HELEN – One of the state’s newest assets in the state’s park and historic site inventory, damaged by flooding soon after opening last year, now is repaired and ready for public use again in White County.
The Helen to Hardman Heritage Trail, linking Helen with the Hardman Farm State Historic Site, officially reopens Saturday, May 25.
The 4,400-foot ADA trail meanders along the Chattahoochee River from the 150-year-old Hardman Farm to Helen, tracing an old railroad bed used during the area’s logging and sawmilling days.
Along the way, there are four state-of-the-art interpretive panels with two-minute videos, views of Nora Mill, rock outcrop overlooks, and a boardwalk.
The multi-use trail does not allow any type recreational motorized vehicles, but is open for walking, running, bicycling, skating, picnics, birdwatching and wildflower spotting. Motorized chairs, wheelchairs and the like used for mobility are allowed.
Hardman Farm opened in Fiscal Year 2016, while the trail opened in April 2018.
The trail is a cooperative effort of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, White County and the City of Helen, with enhancements by the local governments on the Helen end of the trail linking it to the city’s sidewalk system and the Helen to Unicoi Trail.
Most of the trail is eight feet wide, with a tree and foliage canopy. The trail can be reached from designated parking areas on Kollock Strasse off Edelweiss Strasse on the south end of Helen or from the Hardman Farm Welcome Center, accessible from 143 Highway 17, Sautee Nacoochee.
