Len Foote Hike Inn - Lodge in Dawsonville - 280 Amicalola Falls State Park Road, USA

After hiking approx 5 miles in a thunderstorm, the inn was a welcome place. We were able to sit in a nice community room with heaters and dry our clothes. The staff was very friendly and the breakfast and dinner were excellent. Our room was tiny but sufficient.

Lovely retreat out in nature. The rooms are just big enough to put your things down and sleep, but the beds are comfortable, the sheets are clean, and the room is warm and dry. The food is delicious and I love that there is regular and decaf coffee available all day. There is nowhere to throw away trash, so be prepared to carry out everything you carried in.

We had a great time and will definitely do again. Only drawback....other guests need to learn to use a red flashlight instead of the light on their phones when joining others for the early morning sunrise or meteor showers. My granddaughter and I were up at 5 am watching the meteor shower and we could see the night sky perfectly, until someone came down aiming their phone everywhere and kept the screen on when sitting beside us. We walked down with no lights. If you give yourself a few minutes, your eyes will acclimate and you can see the gravel path from the reflection of the night sky. You do not need a bright light. If you do need a light, use red. Please. Breakfast was awesome. Bathrooms were spotless. Avery was a great storyteller and host.

I have loved all my stays here, especially this most recent one on 8/9. The property is scenic (and the hike isn't exactly flat but is an enjoyable one in beautiful Amicalola), the staff are friendly, and the food is great. This most recent visit, there happened to be some pretty intense storms. The power even went out briefly (they're getting the generator looked at), but I never felt unsafe, and in fact, it was just a part of the adventure. I loved sitting in the sunrise room reading, especially in the early morning where I could see the rain coming down and lightning in the distance. My only regret was not staying two nights. I'm currently trying to rope in a friend group to come with me in the winter. With all the fireplaces and heating vents, I'm sure it's going to be a cozy time.

I was so excited to hike and stay there. I heard the food was excellent! So I paid $224 for one night (2 adults). When booking they asked for dietary information - any vegetarians. I put 2 and noted we are pescatarian. I booked 2 months early. We hike in early enough, checked in, and all seemd fine. At dinner, two bowls of chili were brought out and was told, "Sorry we don't have fish." Took a bite of the chili and half the spoon was slightly warm, the other half was room temp. Took another bite and the same thing. It was obvious they took a can of chili each, opened, and microwaved (without stirring!). $224 for a badly microwaved can of chili! The others had a very dry pork loin, and we all had bland Brussels sprouts, and overly spicy corn. Everyone was asking for something to put on the food to fix it. So they brought out Ranch dressing, balsamic dressing, and I think another squirt bottle of something. The rolls tasted ok. The cake was some amaretto cake that wasn't that good. I will never pay for that experience again, and they should have comped everyone who ate that. Because of the food, it made me sore about everything else. There weren't enough chairs at the small mountain view area. The walls in the room are unbelievably think. Etc. Etc. I am so disappointed.

This is an amazing experience. I work in a camping store and recommend this place a lot. It’s a great place to take a friend and get away from the daily grind. The bathrooms and showers are tops. The family style meals are superb. Even my wife, who is not a camper, lived this slice of heaven.

Hiking to Hike Inn has been a dream for years and it always seemed to be booked up when I would check for reservation openings. Early last week I checked again and lo and behold, an opening! I left Savannah at 5:45 a.m. on this past Saturday, picked up my daughter in Atlanta and we were on the trail from Amicalola Falls parking lot by about 1:30 p.m. I had an Osprey Daypack that held everything I needed. The trail is well-maintained and easy to follow with the lime-green blazes, but does have roots and rocks to look out for much of the time, and frequent elevation changes. There are several nice overlooks along the way and refreshing shallow mountain streams with little wooden bridges that looked inviting for dipping sore feet (we were trying to keep a fast pace so didn't stop). Would recommend you save energy for the final uphill climb and a good idea to have hiking poles, especially for the narrow wooden walkways built in muddy areas. Suddenly the Inn was right in front of us! We were told to expect a 3-hour hike to the Inn but we made it in 2 hours. We checked into our rooms and stowed the linen bags we were given for our bunks, and walked around a bit before the property tour at 5 p.m. At 6 p.m. the dinner bell rang and we joined about 16 other people of all ages at one of the long tables in the dining room for a family-style pork loin dinner. The food was good and so was the company. At all of the meals, colorful stoneware plates (possibly Fiesta?) and stainless utensils along with cloth napkins are used since they are washed and reused. Masking tape is provided to label drinking glasses and coffee mugs so you can reuse them during your stay. In fact, the only paper products are the toilet paper in the restrooms that feature composting toilets that have no odor but do have an air updraft that caught me by surprise (now you don't have to be surprised). After dinner, a talk was scheduled for those interested, but my daughter and I chose to sit on the porch and read. The Sunrise Room, an activity room with many windows, had many board games and even 2 guitars for evening fun, but we were worn out from our day. As night fell, we looked for stars to come out and finally I could not keep my eyes open. So we headed to our bunks. No a/c was needed even this weekend, which we were told was experiencing a heat wave for the area (and the reason that there was still available space); an oscillating fan and screen door for ventilation kept us cool (I even got a blanket). I had slipped and fallen earlier in the week and my sore hip did bother me on the bunk but my daughter slept well. After a delicious Southern-style breakfast, we packed up for the hike back down, but each bought a t-shirt before leaving. I also took away with me new intentions for more sustainable practices at home, and contact information from a new friend I met. I can't wait to return with another of my children, hopefully in winter when less foliage will mean better views of the mountains from the Inn!

Great for a day hike or to spend the night. The rooms are clean, and the food is excellent. If you're going up for just the hike, bring a few dollars for coffee or tea--sometimes left-over cake or peach bread pudding. There are games in one room and chairs outside and on the porch with a great view. Sunrise is amazing!