking lot and the sign recommends going online to purchase a pass through the app but with poor cell service that is problematic. A parking pass is $5 and can be purchased online or at any state park. The trailhead for both the upper and lower falls is right after the campground and across a small bridge spanning a lovely creek. The upper falls is to the right and the lower falls is to the left. The lower falls are about 1/4 of a mile up a fairly steep and often narrow trail for most of the path. The viewing platform is smaller than the Upper falls platform but can fit several people comfortably. I really enjoyed this hike and the one to the Upper Falls. They were in a drought when I went so the falls are not really full but the view was still nice. If you feel adventurous, I would recommend doing the Upper falls after this. Enjoy.

Super fun! Easy walk! Kid and pet friendly! We walked our 2 dogs and had no issues! The bridge…read moreobviously swings so be careful holding your phone on the bridge taking photos! Great place to skip rocks!

On our recent trip to Blue Ridge, we decided to check out the Toccoa River Swinging Bridge. I am…read moreglad we did as it was quite scenic. We pulled in not knowing what to expect. You take a turn off the main highway and you have a few mile drive up the dirt road to get to the actual bridge. I did do this in a front wheel drive car, but a 4 wheel drive truck would be recommended if the conditions were wet or less than ideal. The road is pretty skinny at points and there is definitely not room for two vehicles even though this is not a one way, so one must drive cautiously. Once there, there isn't really any designated parking. You just park wherever you can. The bridge is quite scenic. It looks more stable than it actually is. It sways quite a bit when people are crossing and it isn't quite wide enough for two people to pass without hugging one side, but the view and hikes surrounding the river make it worth it. We spent a few hours here enjoying nature and then headed back. Awesome spot worth checking out.