(Originally posted, March 2021)
Since spotting pictures online of frozen waterfalls, I’ve been waiting for a prolonged Georgia cold snap to explore our own winter waterfall wonderlands. Mother Nature hasn’t been cooperative in 2020-2021, offering few consecutive days of below freezing weather for even the slowest-flowing Georgia waterfalls to freeze.
But around President’s Day, when many in Cobb County and other parts of Georgia already had flocked south during school winter break, we finally “enjoyed” enough subfreezing hours to produce and sustain outdoor ice. I intentionally put “enjoyed” in quotes, because while the Georgia weather was good for my waterfall photography purposes, the severe winter storm that brought it created misery, heartbreak, and hardship for many elsewhere in the country.
Thus, it wasn’t surprising to my wife when, on the coldest evening in 2021, I suggested a morning visit to Amicalola Falls. Temperatures had remained below freezing the prior day, and overnight the mercury was predicted to dip to the lower 20s. But the morning was promising a quick warm-up, thus this was going to be a race with the sunshine to capture my pictures.
Racing the Sun
Approaching Amicalola State Park on GA SR 136, we saw only minimal traces of snow remaining on some of the nearest high points, and I feared I had missed the photo opportunity. But further up the road, while navigating a sweeping turn, we spotted the frosted trees surrounding the falls canyon and extending up to the peak where Amicalola Falls Lodge overlooks the surrounding valley. My hopes were rising, but so were the sun and the temperatures.
As with all hikes by us mid-60ish folks, this one started in the visitor’s center for a quick break before heading up to the top of the falls. Among other necessities, it was time to renew our Georgia State Parks annual pass, a bargain at $50 for anyone and even better with the 50% discounts for seniors. But time was ticking.
Observing the parkwide 15 mph speed limit and gawking at the plentiful icicles lining the road, we finally reached the falls-top parking area at 10 am on what was now a bright and clear day. Our thermostats read 32F degrees, up 5F from our departure.
Throwing Caution to the Wind
I raced for the descending stairs and started my downward trek. An early slip on the ice-covered metal of the first flight made me more cautious as I quick stepped down the remaining 400+ steps to the mid-falls overlook. I passed another photographer, already on his way up having completed earlier-morning shots. Tick-tock!
Reaching the overlook bridge, I entered a scene from Frozen, but without my princess who was far behind cautiously and safely descending those slick stairs. Above, the falls tumbled from the promontory, cascading through a field of icicles glistening on the black and grey rock face. All around, the frozen mist encased plants and rocks and trees, creating an icy landscape soon to disappear.
Looking down toward the lower cascades, the ice field ended and transformed back to a barren winter landscape. I could feel the warmth creeping up, amplified by the sounds of ice falling from the thawing tree branches all around.
Snapping digital shots from several vantage points, I stretched, bent, knelt, and even laid around the railings and obstacles, trying to emulate better photographers who always find unusual or overlooked angles. Fortunately, the park was still deserted on this freezing weekday, so I was only annoying my wife, who had now arrived and was just shaking her head with disdain as she often does when I try to play photographer.
Mission Accomplished
With my photo ideas and knees exhausted from the effort, it was time to climb those 400+ stairs back to the top of the falls. Afterwards, we drove back to the small parking area at the mid-falls level, walking the rubberized ADA-rated trail back to the falls overlook while snapping a few more pictures of ice formations and the canyon scenery.
Finally, we returned to the car and drove home through Ball Ground, stopping at Les Bon Temps Louisiana Kitchen for a shrimp poboy and shrimp salad on this first Friday of Lent. As native Louisianians, we rarely eat at “Louisiana” restaurants outside our home state. But we’ve found on previous and this visit that Les Bon Temps is worthy of continued patronage even by us particular Cajuns, and we recommend giving it a try if you’re passing through.
Final Thoughts
If you’re an OurTravelCafe.com regular, you’ll recognize that we enjoy hiking year-round in Georgia. One of my posts lists the reasons we enjoy winter hiking and offers tips for others to try it. Another recent post documented our February visit to Sawnee Mountain and the panoramic views at the Indian Seats. And quite a few other posts in our Georgia Small Plates section feature winter pictures from a variety of our adventures.
That said, while we enjoyed this first frozen falls foray, I dare say it won’t be our last. But we’ll likely have to wait another year and travel farther afield if we want to capture a more fully frozen waterfall landscape. We have a December 2021 trip to Colorado planned, so maybe that will offer the best opportunity.
One thing is certain: when we find it, we’ll post about it here.
