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| Sunset over Blackrock Mountain State Park |
Spencer and I decided to make the first trip of 2021 a recon mission to check out a couple of state parks in the mountains of north Georgia. Our aim was to determine if they would be worth a longer return visit in the future. We would spend two nights at Blackrock Mountain State Park in the northeast corner of the state and then travel about an hour southwest to spend our third night at Vogel State Park before returning home.
Blackrock Mountain State Park is the highest state park in Georgia. The nearby summit of Blackrock Mountain is an easy hike within the park boundary and sits at 3640 feet. The campground itself is fairly small with only 44 sites. The campground wasn't bad but it was a small tightly packed area, and I felt like we never really got away from civilization. It was only two miles from the main highway up to the park entrance and all of the views from the area looked down over roads, highways, industry and commercialization. So not exactly my kind of place.
During our two days at Blackrock, we hiked the 2.2 mile Tennessee Rock Trail Loop as well as the Black Rock Lake Trail and the shorter Ada Hi Falls trail which culminated with a surprisingly impressive waterfall at it's terminus. The Tennessee Rock trail crosses the summit of Blackrock Mountain.
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| Spencer surveys the land from one of several overlooks at Blackrock Mountain State Park |
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| Summit Marker for Blackrock Mountain |
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| Spencer on the Tennessee Rock Trail |
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At 35', Ada Hi Falls was grander than anticipated
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| Mountains surround Black Rock Lake |
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Campsite 29
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After two nights we left Blackrock Mountain and headed to Vogel. We left with the impression that the location had been a worthwhile experience but probably not deserving of a return visit.
On the road to Vogel State Park we saw a sign for Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia. We had not planned on visiting the highpoint on this trip and hadn't even realized that our route would take us right underneath it. In a split second decision we decided to turn off and give Spencer the opportunity to reach his 3rd state highpoint (Florida and Tennessee being the other two he has climbed; "climbed" used generously to describe the ascent of Britton Hill, Florida).
So we were off on an unplanned adventure. I had last visited Brasstown Bald in 2002, and coincidentally it had been my 3rd highpoint as well. It was a slightly strenuous 6/10's of a mile hike from the parking area up to the observatory at the peak but we made it without much trouble, passing many laboring tourists on our way up.
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| Spencer overjoyed at conquering his 3rd state highpoint |
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| Then and Now (same waist pack?) |
The trip up Brasstown Bald was fun and only set us back about an hour in arriving at Vogel, which was fine because we couldn't check in until 1:00 pm anyway, so we had time to kill.
Arriving at Vogel, it was immediately clear just on driving in, that this place would be more to our liking. The campground was larger and more spread out with 108 sites. It was shaded and nestled into a wooded valley. It was reminiscent of the GSMNP campgrounds that we are accustomed to but with the added bonus of having each site equipped with running water and electricity. We drove through the campground before checking in (as is our custom) and found our reserved spot empty and waiting for us. We parked and decided to walk back up to the Visitor Center at the front to check in. It was quite a hike as the campground is large and spread out. Our visual impressions walking to the Visitor Center were very positive. The campground was clean, well maintained, and looked like an area we would enjoy. Spencer was particularly impressed and said how "awesome" it seemed.
Staying only one night, there wouldn't be time for any proper trail hiking so we decided we would walk the entire campground that evening with the objective of picking out the best sites for possible future visits.
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| Vogel State Park #75 |
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| Our 3-Tiered campsite at Vogel State Park
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| Coffee on the tailgate. Perks of a campground with water and electricity at each site |
We picked out the best sites on our evening walk and were headed home the next morning. Our recon had been successful. We had gathered the information we needed and got a bonus highpoint out of the trip too! The trip home was uneventful and we are already planning our future trips which will include a return to Vogel State Park sometime in the near future.
