F.D. Roosevelt State Park, Pine Mountain, GA
Dowdell's Knob Trail, Mountain Creek Trail and Pine Mountain Trail
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LOCATION:
2970 GA Hwy 190 Pine Mountain, GA 31822 PHONE: 706-663-4858 Stables: 706-628-7463 Reserve: (800) 864-7275 RATES: $5 entry fee or yearly pass Camping $25 - $28 Cottages $90 - $135 CHECK IN/OUT:Check in at 1pm/Check out at 11am ACCESS: Office 8 am-5 pm Park: 7 am - 10 pm MAPS: Yes at Trading Post SITES: 109 sites, 16 backcountry sites and 21 cottages PULL THRUS: Yes WATERFRONT: Yes PICNIC SHELTERS: Yes SITE SURFACE: Gravel HOOK-UPS: Water; 30/50 amp WIFI: No CABLE: No SEWER: No BATH/LAUNDRY: Yes DUMP STATION: Yes SHADE TREES: Yes POOL: Yes BOAT RAMP: No FEATURES: Small Lake and can rent flat bottom boats. 40 miles of hiking trails 20 miles of Horseback Riding trails. RANKING: 8 due to no wifi or cable PET FRIENDLY: Yes NOTES: No cell reception due to park being down in a valley NEARBY ATTRACTIONS Callaway Gardens Pine Mountain Wild Animal Pk Roosevelt's Little White House State Historic Site |
This park is Georgia's largest state park covering 9,049 acres and a haven for hiker's and backpacker's. There are more than 40 miles of trails, including the popular 23-mile Pine Mountain Trail. Visitors are surprised to find rolling mountains just 80 miles from Atlanta. Pine Mountain is on the southern-most edge of the Appalachian Mountain range.
Several structures within the park were built by Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression. Above Kings Gap is Dowdell's Knob, Roosevelt's favorite picnic spot. A life-size sculpture of President Roosevelt welcomes visitors to the overlook. We camped here in July, 2013 and found the sites were very shady and most of them are pull-throughs. There are just a few on the lake but several have lake views. The camp was clean and well-kept with friendly camp hosts to give a helping hand if needed. The front entrance to the park is on Hwy 190 to check in and then 2 miles to the campsites. There is also a back entrance on Hwy 354 just past the #5 camping area. Camping areas #1 and #2 face Lake Delanor. The cottages also face Lake Delanor and are very secluded in the woods. We camped in section 5 away from the lake and a little less crowded. It seemed to be the quiet side of the park. We enjoyed riding our bikes around the park and hiking the Mountain Creek Trail. Unfortunately it rained all five days but we still had fun camping and meeting other campers. We made a day trip to Callaway Gardens to bike ride and enjoy the park. Callaway Gardens is only 4 miles from FDR Park. Warm springs is also close by for visiting The Little White House or shop in the small town. FDR State Park is one of 5 state parks in Georgia that have horse trails. Guided trail rides are available for the whole family or feel free to bring your own horses and enjoy the trails. Primitive overnight horse camping and stall rentals are also available. For a minimal fee and current coggins you can enjoy riding the 20 miles of trails. The Dowdell's Knob Trail is a mile-long one-way nature trail and blazed light blue. The nature markers end at a waterfall near Brown Dog bluff with a couple options for returning to the trail head. The Mountain Creek Trail is a 3.2 mile loop and blazed red. It begins behind the Trading Post and is well marked. This trail is hilly and crosses over several streams. Part of the trail goes through the campground. The Pine Mountain Trail is rated one of the best systems in Georgia and is maintained by the Pine Mountain Trail Association. This trail is for both day hikes and overnight hikes. The trail system contains almost 40 miles and a map can be purchased at the park office. The trail starts at the park entrance off Highway 27 across from Callaway Gardens Country Store and ends at the WJSP TV Tower on Highway 85W. This is a distance of 23 miles. The main trail is indicated by a BLUE blaze. All side trails and loop connections are indicated by WHITE blazes.There are six loops along the Pine Mountain Trail. Any of these make a good day hike. The six loops of the Pine Mountain Trail are: 1) Mountain Creek Nature Trail is a 3.2 mile loop blazed red. This is one of the less strenuous hikes and starts at the Trading Post in the main camping area. 2) Dowdell's Knob Loop is 4.3 miles and can be accessed from the Knob parking area. the main trail is blue blazed. 3) Wolfden Loop is 6.7 miles and is a beautiful stretch of trail and very popular. There are two entry points. One is to park at the TV tower parking area and the other at the mile 18 parking area on Highway 190. 4) Longleaf Loop is 6.9 miles and has the most trail connections in the system. A map is highly recommended. There are six highway crossings and one on the campground road, for a total of seven paved road crossings. It has at least five trail connections that you must make. 5) Big Poplar Loop is 7.87 miles and is the longest loop and a favorite of most hikers. It has a number of rock formations and creeks to cross. There are two entry points: one at the mile 6 parking area on Highway 190 and also on 190 at the mile 11 parking area. 6) Overlook Loop is 3.4 miles and the newest loop to be added to the trail system. the most convenient parking is across from the Callaway Country Store, and another is art the Gardens Overlook on Highway 190. DIRECTIONS :
Located just off I-185 near Callaway Gardens, west of Warm Springs on GA Route 190 or south of Pine Mountain off U.S. Hwy 27.               |
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