View Full Version : access to springer
arrowdog
07-16-2013, 20:53
My family and I are going to Disney (Orlando). I was wondering about stopping at Springer on the drive home to Michigan. I know my family is not interested in doing the long approach trail. Is there a shorter approach? How far a drive is it from I-75?
Trebor66
07-16-2013, 21:00
Its roughly a hour and a half drive. There is a Forest Service road that will take you to a parking lot. From there its a fairly easy .9 mile walk to the top of Springer Mtn. where the AT starts.
There is a beautiful lodge in Amicalola State Park that you can stay in.
max patch
07-16-2013, 21:06
When you get N of Atlanta near the town of Kennesaw I75 interesects with I575. You will take I575 (it eventually changes to 515) for 60 miles to Ellijay. When you reach Ellijay you'll have close to 20 miles on county roads (only a couple turns) and then 6 miles on an excellent forest service road. This puts you at a large parking area which is 1 mile N of Springer.
If you decide to go we can give you turn by turn detailed directions.
That service road max patch is talking about can be slick in wet weather. My wife (who is an admitted wuss) refuses to travel up the sr42 route. If I were taking a young family up that way I would take them to the falls and let them climb the stairs and enjoy the state park. There is nothing at springer but a plaque and trees.
slbirdnerd
07-17-2013, 08:07
But, if you get to the USFS 42 parking lot, the hike to the southern terminus is pretty easy. The road was in pretty good shape in June.
arrowdog
07-27-2013, 18:05
We just got back home from our trip to Disney/Springer. I took the advice from a couple of you. We stayed the night at the Amicalola Lodge and went to the falls. The next morning, we drove to the parking area on SF 42. The road was fine, we saw some of our military doing training on the way. The hike to the top of Springer was pretty easy. So last summer we camped at Pine Grove in Pa and hiked to the halfway point. Now i've been to the beginning. Next summer I am going to start filling in the miles between.
The lodge at Amicalola was really nice. The view was incredible. I wouldn't recommend the restaurant. Way overpriced with average food and subpar service.
Trebor66
07-27-2013, 20:14
Glad you made the trip and enjoyed the lodge. I agree with you about the restaurant.
I thought the breakfast at the restaurant was pretty good. Didn't do the lunch or dinner there.
slbirdnerd
07-28-2013, 09:36
Glad you had a great trip! Happy hiking!