During our week at Hamburg we took day trips to a few other nearby state parks. This was our first visit to these particular parks, but it won’t be our last. We were impressed. They have a good mix of history and recreation opportunities around a lake.
Mistletoe State Park
This park on the shores of Clarks Hill Lake (one of the largest lakes in the Southeast) is known for bass fishing, boating, and swimming. The park gets its name from nearby Mistletoe Corners, where locals gather to pick mistletoe during the holidays.
The park also features over 15 miles of forested hiking and biking trails and winding creeks. The numerous sandy beaches are beautiful sites.
Campground
I tend to like campgrounds at smaller state parks with a homey feel, but I appreciated the fact that half of the 93 campsites had very nice lake views on a scenic shoreline.
Cabins
Five of the park’s 10 cabins are log cabins with lovely lake views.
Pine Beetles
This park helped solve a mystery I noticed when traveling the back roads on this trip. During our travels this week I have noticed large swaths of clear cut trees along the highways. It did not look like typical pine tree harvesting or farm land clearing.
Mistletoe State Park had a similar situation and the sign about Pine Beetles prompted me to do a bit of internet sleuthing.
In 2024, Georgia pine trees, especially in the Piedment region, had the worst Southern Pine Beetle outbreak in a decade. The female beetles bore into the tree to lay eggs, the larvae burrow tunnels, and feed under bark. The resulting infestation kills the trees, and can spread quickly. For epidemic- level infestation, the impacted area plus a border of adjacent trees must be clear cut stop the spread.
Elijah Clark State Park
Named for frontiersman and revolutionary war hero Elijah Clark, the park offers a glimpse into revolutionary era history. The park is also popular with anglers and boaters because of the beautiful location on the shores of Clarks Hill Lake.
Elijah Clark homestead
Open seasonally, the historic Elijah Clark homestead was reconstructed in 1958 based on a description of the original home, with furniture, utensils, and tools appropriate to the period of the 1780s.
Dogtrot
In the venacular of the period, the house uses the dog trot architectural style where two separate living areas are joined under a central roof with a central, open-air breezeway (where dogs can trot through). The breezeway provides natural ventilation, cooling, and a shaded, comfortable gathering space.
If you look closely you can see the small defensive gun holes between the two windows.
Kitchen
Since they were fire hazards, kitchens during this period were in separate structures from the main house.
Picnic by the homestead
We enjoyed looking around Clark’s homestead, and then enjoyed a picnic of peanut butter and banana sandwiches with our new Elijah Clark koozie.
With the exception of Hamburg (where we camped on the lake) this was probably our favorite park of the ones we visited this week. I enjoyed thinking about Elijah Clark carving out a life from the wilderness and leading his neighbors in their quest for freedom.
Camping
169 tent, trailer & RV campsites have scenic lake views.
Cabins
Twenty very nice rental cottages are perched on the lake’s edge.
Elijah Clark history
One of Georgia’s few Georgia Revolutionary, Elijah Clark led a group of 30 pioneers to major patriot victories during the Revolutionary War after Georgia and most of South Carolina fell to the British. The state of Georgia rewarded this impoverished, illiterate frontiersman with a plantation and thousands of acres of land grants.
Graveyard
The graves of Clark and his wife Hannah were relocated when the lake was dammed.
A. H. Stephens State Park
This park was named for Alexander H. Stephens, the Vice President of the Confederate States of America, and a former Georgia governor.
Stephens was orphaned at 14 and lived with relatives for a time. Liberty Hall, Stephen’s simple two story white house, has been fully furnished and renovated to its 1875 style, and is open for tours.
Lakes
The visitor’s center is located beside a scenic lake.
Another lake is in the camping / cabin area.
Observation and Water Tower
The historic 60-foot observation tower stands in the center of the campground loop. It was built by the Civilian Conservation Core (CCC) in 1935 to monitor for wildfires and provide water.
CCC History Display
Joe hiked the 67 steps up the fire tower and took photos of the CCC museum inside. Joe’s great uncle served in the CCC during the Depression.
It is amazing how important Roosevelt’s New Deal and the CCC was in improving the infrastructure in many of our state parks and national parks.
View from Top
Cabins
There are four lake front cottages.
Campground
There are 25 campsites in the observation tower loop and 29 equestrian campsites with a horse barn in a separate area.
Robert Toombs House State Historic Site
In Georgia’s Piedmont region, between Augustus and Athens, lies Washington GA, which served for a brief time during the American Revolutionary War as the Georgia state capital. Southern Living Magazine recognized Washington as “one of the prettiest small towns in Georgia” with more Antebellum homes per square mile of any city in the US. The Greek Revival, Federal, and Victorian homes literally took my breath away.
The Robert Toombs historic home, which dates from 1797, operates as a museum and offers tours.
Robert Toombs was a successful planter and lawyer. As an outspoken politician he served in the US House or Representatives and Senate and used his influence and fiery oratory to persuade the state to secede from the Union. As a leader in the Confederacy, he served as a general and seasoned battle leader who ultimately died as an unreconstructed Rebel.
Magnolia Springs State Park
We were entranced by the wildlife and beauty of the crystal/clear blue spring at Magnolia Springs State Park and enjoyed the museum with Civil War history and artifacts.
Springs
The boardwalk along two sides of the springs gave us a close look at the many fish and turtles.
We even saw one lost turtle temporarily trapped on the boardwalk.
The area around the springs was peaceful and beautiful.
Campground and Cabins
The 26 RV/tent sites and 8 cottages are near a small lake that is available for fishing.
Junior Ranger badges
Each state park has a Junior Ranger booklets where young folks can complete activities to take the Junior Ranger oath earn a badge. National Parks also have Junior Ranger booklets and badges. We have found that participating in this program is an engaging way to learn about the parks.
Our two charges enjoyed completing booklet and treated the work like it was their paid job. For the rest of the weekend they enthusiastically performed “Junior Ranger” duties around camp in their new Junior Ranger vests.
Having never been to the parks in the Piedmont region of Georgia before, we did not know what to expect. We enjoyed learning about the area’s history from the Revolutionary and Civil War eras, as well as enjoying the beauty of the area’s lakes. This is an area that we will return to!