Visitor Center

Our new Amicalola Falls State Park Visitor Center offers Southern hospitality and a whole lot more for the 350,000 annual visitors to the park.

The new Center, which opened in late 2023, is a must-see for everyone who visits the park. For some visitors, this center is perfect for buying walking sticks and T-shirts, and learning more about the park’s history and wildlife. For others, it may be their last immersion in a civilized place for days or weeks as they walk on from here and out into the open wilderness. Behind the Visitor Center, hikers can see the stone arch marking the unofficial beginning of the approach trail to Springer Mountain, the southern terminus of the 2,190+ long Appalachian Trail which is a continuous footpath that leads to Mt. Katahdin, Maine.

Inside, many park programs start here or are held in their entirety, and sign-up for activities can be done at the Visitor Center (as well as online).

A few highlights at the Visitor Center:

Get a latte at The Falls Café and enjoy morning coffee with friends on the back patio.
Explore the Appalachian Trail’s history and experiences in a room dedicated to telling this story. An interactive exhibit lights up the AT shelters along Georgia’s part of the trail which extends nearly 80 miles.
Browse other exhibits that detail North Georgia’s 150-ish year history of moonshine making – through Prohibition – and how we savor it legally now.
Push buttons to hear wildlife sounds and bird songs and calls to familiarize yourself with local animals you may see on the trails.

In addition to exhibit space, increased retail space, a coffee bar and improved parking, the new center houses a multi-purpose meeting room, offices, and new public restrooms.

The new Visitor Center, which replaced a building that operated for 50 years, was largely funded through a $2.5 million Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Program “Conserve Georgia Grant” approved by the Georgia Outdoor Stewardship Trust Fund Board of Trustees, Board of Natural Resources, and the Appropriations Subcommittees of the Georgia House of Representatives and Senate over Georgia DNR’s budget. Additionally, financial support and contributions were given by The Appalachian Trail Conservancy, The Georgia Appalachian Trail Club, Friends of Amicalola Falls State Park, Len Foote Hike Inn Board, and others.

The Adventure Begins Today! 706-344-1500