Madison, Georgia

Up and went: Madison Map

From Madison GA

Occasionally, my most frequent traveling companion and I just pick a place and go, hoping for the best. The adventure is fun in itself and often it turns out well. My companion has a thing for old houses of the grand variety so we picked Madison, Georgia a little while ago as our destination. Sitting about an hour East of Atlanta, its a nice place for a day trip.



Now this is the city which has been called “the prettiest small town in America” and the “town Sherman refused to burn,” so we knew we weren’t taking the hugest risk with our time. We stopped at the Madison Visitor Center, and were able to pick up a free Walking Tour guide of Madison (Video here ). As I like to get exercise in my pastimes, we walked the 1.4 mile path looking at some very nice houses and old buildings. The path is an unequal figure 8, walking mainly down Main Street and Academy Street.

From Madison GA

According to the brochure, oldest structure is either the Stagecoach House, the Rogers House and Rose Cottage, or Heritage Hall (dated c.1810, c.1810 & c.1811 respectively. The walk boasts two dozen buildings which predate the Civil War, and several more built before the turn of the 20th Century. The architecture varied from Queen Anne to Romanesque to Greek Revival, but also included a few pragmatic true Georgia structures like the Livery Stable (c.1895) or Calvary Baptist Church (c.1833). I enjoyed stretching my legs and taking photos, while my friend gawked at the buildings.




Now aside from the historic walking tour, the Madison County Downtown District boasts the typical stuff you would expect from a small Georgia town. It has the little boutiques and antiques stores. It has a few places to eat (We had stopped about 25 minutes away at the Blue Willow Inn in Social Circle), so I can’t tell you anything about the food. There was some restaurant or bar converted from an old bank (the Ye Olde Colonial), that looked both interesting and closed. Madison does boast one thing of interest, which is incredibly unique, the Bruce Wiener Micro Car Museum , which is supposed to have the largest collection of microcars (cars with 700c motors or less, you‘d know one if you saw one) in the world. Unfortunately, for us, the day we went the place was close for a private function. Later that day, we were treated to some bluegrass music at one of the stores just off the square.




So that’s my little story about Madison, Georgia. Is it the prettiest small town in America? Well, I haven’t seen them all, but it is very nice. If you’re into Antebellum homes, it’s a can’t miss destination. I will probably go back to see the Microcar Museum later or possible to tour the insides of the homes around Christmastime.

Trail Essentials
Approximate Time: 45-60 minutes
Approximate Distance: 1.5 miles
Trail Surface: Sidewalks
Features: Antebellem Buildings
Overall Rating:
Scenic Quality: A-
Athleticism: C-
Solitude: B-
Value: B
Parking: Free on the Square
Hours of Operation:
Maps: Available at Welcome Center

Pine Mountain

Dowdell’s Knob & the Wolfden Loop Map [Trailhead]

From Pine Mountain

One of our favorite pastimes is to head to the mountains. Most often that means driving our automobiles North from Atlanta, but there is a terrific mountain, a mountain so nice that it was the favorite spot of one of the greatest Presidents of the United States of America. This place, less than an hour and a half South of Atlanta is Pine Mountain, which stands majestically as the center point of Georgia’s Largest State Park, Franklin Delano Roosevelt State Park in Pine Mountain, Georgia .


Pine Mountain rises 1395 feet high on the East Side of the park. For those who want the view without the work, this is a driving summit much like Fort Mountain . The best place for a panoramic valley view, was FDR’s picnic spot, known as Dowdell‘s Knob . As this is the highest point on the mountain, there is a spectacular view of the valley below. Also, at the spot, is the President’s Barbecue Pit and statue of the former President, sitting serenely on his removable car seat. It is notable for two reasons. First, it is probably the only representation of the great man that shows his leg braces. And secondly, the way its made allows one to sit next to the President in a way that makes conversation almost seem possible. This transports one to a place that helps a person truly get the sense of National History the beauty of Georgia helped shape.


The hiking here is very good also. The park contains the 23 mile Pine Mountain Trail . For day hikers, the place to go is at the far East side of the Park, near the Warm Springs side entrance. It begins at a small parking lot right next to the WJSP-TV tower. The loop itself utilizes a portion of the Pine Mountain Trail (counting backwards from Mile Marker 23 to 18) and doubles back on the Beaver Dam Trail for a total of 6.7 miles. If your looking for a shorter hike the walk from the lot to the Wolf’s Den and back would make a 4.4 mile round trip.


On the way, there are several pretty, but not too large waterfalls. Csonka Falls might be about 4 feet, Big Rock Falls maybe 6, and Slippery Rock Falls somewhere between the two in height. Just at the Wolf’s Den you can see Cascade falls which stands about 10 feet and falls into a shallow pool. Just because they are small, I don’t want to suggest they are anything but pleasant. From there you can climb up to the Wolf’s Den, and further on there is a Beaver Dam and some nice vista views. The trail is rocky in parts with some patches of steep climbing, but mostly compact soil. Taken in totality, especially when you factor in the distance, I would place the hike at the high side of moderate (or maybe the low end of difficult) for the casual hiker.


FDR Park makes for nice day out, and considering the size could easily be spaced into a multiple day jaunt. It’s minutes away from Warm Springs and the little White House; literally across the street from Callaway Gardens, and just down the road from Pine Mountain, Georgia (We had some nice Ice Cream at Sage‘s Soda Fountain there, Blue Bell , I believe). The parking cost is the standard state park $5 day fee, which makes for an affordable day trip,


Trail Essentials
WOLF DEN LOOP ONLY
Approximate Time: 4 hours
Approximate Distance: 6.7mi
Trail Surface: Compact Soil, Rocks,
Features: Small Waterfalls, Riverside Walk, Wolf’s den, Scenic Views, historical significance, Beaver Dam.
Overall Rating:
Scenic Quality: A
Athleticism: A
Solitude: A
Value: A
Parking: $5 (Sept 2008)
Hours of Operation:
Facilities: at Visitor center and throughout, not on Trails
Maps: Available at Visitor center, not the best trail map, but the trails are well marked
County: Harris County

Raven Cliffs Falls

Hidden Falls near Helen map

From Raven Cliffs Falls

After a hard rain, my little group has a thing for waterfalls, and we’ve been to many. There was an interesting one a few miles from Helen, Ga, about 2 hours North of Atlanta. The intrigue for me is that I was told that its kind of difficult to get a good photograph there. You see the falls is literally wedged in a split in a granite rock outcropping, making it a little difficult to get to and to see, let alone photograph. If you didn’t already know I am speaking of Raven Cliffs Falls.

Situated a scant 6 miles from Helen, Ga on the Richard Russell Scenic Highway (75), it attracts a lot of people, especially on weekends and holidays. So you have to give a little on the Thoreau Ideal of Solitude on this one. We counted better than 50 fellow travelers the day we went. But, the payoff at the end is well worth this moderate compromise on your peace and quiet because the payoff is worth this sacrifice. You can also rest assured that if there’s an actual problem, someone will be along shortly to help.

The trail is listed as moderate to difficult in some sources, and I think this is over blowing it a little. True, the real novice hiker might be challenged by the 2.5 mile trek to the falls, and we saw a number of young children couldn’t make the complete journey, seeing that a full trip is a healthy five miles. And for the best watershows, you know you are going to be slogging through a muddy trail after the rain. But take heart: our crew is not in that great of shape and the full trip was definitely manageable. But it’s a very enjoyable walk along Dodd Creek with several preliminary falls to pass the time, some of which rival the final show.

That being said, don’t over exert yourself on the trail. The first 2.4 miles I would rate as a mild moderate jaunt, but the last, and most important tenth of a mile is a fairly steep incline in order to actually see the origin of Raven Cliffs Falls. And the more daring sort might just want to climb the rocks to a point above the falls. And then you still have to make it back to your car.

The falls fall about 60 feet through a crevice that can’t be any bigger than 12 feet across, and where the water actually lands is out of sight. It then curls through the granite outcrop and feeds the creek you’ve enjoyed along the way. I would recommend trying to get as high as possible along the granite wall, first to get the best view of the falls, but also to enjoy a birdseye view of the creek and the ravine.



Trail Essentials
Approximate Time: 3 hours
Approximate Distance: 5 miles
Trail Surface: compact soil
Features: Riverside walk, small waterfalls and cascades, rock outcroppings, major waterfall
Overall Rating: B+
Scenic Quality: A-
Athleticism: B+
Solitude: C-
Value: B+
Parking: Free
Hours of Operation: Daylight hours
Facilities: there is a bathroom at the trailhead but it was locked the day we went
Maps: Marked Trail, a straight in and out, with no side trails
County: White County