Chattahoochee National Forest: Ladyslipper Trail (Blog Hike #229)

Trail: Ladyslipper Trail

Hike Location: Chattahoochee National Forest, Nancytown Day Use Area

Geographic Location: southeast of Cornelia, GA (34.49904, -83.48375)

Length: 7.1 miles

Difficulty: 8/10 (Moderate/Difficult)

Dates Hiked: December 2007, November 2012

Overview: A semi-mountain hike featuring nice views in the winter and good wildflower displays in the spring.

Area Information: http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/conf/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=10490&actid=50
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=721632
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: Between Cornelia and Baldwin, take US 441 to Business US 441.  Go east (north) on Business US 441.  Take Business US 441 1.2 miles to Wyly Street.  Take a soft right on Wyly Street.  Wyly Street becomes Dicks Hill Parkway when you leave Cornelia.  Take Wyly Street/Dicks Hill Parkway 1.9 miles to Lake Russell Road and turn right on Lake Russell Road.  Take Lake Russell Road downhill to the Nancytown Lake entrance, and turn left to enter the recreation area.  Angle right where the road going left is gated.  This road ends at a blacktop parking lot above Nancytown Dam large enough for about 8 cars; park in this lot.

The hike: Tucked in a tight valley just south of Cornelia, the Lake Russell Recreation Area of the Chattahoochee National Forest contains not one but two lakes for recreation.  The area’s namesake lake, Lake Russell, is a 100-acre body of water that includes a 42-site campground, a grass beach, and numerous picnic areas.  Lake Russell’s smaller cousin, Nancytown Lake, lies just 2 miles upstream and is only 7 acres in size.  Both lakes offer good boating and trout fishing opportunities.

            Since the recreation area lies within the first few ridges in the Appalachian Mountain chain, the land contains an interesting mix of Piedmont flora and mountain flora.  Fortunately, three trails allow the hiker to explore the area in its natural state, and all three of these trails start near the Nancytown Dam.  The 4.6 mile Lake Russell Trail heads west along the south shore of Lake Russell, the 2.7 mile Sourwood Trail leads northeast to scenic Nancytown Falls, and the 6.2 mile Ladyslipper Trail leads over 1400-foot Red Root Mountain south of Nancytown Lake.  The Ladyslipper Trail is the trail described here, but combining any two of these three trails would make for a good full day of hiking.

            From the parking area, there is a 0.3 mile paved road hike required to reach the beginning of the Ladyslipper Trail.  Walk back out the entrance road, then turn right on the gated road (FR 591, though it is not signed on this end).  This paved road leads over a small bluff with tranquil Nancytown Lake visible downhill to the right. 

Nancytown Lake

            At the group camping area entrance, a sign directs you to turn right for the Ladyslipper Trail. Do so, cross a bridge with a small but pretty waterfall just upstream from the bridge, and reach the group camping area from which the Ladyslipper Trail begins.  There are also restrooms and some picnic tables at this area.

The Ladyslipper Trail begins by crossing Nancytown Creek on a wooden footbridge and curving right to tread above Nancytown Lake on your right.  Where a side trail exits right heading toward a picnic area, our trail curves left and soon begins the long and moderate to difficult ascent of Red Root Mountain.  This section of trail passes over numerous dirt waterbars built into the trail.  The waterbars make the hiking more difficult, but they prevent the trail from becoming badly eroded, so they are a net plus.

The trail climbs Red Root Mountain via a wide switchback, gaining about 340 feet of elevation in only 0.4 miles.  In the leafless months, views on the way up can be had down either side of the mountain, but the 1382 foot false summit (the actual summit is 20 feet higher and will be reached later) is encumbered by a grove of young pine trees and thus offers no views at all.  Once this point is attained, the hardest climb of the hike is behind you.

Ladyslipper Trail climbing Red Root Mountain

            The trail descends gradually from this false summit and, 1.1 miles from the parking area, angles left to begin following what appears to be an unmaintained fire road.  After following the road for 0.3 miles, the trail comes to a sign with two arrows on it, indicating you have reached the beginning of the loop portion of the hike.  The trail is a little easier to hike counterclockwise, so we will turn right off of the fire road now and use the left trail, which continues along the fire road, as the return route.

The trail begins a 250-foot descent into a deep ravine cut into the south side of Red Root Mountain.  The forest on this part of the mountain is some of the nicest most mature hardwood forest along this route.  At first the descent is gradual, but later it becomes moderate, and the last 200 feet are quite steep.  At the bottom of the hill, the trail takes a sharp right turn and weaves in and out of several ravines.

            At 2.3 miles, the trail leaves the mature hardwoods and enters a younger section of forest featuring young hardwoods mixed with pines.  The Southern Pine Beetle has done some heavy damage to this section of the forest to the extent that forest officials have cut down several stands of pines to halt the beetle’s spread.  Some of these areas have been selectively cut leaving a thin stand of small trees while others have been clear cut to create a grassy wildlife opening.  Although I hiked this trail on a cool, damp December afternoon, this would be a hot, sunny section of trail in the summer.  Also, make sure to watch for the blue blazes when hiking through the wildlife openings so you don’t lose the trail on the other side.

Trail descending south side of Red Root Mountain

            Horses are also allowed on this trail, and while their presence does not make a large impact compared to other bridle trails, some areas south of Red Root Mountain get a little muddy.  The muddy areas do not make the trail impassible; just step carefully and you should get through just fine.  At 2.8 miles, and just after passing through the first wildlife opening, the trail angles left and begins following gravel FR 92A.  The trail crosses a stream at the lowest point of the hike without the aid of a bridge (water only 1-3 inches deep during normal water levels) to reach a confusing intersection.  FR92A turns right and begins heading uphill, but our trail turns left, passes through a camping area, and continues through the young forest.  A blue sign with black arrow used to mark this turn, but it was missing upon my visit.

The trail climbs gradually, passes through another wildlife opening, crosses another shallow stream, and then begins the long climb up Red Root Mountain.  This climb is longer than the first one, but the south side of the mountain is not as steep as the north side.  At 4.7 miles, the trail intersects gravel FR 92, known locally at Red Root Road.  The trail does not cross FR 92, but takes a sharp left turn and continues climbing parallel to the road.

After another 0.25 miles, the trail intersects the road for a final time, then angles to the left for a short, steep section that leads to the 1402 foot summit of Red Root Mountain, the highest point of the hike.  Some pines block your view to the right, but views to the left (south) open up nicely at the summit.

Trail on unmaintained fire road

            Past this summit, the trail descends moderately and soon picks up the unmaintained fire road you used earlier.  After walking about 900 feet on the fire road, you arrive back at the sign with two arrows, signaling that the loop portion of the hike has closed.  Retrace your steps 0.8 miles downhill back to the trailhead and then 0.4 miles along paved roads to return to the parking area and complete the hike.