Amicalola Falls

We visited Amicalola Falls back in 2012 when Jack had just turned one. It's the highest cascade in the southeast, and certainly worth the stop.

Five years later we were back at this same trail, and Jack was more than capable of walking the entire strenuous set of stairs to the very top of the falls.

We also had another kid in tow, but no backpack carrier this time.

We began this visit by driving to the Lodge at the top of the mountain. Since we visited on a Monday, it was not particularly busy. Daniel inquired about reserving rooms, and the lady said we better do it now... for next year! It is definitely a beautiful spot. We ate lunch in the dining room and enjoyed scenic views of the valley below us.

Jack was pumped about the ginormous Christmas tree and the nutcracker display they had set up in the lobby of the lodge.

After lunch, we drove down to the parking lot just below the lodge to view the falls from the very top (we had missed this view in 2012). 

After getting a dizzying view of the 759-foot cascade from above, we drove down a little further to do the West Ridge Access Trail – a short hike to the base of the main cascade.

Once we reached the bridge, we decided to walk down the staircase a bit for a better view. The boys and Sophie were troopers, following us down 150 steps to a lower platform for a photo.

Since we went down, we had to come back up. Isaac did not like this plan and laid down on the staircase after about 10 steps, so I carried him in my arms for a bit.

When I caught up to Jack and Daniel, Daniel carried Isaac up the rest of the way.

As we continued back to the car, Jack decided that he wanted to attempt the 475 steps all the way to the top. We decided to split up to do this.

Daniel took Sophie and Isaac back to the car with plans to drive up to pick us up, while Jack and I continued on.

I'm pretty sure Jack would have run all the way up these steps without a thought. Too bad he had to stop and wait for his slow mama.

We made it to the top in 10 minutes, and had to wait another 10 for Daniel to show up with the car. 

I continue to be impressed with Jack's stamina on the trails. I think he takes after me in that he lovess the statistics of our adventures, and that he can tell people concrete details like the fact that he climbed 475 steps (a total of 775 steps), or that he has hiked 4.5 miles, and biked 21 miles.

We have been encouraging Isaac to hike longer on our excursions and he is starting to build up his hiking legs.  

Every adventure we have brings us closer together as a family. I can't wait to see what the coming years have in store for us.

If you visit Ellijay or the Northwest Georgia Mountains, I would definitely recommend a stop at Amicalola Falls park. 

If you are up for the whole, strenuous hike, it's not long but there are a ton of steps (you can start at the very top or the bottom on the AT approach trail). 

If you want an easy, the West Ridge Access Trail is super easy and gets you to a bridge at the bottom of the largest cascade.

Northwest Georgia: Amicalola Falls

In the Moore household, a vacation is not a vacation without a good hike. 

Yes, we did "hike" to the top of Brasstown Bald, but 6/10ths of a mile, one way, is a little light for us. Even if the trail was straight up the side of the mountain. Technically, since we were able to push a stroller to the top I'm not sure Brasstown Bald can actually be classified as a hike.

Anyways, our real hike was to the base of Amicalola Falls in Amicalola State Park. 

With a drop of 759-feet, this waterfall is the tallest cascade in the Southeast.

An eight-mile approach trail leads from the ranger station in the park to Springer Mountain, the southern end of the 2,135-mile Appalachian Trail. Hiking the entire AT happens to be #93 on my life list, so it was exciting to see the approach to the AT.

We had a perfect day for hiking.

Jack was a little trooper. We are so thankful he endures being hauled on our little adventures.

We took the New Appalachian Approach Trail/Base of the Falls Trail for 1 mile, which included a 604-step staircase {rated: moderate to strenuous / blue blaze}.  

For our return, we took the West Ridge Access Trail {0.3 miles / rated: easy / wheelchair accessible}. The best part of this trail is that it is composed or recycled rubber tires. It was kind of weird to walk on because it was so springy.

From the parking lot, we took the Spring Trail {0.4 miles / rated: moderate / orange blaze} to the Mountain Laurel Loop {0.5 miles / rated: moderate / green blaze} before connecting to the Creek Trail  which took us back to our car {0.6 miles / rated: moderate / yellow blaze}. 

Our hike totaled 2.8 miles. Not bad considering it was mostly moderate to strenuous and we had an 11-month-old with us.

It looks as though our dog is officially over her fear of water...

and staircases.  

Someday it would be fun to do the 5-mile hike to the Len Foote Hike Inn, Georgia's only backcountry lodge, for an overnight visit to the park.

Northwest Georgia: Hillcrest Orchards

After Burt's Farm, the next stop on our list was Hillcrest Orchards.

This stop was fun but definitely the best stop for Miss Izzy. She had a blast.

From the Jumping Pillow...

to the live music...

to the petting zoo...

to the big slides...

to the zipline...

my little niece was in toddler heaven.

It was fun to watch her. I look forward to going back when Jack and Levi can participate in all of the fun as well.

We skipped on watching the pig races -- the crowd was a bit much. We also skipped the tractor ride and getting to milk a cow. Though Daniel and Jack did watch some other kids take their turn.

For lunch, I managed to waste spend $28 on food. Don't get me wrong, it was great food. Daniel was a trooper and stood in a long line to get us a hamburger {him}, BBQ sandwich {me} and a bottle of water to share. For a cost of $12. I took two bites out of my delicious sandwich, then set it in my lap to take a picture and promptly knocked my sandwich out of my lap onto the ground. Daniel said that I couldn't apply the 10-second rule since were at a farm. So. That meant I got the pleasure of getting back in a {really, really, really} long line to spend more money on food. Another $16 and we had ripple fries, chicken on a stick and roasted corn on the cob to round out my rather expensive lunch. All of it was good, I just wish I hadn't dumped my sandwich on the ground.

After such a busy day, the adults and babies were starting to get tired. Izzy, on the other hand, was still going strong. Daniel, Mark, Jack and I took advantage of having a second car to make an early exit.

Thankfully we beat the afternoon crowds -- by the time we left it was quite the madhouse. We enjoyed our day and I look forward to going back... maybe when it isn't so busy?