Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area

This is the Bowmans Island unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, located just downstream of Buford Dam near Cumming.
Bowmans Island is the northernmost unit in the Chattahoochee River NRA system and can be accessed from the north and south. I used the north entrance. Take the road off Buford Dam Road just west of the dam. It looks like you’re driving into the access road for the dam’s electric substation and you are. The road to the NRA splits off to the right. Strangely, there are no signs telling you where to turn to access the NRA.
The dirt parking lot for the NRA unit proper is on your right at the bottom. A bit further on is a paved lot for the lower pool of the dam, which I believe is a county park or maybe managed by the US Corps of Engineers, the operators of the dam. You can walk or drive over there and check out the discharge channel for the dam, which I thought was pretty cool but I’m an engineering geek.
Bowmans Island is unlike the other CRNRA units — the trail is a little ‘spooky’, at least the parts near the river. That’s the only way I can describe it. Trails are well marked in the usual NRA fashion with maps on signposts showing various key trail intersections. You can’t get lost.
I walked the trail following the river (after the third map marker) for a bit — maybe halfway to the southern section — before turning around and taking the trail that heading up in elevation. Both are quite nice. The higher elevation trail is much like the other CRNRA unit trails (i.e., not spooky).
Bowmans is not large, but it’s good for a moderate hike. You can also take horses on much of the trails, if that’s your thing. And as with all the National Recreation Area parks, you will appreciate how well it’s maintained.