Vickery Creek Dam

Hiking Trails | Historic Ruins | Directions

The Vickery Creek unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area is the only unit not actually bordered by the Chattahoochee River, save one very small section on the other side of Riverside Road. Instead, it is bordered by a Chattahoochee tributary known as Big Creek (aka Vickery Creek). In my mind a creek is something I played in as a youngster, where I could walk across it without getting my shoes wet unless I missed the stepping stones that lay in the water, but in the case of Big Creek, it’s wide enough that you’d have to swim across it to get to the other side. There is no boat ramp in this unit, thus making it exclusively a hiker’s park.

The Vickery Creek unit is split in two by Big Creek, creating a large northern section and a small sliver of a section in the south called Allenbrook. Most of the trails are in the northern section.

Although the National Park Service claims on the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area web page that there are picnic tables at Vickery Creek, this is not the case. I was there a year earlier and remember a few near the parking lot on Riverside Road, but during a recent visit they are no longer there.

There is a small fee to enter any of the park units. Day passes (currently $5) and annual Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area passes (currently $40) are available. The day pass is good for entrance into as many park units as you can get to in a day, but it is good for only one day.

You can purchase a pass at the Island Ford Visitor Center (cash or credit); in advance online at Recreation.gov; or at the park using the Internet and your cell phone. Cash is no longer accepted at the park units. Some units have credit card machines, but most have been shut down and are no longer working. If purchasing a pass at the park unit, you enter your license plate number when purchasing. This is how the park Rangers know which vehicles are parked legally. Park Rangers sporadically patrol the parking lots and will issue tickets for those who have not paid. Keep in mind that this is an entrance fee, not a parking fee, so you need a pass even if you walk or bike into the park. If asked by a Ranger, you must be able to show a hard copy pass or a digital pass on your phone.

Annual National Park Passes are also good for entry.

For current fees, see the the park’s Fees and Passes web page.

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