Fall Colors at F.D.R. - Wolfden, Dowdell Knob & Sunset Rock

Summary:
At 9,049 acres, Georgia's largest state park is a hiker's and backpacker's haven. More than 40 miles of trails, including the popular 23- mile Pine Mountain Trail, wind through hardwood and pines, over creeks and past small waterfalls. Many visitors are surprised to find rolling mountains 80 miles southeast of Atlanta. 

As the fall colors peak in Atlanta and begin to migrate south, this will be a good weekend to check out FDR's Pine Mountain just outside of Warm Springs, GA. The brilliant reds of maple, dark reds of the flowering dogwood, the yellow of the pignut hickory and various oak punctuated by the evergreen of broadleaf and shortleaf pine make the Pine Mountain Trail an exceptional hike from October into late November, when the leaves finally journey to the ground.

Details:
We will hike along 13 miles of the Pine Mountain Trail starting from the east end of the park. Along the way, we will hike through a variety of eco systems, past numerous small waterfalls, and across several areas ravaged by a spring tornado. The trail climbs in and out of the cool, damp bottomlands onto the drier, sunnier ridges. None of the climbs are excessively tiring, and switchbacks make up the longer ascents. The rewards are the impressive rocky ledges on the ridges and the cascades and waterfalls along the creeks. The tornado, which devastated 5.5 miles of trails, has also opened up several new vistas along the Dowdell Knob loop.

The first five miles will include the Wolfden Loop which is considered one of the most beautiful stretches of trail in the Southeast and is the most popular section of the PMT (Pine Mountain Trail). The Wolfden Loop includes land that was once part of a farm owned by President Roosevelt. This section of the hike will include a stop for an early lunch at Cascade Falls and the Wolf's Den. After a brief visit with Old Ferney, a Loblolly pine 14 feet in circumference, we will cross several small streams and head toward Rocky Point.

From Rocky Point, it is 3.5 miles to Dowdell Knob. This portion of the hike will take us across several ridges cleared by the April 27 tornados. The Pine Mountain Trail Association has since cleared and re-opened all the trails, but the aftermath is stunning. We will take another extended break at Dowdell Knob to enjoy the view of Pine Valley. This is where President Roosevelt enjoyed picnicking and pondering world affairs, while looking at the majestic views from this location.

From Dowdell Knob, the last 3.5 miles of our hike will follow the trail toward Castle Rock, along Bethel Creek, past Rock Garden and the Whiskey Still Campsite and then to Sunset Rock. From a small outcropping near the trail, Sunset Rock has views to the southwest and may be a good place to stop for a late afternoon break before heading back to the cars.

This is a shuttle hike, however, the road shuttle distance between the two trail-heads is only 5.5 miles (approx. 10 min). The last time I did this hike, we were back at the cars around 4:30 PM. If we finish at about the same time, we should be able to pick up the shuttle vehicles and drive just a very short distance up the road and watch the sunset from a nice overlook - sunset is at 5:39 p.m.

I plan to stop for dinner after the hike - most likely in Pine Mountain - as I'm sure that most of us will be quite hungry after we have completed the hike. If you are carpooling and do not plan to eat afterwards, you should plan to drive yourself, or else discuss it at the carpool and drive/ride with someone doing the same.

Although this is a D5 hike, at 12.7 miles with 2,200 feet of ascent, it falls on the easier end of a D5. So, if you have solid D4 hiking experience, then you should be fine on this hike.

We will begin the hike from the WJSP Tower Parking Lot in the FDR State Park.  From the intersection of Hwy 41/US 27 and Hwy Ga 85 in downtown Warm Springs, travel 3.3 miles south on US 27/85 and the parking lot will be on the right.

Share gas costs and parking fee with driver. The parking fee at FDR State Park is $5.00 per car unless you have a Georgia State Park Parking Pass.  If you have a State Park parking pass, please bring it with you whether driving your vehicle or not, so that it may be used by your carpool driver during the event.