High Falls State Park in Georgia
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Beautiful waterfalls and massive boulders abound at this lovely state park in middle Georgia. It was a great place to stop for a couple of nights on our way back to Florida. I couldn’t help but take too many photos of the beautiful falls along the Towaliga River and struggled to keep it at just 14 to show you:
We hiked along both the Historic and Tranquility Trails, which were well marked and very pleasant. You can see the ruins of the old grist mill, interesting remnants of a town left behind by the new railroad in 1890. For the geocachers, there are some caches tucked away here but we didn’t think of that on our hiking morning, and by the time we ventured back out to find one, it got too hot and sticky to pursue it. I did love the creative trail art – the delicately balanced pine cones and sticks on shelf fungi brought a smile to my face.
While we did not see any larger mammals like deer or even raccoons during our visit, our neighbors who happened to be the only people we ran into on the trails had just seen a deer. We did, however, find reptiles: a small banded water snake and an Eastern Fence Lizard that my son patiently caught, admired and released. One of us managed to reel in a small Loggerhead Musk turtle while we attempted some fishing, much to our horror. We quickly freed and released that catch!
We stayed at the River Campground where the 50-foot sites were a good size, easy to get into, nicely shaded and within easy walking distance of both trails and the river. It was quiet when we were there (with the exception of a lonely barking dog in our neighbor’s camper for an hour or so the first day). My husband was continually impressed with Georgia State Parks and their dual dump stations. It sure beats having to wait in lines when we leave like we typically do at Florida State Parks! The Trading Post had some nice items and helpful people.
If you love waterfalls and boulders, this is a great park for you! There is a water park down the street from the park which was open, to our surprise, given COVID-19, so we did not go. Boat rentals and mini golf were closed, as they were throughout the Georgia state parks we stayed at in July 2020.
