Lumpkin County fears thousands of hippies might come to Bull Mountain
A counter-culture, hippie organization has chosen the Bull Mountain area of the Chattahoochee National Forest for its annual gathering, authorities confirmed.
The Lumpkin County Government released a statement that said “the gathering may be as large as 20,000 people, which will also cause local impacts” across the North Georgia mountains. The loosely organized group is called the Rainbow Family of Living Light.
The event will occur from now until after July 4, the statement said. If that many people were to show up, forest and county roads are expected to become very congested, which could cause road closures or traffic detours near the campsite.
Forest Service roads FS77 Winding Stair Gap & FS83 Bull Mountain on @ChattOconeeNF are temp closed for public safety/traffic related to the #2018RainbowGathering taking place in the area. The Jake & Bull Mountain Trail System remains open to public use. https://t.co/e3mQrTFOSV pic.twitter.com/A1yfMZGkzA
— ChattOconeeNF (@ChattOconeeNF) June 15, 2018
“Please be aware that neither Lumpkin County nor the US Forest Service is legally able to prevent this gathering,” the statement said.
The U.S. Forest Service is working with the Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office, Georgia State Patrol and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to manage this event, the statement said.
We will work hard to minimize effects to our local communities and the environment. All national forest visitors are expected to obey federal, state & local laws and regulations and we take the enforcement of these laws very seriously https://t.co/TAGi4cmvap #2018RainbowGathering
— ChattOconeeNF (@ChattOconeeNF) June 15, 2018
In other news:
About the Author
Zachary Hansen, a Georgia native, covers economic development and commercial real estate for the AJC. He's been with the newspaper since 2018 and enjoys diving into complex stories that affect people's lives.
