Hike Location: Vogel State Park
Geographic Location: south of Blairsville, GA (34.76617, -83.92358)
Length: 5.9 miles
Difficulty: 8/10 (Moderate/Difficult)
Date Hiked: June 2019
Overview: Two loops, one long and hard to a high overlook,
and one short and easy around Lake Trahlyta to Trahlyta Falls.
Park Information: https://gastateparks.org/Vogel
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=751665
Photo Highlight:
Directions to the trailhead: From Blairsville, drive
south on US 19 for 10.2 miles to the signed park entrance on the right. Turn right to enter the park, and pay the
small park entrance fee. Drive the main
park road 0.4 miles to the Visitor Center.
Park in the Visitor Center parking lot or in the larger lot across the
road beside Lake Trahlyta.
The hike: Established
in 1931, Vogel State Park is the second oldest state park in Georgia and one of
two original state parks in Georgia’s state park system (the other being Indian Springs State Park). The depression-era
Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) built many of the park’s structures including
the dam that forms the park’s lake, Lake Trahlyta. The park’s location at the base of Blood
Mountain, the highest point on Georgia’s section of the Appalachian Trail,
keeps temperatures regionally cool even during the summer. The park is named for August H. Vogel and
Fred Vogel, Jr., who donated the 233 acres to form the park.
Vogel State Park offers several
excellent amenities, including a 103-site developed campground, 35 cabins,
fishing and swimming in Lake Trahlyta, a mini-golf course, and 18 miles of
trails. The park has three main hiking
trails: the 1 mile Trahlyta Lake Trail, the 4.3 mile Bear Hair Gap Trail, and
the 12.9 mile Coosa Backcountry Trail.
With more than a mile of vertical rise, the long and rugged Coosa
Backcountry Trail is best hiked as a multi-day backpack. The other two trails could be hiked
independently, but they combine to form a manageable 5.9 mile barbell-shaped
route. Such is the hike described here.
To do the harder loop first, this
hike starts with the Bear Hair Gap Trail.
From the lakeside parking lot, walk southwest past the Visitor Center along
the asphalt road that leads through the cabin area to the park’s
campground. After 0.25 miles of road
walking, you reach the signed trailhead for the Byron Reece, Bear Hair Gap, and
Coosa Backcountry Trails on the right.
There is nowhere to park at the trailhead, so anyone who hikes any of
these three trails has to start with a road walk. This parking arrangement seems suboptimal,
but it is what it is.
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| Vogel State Park trailhead |
The common entrance trail climbs a
few stone steps before beginning a gradual ascent with cascading Burnett Branch
downhill to the left. Maple trees
dominate the forest at this elevation, and even though some pine trees appear
in the forest this hike would be a nice fall leaf peeping hike. At 0.4 miles, the signed Byron Herbert Reece
Trail exits right. The Byron Herbert
Reece Trail forms a short but moderately steep 0.8 mile loop, and it makes a
nice add-on if you want some more forest hiking after completing the Bear Hair
Gap Trail. Continue straight to remain
on the combined Bear Hair Gap and Coosa Backcountry Trail.
After passing a wooden overlook
platform that overlooks nothing in particular and crossing Burnett Branch, a
gradual climb brings you to a major trail intersection. The unmarked trail going left leads to the
campground, and the trails going straight and right form the loop portion of
the Bear Hair Gap Trail. To make the
climbing a little easier, this description turns right here and uses the trail
going straight as its return route, thus hiking the loop counterclockwise.
 |
| Trail intersection |
After only a couple hundred more
feet, the Bear Hair Gap and Coosa Backcountry Trails part ways just after you
exit Vogel State Park and enter Chattahoochee National Forest. You need to angle softly left here to stay on
the Bear Hair Gap Trail. The trail
markings here can be confusing. The Bear
Hair Gap Trail is marked with painted green diamonds and the Coosa Backcountry
Trail is marked with painted green rectangles, but the corners on some of the
diamonds are rubbing off, thus making them look like rectangles. Fortunately, a brown carsonite post bearing
the number 110, the national forest’s designation for the Bear Hair Gap Trail,
also sits at this intersection.
 |
| Climbing toward Vogel Overlook |
For the next 1.5 miles the wide
single-track dirt and rock trail climbs on a moderate to steep grade as it
gains just over 700 vertical feet of elevation.
Three small creeks are crossed via bridge or rock hop, but the wet areas
around them may make the crossings more comfortable if you are wearing
waterproof boots. At 1.8 miles, you
reach the signed spur trail for the Vogel Overlook. Turn left to reach the overlook.
One final steep section brings you
to the overlook. The view from the
east-facing overlook is somewhat encumbered by trees, but even during the leafy
months Lake Trahlyta is visible almost 900 feet below. On a clear day, Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia, is visible to the east. You have earned these views, so take some
time, have a trail snack, and see what you can see.
 |
| View from Vogel Overlook |
Continuing around the Bear Hair Gap
Trail’s loop, a pleasant section of sidehill trail ensues as the trail
maintains a near constant elevation with the hillside dropping to your left and
Slaughter Mountain rising to your right.
Large amounts of paw paw and sassafras grow in the understory up
here. At 2.6 miles, you rock hop rhododendron-choked
Wolf Creek just before the Coosa Backcountry Trail re-enters from the
right. Stay left to remain on the
combined Bear Hair Gap and Coosa Backcountry Trails.
The next 0.3 miles is a steep rocky
descent that loses over 250 feet of elevation.
The trail weaves around several cabin-sized boulders, and the terrain is
scenic but rugged. Just past 3 miles, you
cross Wolf Creek again, this time just below a small waterfall.
 |
| Descending through boulders |
After some equally steep but less
rocky descending, you cross from the national forest back into the state
park. Some picnic shelters and the state
park campground can be seen downhill and through the trees to the right. The last mile of the loop is a rolling course
that traces the base of Slaughter Mountain, which rises to the left and falls
to the right.
At 4.1 miles, you close the
loop. Retrace your steps down the
entrance trail to the park road, then turn left on the park road to return to
the lakeside parking lot that contains your car at 4.7 miles, thus completing
the first loop and your tour of the park’s backcountry. To also see the park’s developed area around
Lake Trahlyta, consider adding on the Trahlyta Lake Trail, which forms a 1 mile
loop around its namesake lake and offers a short spur to an attractive
waterfall.
 |
| Trailhead: Trahlyta Lake Trail |
The Trahlyta Lake Trail starts at a
signed trailhead at the southeast end of the lakeside parking area. The trail crosses a wooden bridge over the
main stream that feeds Lake Trahlyta to reach a picnic shelter, where the trail
curves left to begin following the southeast bank of Lake Trahlyta. The park road stays very close on the right,
and a wooden boardwalk carries you over a wet area.
|
| Blood Mountain behind Lake Trahlyta |
5.2 miles into the hike, you reach
the lake’s dam and spillway area. Looking
to the left across the lake provides this park’s signature view of Blood
Mountain behind Lake Trahlyta. The
overlook you stood at an hour or so ago also stands above the lake’s opposite
shore. Signs warn against descending the
steep and slippery dam and spillway, so make sure you stay on the trail.
Just after crossing the spillway,
the signed spur trail to Trahlyta Falls exits right. The spur trail descends on a gradual to
moderate grade to reach an observation platform near the base of Trahlyta
Falls. Moderate volumes of water cascade
for 35 feet over numerous rock layers, and the falls sound as pleasant as they
look.
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| Trahlyta Falls |
Back on the Trahlyta Lake Trail, the
trail drops off the dam and passes very close to a water treatment plant and SR
180 on the right. The last segment of
the trail follows a sewer line as it passes through a stand of holly. The trail comes out at the end of the park’s
cabin road. A short road walk with the
park’s swimming area on the left completes the loop of Lake Trahlyta and
returns you to the lakeside parking area for a second and final time.
This post is not only nice but also very informative. I like to read the information about Trahlyta Falls and lake because it looks like an exciting tour.
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