I recently ran from Woody Gap trailhead to the top of Blood Mountain and back for the first time…read morewhich totaled around 16.5 miles round trip. It is a very beautiful section to hike, run and/ or camp on! Along the route you will pass over Preachers Rock! This is one of the best spots to watch sunrise if you're able to get up there before it begins! It is just over a mile from the parking lot of Woody Gap to the top of Preachers Rock. Along the route to Blood Mountain you will pass several designated camping spots (free to camp, first come first serve). I have yet to camp on this section, but I've picked a couple spots to try out next time! There are 3 water crossings along the route that you can fill up at; just make sure to filter the water before you drink it. I recommend bringing a Sawyer Mini water filter. It fits into the palm of your hands, so it doesn't take up any room in your pack. The trail itself is very easy to follow. I was a little nervous at first that I may get off course or take a wrong turn/ trail, but I can assure you that there is only one main trail that runs from Woody to Blood. There are some side trails that intersect, BUT they either lead to campsites or shelters. As long as you stay on the main trail, it is hard to get lost! I can't wait to go Bach again and run from Woody Gap to Neel Gap which will be around 20 miles round trip.

It was a 30 minute hike and worth it because the view is beautiful! It's a little steep towards the…read moreend but it's doable.

Coming from Dawsonville and visiting Dahlonega for the first time, this is the first thing I see,…read morethis park. It's a great representation of Dahlonega and what it is all about. Zoom in to see the picture about Madeline Anthony. This park is across the street from the University of North Georgia. This is a great little park with picnic tables, shade, the Welcome to Dahlonega sign, a little background about Madeleine Anthony, & the water mill. It has a convenient small parking lot too.

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!

My first time walking this monstrousity I went the wrong way, basically walked up Hill most of the…read moreway. I'm going to tackle this beast yet once again, this time I'll go the right way. Very nice walking trail, beautiful scenery, and slot of trees.

I found this hike for the family online as we were at the outlets in Dawsonville and this is not…read moretoo far from there near UNG. If you are coming from there, park in the second parking lot on the right to begin the hike. There are some great lookout points and benches along the way, with a couple of bench swings. We also saw people hammocking along some of the outshoots of the trail. The scenery is good, but you are near the road and can hear it for the first part of the loop hike. Then there are 2 parts where you walk along the road with speeding cars zooming by. this may not be best for kids, but ours handled it fine. you can avoid this if you go out and back, instead of doing the loop.

Hancock Park is located in Historic Downtown Dahlonega at North Meaders Street and Warwick Street…read more It is a nice open park and I first noticed it when attending the Gold Rush Festival. During this festival the park hosts church services on Sunday mornings and they always have a great turn out. Besides a great concert pavilion, this park has one of the most fascinating exhibits: The River Diving Bell exhibit, which is show cased in its own pavilion. This Bell was used to mine for gold back in the day, (1875) and it took a great effort, (over several years) to remove it, restore it, and move it to the park. A great deal of research was involved in understanding the construction and use of this bell. Great descriptions and photos are included with the display which is the only one of its kind in the United States. This park also hosts the farmer's market, has relaxing bench swings and a nice green space for outdoor activities. I love the Maibaum Tree which is a large metal structure that is a visual depiction of the city's history. It has several levels and each level tells a different story, from early settlers to modern day activities on the Square. This park is a nice addition to the square and a perfect place to relax, have lunch and just enjoy the view.

Want to hike in an-out-of-the-way area? Cool. Want to hike in an out-of-the-way area that also used…read moreto be a Cold War nuclear research facility that still contains relic structures of when it operated? If so, Dawson Forest is your place. Dawson Forest is a huge tract of forested land operated by the Georgia Forestry people but owned by the City of Atlanta, bisected by the Etowah River and located just southwest of Dawsonville. It's open to the public for hiking, horse riding and bicycles, although there are some calendar/time restrictions because it's also a hunting area. Get there by taking Dawson Forest Rd from Highway 9 just north of Silver City. At the time of this review, the Yelp map marker is wrong. I submitted a correction but Yelp is not very good with that. Wait, owned by the City of Atlanta? Yep. Apparently they bought the land as a possible site for a second major airport from Lockheed - which used it for the site of the Georgia Nuclear Aircraft Laboratory - but found it was unsuitable. It's been owned by the city since the early 1970's and is maintained as an experimental forest for the use of Georgians. Wait, what!? A nuclear aircraft laboratory!? Yep. The US Air Force commissioned Lockheed to explore the feasibility of powering bombers with nuclear reactors. It didn't pan out, but only after quite a bit of effort. The site contained a nuclear reactor, a hot cell test facility, support buildings and a really bizarre test facility whereby a reactor was elevated by cables between four towers to test ... well, I'm not sure what. But in the process, they managed to kill off all the wildlife in the area. It was quite an operation. You can still find numerous structures on the site including two fenced off areas that contain the hot cell facility and the reactor. I prowled around the hot cell building fence but didn't go to the reactor area. In case you're contemplating mischief, they're pretty serious about the fences. You don't want to go in there. More photos and videos are available on the GNAL Facebook page (everyone has a FB page, even derelict nuclear sites): https://www.facebook.com/Dawson-Forest-GNAL-154640534555862/ Air Force video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXd9JSJbrsU Other than the odd relic nuke structure and the ghosts of millions of murdered critters, you'll find miles of hiking trails (or horse trails, if that's your thing). The trails are accessed either from the main visitor information area (which is just a large board with the usual information set among weirdly out-of-place concrete pads and sidewalks) or from trail heads off the numerous unpaved roads that interlace the site. Most of the roads are quite passable by passenger cars, but some require high clearance and 4WD. At one point as I travelled to the northern half of the forest, I had to cross Shoal Creek. I suppose you could do it in your Honda Civic, but I put my Nissan Pathfinder into 4WD-Low to cross. One note on the roads - you can access (or egress) Dawson Forest from the north but it requires passing through a couple of miles of Georgia Wilderness area and there are signs that pronounce it highly illegal for any citizen to trespass without possessing one of two permits (hunting/fishing license or something else). Neither of which I had and I drove on anyway. I'm a rebel. A second note on roads - there is a trail map available at the visitor info area that along with all the colored trails shows the roads in the Forest, and the names aren't necessarily what shows on Google Maps. Trailmap: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/dawson-forest-dawsonville?select=_MLh00vz2UpkgKfehZ0xag The main entrance road, for example, is shown as Reactor Rd while Google says it's Dawson Forest Rd. I believe Reactor Rd is the historical name. It makes a bigger difference when it comes to Clark Rd. Google says that road is a continuation of Dawson Forest Rd to the river, while the map has Clark as a dirt road going off to the west from Reactor Rd. I didn't do a lot of hiking - this was mainly a recon mission. But from where I did walk, there appears to be a lot of signage indicating the trails - blue, yellow, purple, etc. I think the trails fairly well marked, although as I was on the blue trail near the Etowah River (at the end of Reactor Rd), I noticed the blue tree markings abruptly ended. Not sure what was going on there. Horse trails are easier to follow, because, well ... horses. I can't believe I didn't know about this place before. Over the past three years or so (before I became obsessed with golf), I've made an effort to visit all the Atlanta regional hiking spots and I totally missed Dawson Forest. If you look on Google Maps, you'll see a very large and prominent green square denoting the Forest. Not sure how I missed that. I'm a big fan of wildlife and wilderness areas open to the public, and Dawson Forest is no exception. The history of the place adds interest. 5 stars

This review is for the Edge of the World hiking trail and park. It is in the Dawson forest as well…read more Parking is minimal (cars were parked on the main highway as well). Beautiful scenery and a boardwalk that runs next to the Amicalola Creek river. Flowers grow along the sides of the river, and there are benches along the way to sit and take it all in or enjoy a picnic. Boating/wading in the water/tubing are also options but there are big rocks jutting in the middle of the river near the boardwalk. Trails lead up and into the woods from the boardwalk...definitely my favorite part! It is a blue marked trail that runs a loop just under 3 miles. It's marked all along the way, and goes inland enough that you can enjoy the peace and quietude, along with changing landscape on a well paved dirt path that goes up and down. It's a good workout...I would call it an easy-to-moderate hike due to the hills and dirt path. Suggest downloading the All Trails app or finding a map so you have a reference during the hike, as it it quite windy and connects with the red/pink trail as well. There are signs for park fees but we didn't have to pay/there was nobody manning it and there was no gate (perhaps due to COVID or the holiday weekend?). Also a pretty drive from the city to

Main Street Park offers a great green space to enjoy inside the city of Dawsonville. There are…read moreconcerts, car shows, craft festivals and community events here almost every weekend. It has plenty of parking and wheelchair access to so many places. Great job.

This large park is located behind the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame. It was a nice break after a…read morechili dog from the cookout to walk around as the park has over 1.1 miles of paved trails that has benches all along. Lots of goings on here including a playground with a wheelchair-accessible swing, 9-hole disc golf course "Shiners 9" and cornhole boards. Three picnic pavilions with charcoal grills are available to reserved through City Hall. Fitness stations, dog park and more features are coming! Very cool park and well worth a stop when you're in Dawsonville. [Review 20353 overall - 688 in Georgia - 1331 of 2023.]

This review is for the dog park. I live in Gainsville, while there is a dog park at Laurel Park, we…read morehave been there twice and both times we were the only ones there. I took the initiative and dis further research, and found that this is the next closest dog park. We were here at 6:10ish and there were around 3 or 4 dogs there at the time. As the night progressed, there were over 10 dogs at the park. The people are decently friendly and they are also accepting for the little dogs to join the big dogs, even though there are two sections. Let's be honest, what's the point of dog park if there is no dog to socialize with? No water source here so you have to bring your own. There are a few benches and chairs to sit on. The part that I don't like is it gets super buggy in the summer. Put on some serious bug spray and make sure you wear long pants. There is a bathroom in the hall office and a playground for kids at this park.

Mulberry Creek Park is primarily a community center housing two popular basketball courts, indoor…read morerunning/ walking track, dance/ art rooms and a small gym (with weight machines & cardio equipment) that can be accessed by paying a small fee. The outside amenities consist of a playground and two enclosed dog play areas (large and small dogs respectively). Access to outside areas is free and available for use from dawn to dusk. I primarily use the dog parks and I wish more people would allow their pooches to play here. The best time to find playmates for fido is on weekdays between 4:30-6:30 pm. I mostly see large dogs here. Access to the building is fee based and staffed by park employees during the following hours: M-Th 7am- 9pm Sat 10 am- 5 pm hours. CLOSED on Sunday Safe for the whole family.