Smithgall Woods Conservation Area

Smithgall Woods Conservation Area, about 5 miles west of Helen, is a 5,800-acre protected wilderness with some of the best hiking in the northeast Georgia mountains. The property is laced with trails through hardwood forest, rhododendron thickets, and along Dukes Creek — the stream where gold was first discovered in Georgia in 1828, triggering the first American gold rush.

The area is managed for low-density use; visitor numbers are limited and the hiking trails are rarely crowded. The gold discovery site on Dukes Creek has a historical marker. Trout fishing requires a separate permit. The lodge and cottages on the property can be rented for overnight stays.

things to do nature hiking
A story
Smithgall Woods was donated to the state of Georgia in 1994 by Charles Smithgall, a media executive who had spent decades protecting the property from development. He required the state to preserve it permanently as wilderness and maintain it as a world-class trout-fishing destination. The catch-and-release-only section of Dukes Creek within the property is considered one of the finest wild trout streams in the Eastern US.