Fall Hike Georgia On The Laurel Ridge Trail

On this edition of the photo blog I will be putting up pictures of my hike yesterday on the Laurel Ridge Trail at Buford Dam. This was the first hike of a sub-group of Hike Georgia that would like to do outings during the week, mainly on Thursdays. I said in the quick blog it was eight or (nine with Pete), but was actually 10 people (once again Pete says it is 11). Anyway, we completed the four miles in a little less than two hours. We didn’t hike across the footbridges at the Buford Dam area or on to the peninsula at the beach.

Overall it was a fun hike and a good leg stretcher. An interesting bit of information came from our Hike Leader Kelly that there is a trail that starts from the Chattahoochee River Boat Dock area, known as the Bowman’s Island Unit, and runs by the river. 

 

Map from the National Park Planner site.

From what I have seen from the National Park Planner site there are a number of hiking trails in the Bowman’s Island Unit. I might have to try these hikes in the winter.  Well, besides photos I am first going to do a Trail Guide Rating.

Laurel Ridge Trail @ Buford Dam

My Take:

For Difficulty – 2 Stars

For Trail Conditions – 5 Stars

For Views – 4 Stars

For Solitude – 1 Stars

Overall – I would say this is an underrated trail that includes scenic stretches at Lake Lanier and under Buford Dam where the Chattahoochee River reforms (called Bowman's Island Unit) as it heads toward Atlanta. The trail is wide and well maintained there is an elevation gain of 495 feet and the hike is more difficult if you go clockwise toward the lake. Also the mileage of the trail can be increased by hiking out to the beach peninsula or hiking to the Chattahoochee River boat ramp. There are plenty great views of the lake from multiple locations and overlooks. Some of the ones near and including the Upper Overlook need some work because there is not much of a view from these spots. The river side is just as nice as the lake part. On can also walk down to the Lower Overlook, for which the parking area is named, for more great view of Lake Lanier and the Buford Dam. All-in-all there is some really nice vistas on this hike. Since this is Lake Lanier solitude is hard to find, but I will say that there is a little more in winter than spring and especially summer.

Pete’s Take:

For Difficulty – ½ Rabbits Paws

For Trail Conditions – 5 Rabbits Paws

For Views – 4 Rabbits Paws

For Solitude – 0 Rabbits Paws

Overall – This is a good hike, but not very challenging for a hiker of my standing. I know I had to carry the Lummox on our hike, in the summer, because it was in the high 90’s with high humidity…what a pansy. The trail is well taken care of, but I prefer the fishing trails on the peninsula because they offer some challenge (once again I had to hear the Lummox whine about these). The views are nice, but I don’t really like water. As for solitude, don’t expect a lot. It is a little better in winter, but summer that beach is just crawling with kids.

Photos:

Fall colors are even coming to Buford Dam.

The view of the dam from the trail.

Hike Georgia group near the Upper Overlook.

On the Laurel Ridge Trail.

Buford Dam.

While I didn't get as close as in the past my old friends the goats where on the job.

On the trail near the Chattahoochee River.

There were still plenty of...

...wildflowers.

Footbridge on the trail.

Haw Cascade.

Purple Aster.

Baby Copperhead?

The footbridge between the overlooks...

...& the vista from it.

Fall colors showing.

Panorama of Lake Lanier, the water level is down.

More fall colors.

Deer track in the exposed sand.

One more Lake Lanier panorama.

One of the lake's island & a boat.

At the lake.

Panorama of Buford Dam from the Lower Overlook.

People were fishing.

Lake Lanier vista.

On the west side of the dam.

Aster.

The West Side Recreation Area.

West side panorama of Buford Dam.

West side vista.

Fall leaves on the west side trail.

That cool Sawnee Campground spot.