Len Foote Hike Inn requires joyous 5-mile walk

The Len Foote Hike Inn hasn’t changed much in 10 years.

Thank goodness.

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CLINT WILLIAMS/Special

The morning view from the Sunrise Room makes it well worth the five-mile trek to Len Foote Hike Inn. And thanks to the hike, you won’t feel a bit of guilt about savoring a slice of lemon poundcake.

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The 20-room lodge deep in the North Georgia woods remains a rustic retreat without high-definition flat-screen televisions or wireless Internet access. What the heck, the place still doesn’t have flush toilets. What the Hike Inn has in abundance is a luxury hard to find these days — tranquillity.

Named for the naturalist who inspired the “Mark Trail” comic strip, the inn rests on a mountain ridge facing east. Lodgers can get there only by hiking a five-mile trail that begins just above the waterfall that gives Amicalola Falls State Park its name.

“The walk in just relaxes you,” says Ginger Mitchell of Dacula, who has visited the inn three times. “From the time you get on the trail, to the time you get off, it is just nature at its best,” she says.

The trail to the inn takes you through a deeply shaded forest of oak and pine, tulip popular and maple. You walk through tunnels of rhododendron and patches of pungent galax. You cross several small streams, each still musical despite the drought, each a sign you’re heading uphill once again.

You hear birds singing and the zing-zing-thwack-thump of acorns dropping to the ground.

The inn was designed to preserve the nature to which visitors are drawn. It comprises four buildings that sit on pilings to minimize grading. Composting toilets are used, in part because building a septic tank leech field would have meant cutting down many more trees.

But the inn is built for comfort, as well as conservation. The lodge rooms are small and spartan, but you won’t want to spend too many waking hours there anyway. The spots to spend more time are on one of the Adirondack chairs scattered about the grounds or on one of the many porches. Or you may want to linger in the Sunrise Room — a salon, of sorts, where guests read, play board games or engage in the old-fashioned art of conversation. In cooler weather, a wood-burning stove adds to the warmth.

“The Hike Inn is a very quiet and calming place to spend a day or two,” says Carolyn Mulcahy of Huntsville, Ala., who has visited four times.

It’s also a pretty good place to eat.

The tariff includes a family-style dinner the evening you arrive that might include pork loin, salad, potatoes au gratin and stir-fried carrots. Knowing you walked five miles to dinner means you can enjoy dessert of lemon poundcake or maybe mixed berry cobbler with a clear conscience. A hearty breakfast is served the next morning.

While the food is good, says Mitchell, “nothing can match the coffee, early in the morning, watching the sunrise.”

IF YOU GO

Getting there: Amicalola Falls State Park is 17 miles northwest of Dawsonville and about 70 miles north of downtown Atlanta. Take Ga. 53 west out of Dawsonville, then Ga. 183 north to Ga. 52 east. Check in at the visitors’ center near the main entrance before starting on the trail.

The hike: The hike to the inn is just under five miles, with an elevation gain of about 500 feet. It’s an up-and-down trek with a long, glutes-burning uphill hike after the second stream crossing. It’s a two- to three-hour hike, depending on your fitness level.

Rates: The rate is $70 per person double occupancy, $97 single occupancy. Add 12 percent state sales and county lodging taxes. The rate includes dinner and breakfast. Trail lunches and snacks are available for an extra charge.

What to bring: In addition to toiletries and a change of clothes, pack the gear necessary to safely spend a day in the woods: first-aid kit, water, insect repellent, flashlight. Wear comfortable hiking boots or walking shoes and be prepared for a change in the weather. Pack a pair of flip-flops for trips to the bathhouse, and if you plan to read in your bunk, a clip-on reading light or battery-powered headlamp is worth bringing along.

Reservations: 1-800-581-8032, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday. http://www.hike-inn.com