Georgia Camping Trip 2007

Fernandina Beach Florida and Ft. Clinch State Park
I highly recommend a visit to both the town and the state park; although the beach was very disappointing
because of the 3 foot diameter dredge pipe that ran the length of the beach right at the breakers.

Elijah Clark State Park near Lincolnton Georgia on Clark's Hill Reservoir
I recommend camping at this state park. It is very beautiful, kayaking was excellent and cycling on the
South Carolina side in Hickory Knob State Park is most excellent.

Moccasin Creek State Park near Clayton Georgia on Lake Burton Reservoir
I recommend this campground only as a kayaker because I was able to get on the lake.
Otherwise, this is a congested campground will little else to do.

Little Ocmulgee State Park near McRae Georgia
I recommend this park for its inn and restaraunt although I would not drive out of the way to get to it.
It has a golf course too if you are in to that kind of thing.
There was nothing for cycling or kayaking as the lake is choked with hydrilla.

This photo album constitues the bulk of the high resolution pictures I took on my (Clark) 5-day camping trip up to Georgia. A complete travel log of the whole event can be found in Travel Journals website at Redwolf Traveljournal under the journal entitled "A tornado through Georgia". The agenda included these campgrounds and cities: Fernandina Beach Florida and Ft. Clinch State Park I highly recommend a visit to both the town and the state park; although the beach was very disappointing because of the 3 foot diameter dredge pipe that ran the length of the beach right at the breakers. Elijah Clark State Park near Lincolnton Georgia on Clark's Hill Reservoir I recommend camping at this state park. It is very beautiful, kayaking was excellent and cycling on the South Carolina side in Hickory Knob State Park is most excellent. Moccasin Creek State Park near Clayton Georgia on Lake Burton Reservoir I recommend this campground only as a kayaker because I was able to get on the lake. Otherwise, this is a congested campground will little else to do. Little Ocmulgee State Park near McRae Georgia I recommend this park for its inn and restaraunt although I would not drive out of the way to get to it. It has a golf course too if you are in to that kind of thing. There was nothing for cycling or kayaking as the lake is choked with hydrilla.
From Orlando to Fernandina Beach, I stopped off at the World Golf Hall of Fame complex just to see what it was all about. This is just south of Jacksonville; although it is in St. John's county. If you like golfing, this is the place. I doubt I could slip my kayak into any of the traps.	East Entry architecture was outstanding	This place is definitely a golfer's paradise	Main drag into the complex is pristine
Passing through Jacksonville Florida, I took some time to explore the downtown. Jacksonville is the oldest big city in Florida with businesses and buildings that pre-date nearly all the other metropolises. I found its grand train station which has since been converted and integrated into their convention facilities.	Approaching Jacksonville	Jacksonville Train Station	Ft Clinch State Park
Ft Clinch State Park is Florida's furtherest northeast point which is really Amelia Island and the town of Fernandina Beach for which the town part is really on the Amelia River facing west. The town is qaint and reminds me of a small version of Galviston Texas.	Cannons at Ft. Clinch	Interior area of Ft Clinch	Giant cannons facing the open waters
The fort sits on the northern tip of the island, set off from the Atlantic but ideally positioned to protect the St. Mary's narrow access to the mainland. That week, the Atlantic had this relentless east-to-west wind that made kayaking anywhere not save.	Headquarter building at Ft. Clinch	Cumberland Sound view from Ft. Clinch	Detail in stairwell at Ft. Clinch
Fort's view of open waters	Fort's view of western dunes	View of land side from Fort's entry	Ft Clinch beach Atlantic side
Ft. Clinch pier and angry Atlantic	Floatsom off Ft. Clinch pier	Amelia campground site 51	Ft Clinch 2-mile park drive
Ft. Clinch State Park has miles of cycling opportunities including an ATB course that parallels the main drive. Outside the park, the town of Fernandina is only a couple of miles away and has lots of great cycling through shaded streets.	Winding park road for 2 miles	Egan's creek and marsh	Weathered tree stump
Watching the sunset over Egan's Creek	Sunset into the lighthouse	Appling County courthouse	Santa Clause Georgia
Methodist Church	Elijah State Park Campsite	View from campsite of Clark's Hill Reservior - low water	Ready for morning kayak ride
Elijah Clark State Park has a bounty of campsites on the waters edge. The water was low because of the recent droughts, but not as extreme as north Georgia. The water is pristine although the hydrilla had taken over its shoreline. These views look across the Savannah River to South Carolina	On the water and heading toward South Carolina	The orange strata along the lake	The solitude of a forested cove
Hickory Knob State Park - Residence	Dry lake at Clark's Hill Reservior	At Hickory Knob State Park	About 6 miles of cycling in Hickory Knob
Golf course at Hickory Knob	All loaded up with toys ready to move on	Park Entrance - Highly Recommended Camping	Lake Burton from Moccasin Creek Park
Tallulah Gorge Georgia, between Clayton and Clarksville, is quite the unique geological aberration. In the foothills of Northeast Georgia, U.S. 441 / 23 take you within a stones throw of a chasim so uncharacteristic of its viewable topology. In fact, you really cannot see the gorge because of the tree cover and the narrowness of its earthly scar. It is worthy of any amount of time you might have to stop in and take in a few of its views only a couple of hundred feet from the visitor's center. The best option is to take the stairs all the way down to the 400 foot bottom and loop around to the other side. Young bucks could even try their mettle at walking the river at the bottom, but you have to get a permit at the center. The visitor's center itself is worthy of time as it includes history, geology, biology and Georgia Power's role in the park and the series of dams within the river's path.
Tallulah Gorge	Tallulah Falls	Tallulah Gorge lookout	Tallulah Gorge Cable bridge
Tallulah Gorge, under bridge	Watta view	Tallulah Gorge, at bottom	Tallulah Gorge, hikers crossing
Tallulah Gorge, sheer walls	Tallulah Gorge, looking up	Tallulah Gorge	Tallulah Gorge, panoramic
Interior - Tallulah Vistor Center	Moccasin Creek State Park is about 15 to 20 minutes west of Clayton and sits right on Lake Burton. The Lake is fabulous, the campground is extremely clean and orderly; but they have about 60 sites on what appears to be 2 acres and only about 160 foot on the lakefront.	Lake Burton, open waters	Cutesy Boathouse
Lake Burton, homes along shore	Lake Buron, mountain in distance	Lake Burton, Headin' home	Lake Burton, could I afford this
Leaving Moccasin Creek before 7:30 AM	From Moccasin Creek State Park I drove to Clayton and then headed directly south on U.S. 441. From Dublin to McRae I found Little Ocmulgee River State Park which has a golf course, a nice Inn and Restaurant, camping and lake side recreation.	U.S. 441 between Dublin and McRae	Ocmulgee Campsite
References to above parks Ft. Clinch State Park Elijah Clark State Park Hickory Knob State Park Moccasin Creek State Park Little Ocmulgee State Park Tallulah Gorge State Park	References to above places World Golf Hall of Fame Jacksonville Train Station History Georgia's High Tech Corridor Santa Clause Georgia Lakes of Georgia Power