Vogel State Park

Vogel is Georgia's second oldest state park and it is located at the base of Blood Mountain in the Chattahoochee National Forest on U.S. 129 south of Blairsville and north of Cleveland.

The land comprising the park was donated to the state in 1927 by Augustus Vogel and Fred Vogel, Jr. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The two were heirs to the Pfister Vogel Leather Company, a Wisconsin tannery founded by Frederick Vogel. The Vogel family harvested bark from oak and hemlock trees located on thousands of acres they owned in North Georgia. The bark was shipped to Wisconsin and used by the company for tanning leather. During World War I, a synthetic method to tan leather was developed so there was no further need for the north Georgia resources. The Vogels gave their land to Georgia to create the state park.

It has a long history of being a place where families love to stay and visit.  The park has 233 acres, hiking trails, a lake for swimming and fishing, miniature golf, a general store, a playground and even has geocaches.

There are a variety of accommodations including cottages, campsites and primitive backpacking sites.  

It’s very popular for hikers.  They can choose from a variety of trails, including the popular 4-mile Bear Hair Gap loop, an easy lake loop that leads to Trahlyta Falls, and the challenging 13-mile Coosa Backcountry Trail.  The Appalachian Trail is also nearby.

The 22-acre Lake Trahlyta is open to non-motorized boats, and during the summer, visitors can cool off at the sandy beach.  It has a beautiful mountain-view.  Lake Trahlyta was created when the Civilian Conservation Corps dammed Wolf Creek. The lake is named for Trahlyta, a Cherokee maiden who is buried a few miles from the park at Stonepile Gap.

This park is rich in history, with many of the facilities being constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corp during Great Depression.  The “CCC Boys” story is told in the park’s museum where there are exhibits, documents, photographs and memorabilia about the activities of the Civilian Conservation Corps in Vogel State Park and other parks in Georgia. The Corps workers, located at the CCC Camp at Goose Creek just north of the park, also built the first cabins, picnic areas and camping grounds at Vogel.