Discover Great Dam Views at Historic Cooper's Furnace On This Winding Walk Through the Woods

On a perfect Spring morning, we made one of our frequent trips back to historic Cooper's Furnace, where we always discover great dam views on our winding walks through the Georgia forest near scenic Lake Allatoona.

At the promontory above Cooper's Furnace, you'll get great dam views of Allatoona Dam and Lake Allatoona.Photo byDeanLand / OurTravelCafe.com

If you're not familiar with Cooper's Furnace, it's located along the Etowah River in Bartow County, where the 20-story tall Allatoona Dam spans a 1,250 foot gap to create Lake Allatoona. Like much of the land surrounding the lake, Cooper's Furnace is managed by the US Army Corps of Engineers and is used for public recreation.

The site itself is steeped in Georgia history from multiple eras, just as the popular Laurel Mountain hillside trail offers steep climbs along a trek rated as moderately difficult. The site's history has links to:

• The prehistoric woodland people
• The Georgia Gold Rush of 1829 as part of Georgia' "gold belt,"
• The Cherokee nation and Trail of Tears,
• Growth of Georgia's manufacturing prominence with Cooper's Iron Works,
• The Civil War and Great Locomotive Chase,
• Railroad bridge destruction in the Battle of Allatoona,
• The building of the Allatoona Dam for hydroelectric power and flood control,
• The permanent flooding of the town of Etowah, now under Lake Allatoona.

The hulking stone remains of the smelting furnace of the Cooper Iron Works towers more than 30 feet.Photo byDeanLand / OurTravelCafe.com

Our hike started at the hulking remains of the smelting operation, a stone-built furnace standing more than 30 feet tall. Following the Laurel Mountain trail, we walked along a small creek. After ascending approximately 200 feet, we looked down from a wooden viewing platform at the roadbed of a 19th century mining railroad, which carried materials to the smelting furnaces. It was easy to spot the hand-stacked rocks once part of the railroad bed.

We emerged from the forest, and finished our ascent at the overlook of Allatoona Dam. In addition to surveying the expansive views of the dam and lake, we watched hawks soaring on the updraft wind currents blowing along the Etowah's river canyon. Then, before heading back down, we made a quick stop at the small museum managed by the Corps of Engineers.

You can spot stones forming the railroad bed of a small-gauge line connecting mines, the furnace and the Western and Atlantic mainline.Photo byDeanLand / OurTravelCafe.com

Afterwards descending back to the river level, we walked along the nature trail and watched geese in the rapidly-flowing Etowah RIver.

For a full account of our hikes at Cooper's Furnace, visit our blog, OurTravelCafe.com

More Hiking with DeanLand

If you want more detailed accounts of some of our favorite North Georgia hikes, check out these posts on Newsbreak and OurTravelCafe.com:

Favorite Hikes Near Cobb County, GA

What You'll See From Panoramic Pine Mountain

Hiking Red Top Mountain State Park

We Fell for Hiking at Lula Falls

All Hiking Posts at OurTravelCafe.com

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