Wildlife Viewing Guide

Wildlife Viewing > Northwest Georgia Mountains > Crockford

Crockford - Pigeon Mountain Wildlife Management Area

Description: This 13,000-acre area of great diversity and natural beauty offers a wide variety of wildlife viewing and recreation opportunities. Pigeon Mountain is the "thumb" of the broad, flat-topped Lookout/Pigeon mountain range. Driving on the top of this mountain feels like driving on a high table top where one is wary to approach the edges. Pigeon Mountain and Lookout Mountain drop off sharply in 1,000-foot escarpments offering breathtaking vistas of the valley below, known as McLemore Cove. The underlying limestone rock is laced with caves, accessible only to the most experienced cavers. The deepest cave pits in the eastern U.S. are found here. Rocktown Trail winds 1 mile through massive eroded boulders resembling three-story buildings and one which resembles a 25-foot-tall champagne glass. The Pocket Trail offers a combination of beautiful valley vistas, unusual eroded rock formations, and some of the prettiest and rarest spring wildflowers in the State. Pigeon Mountain was named for the extinct passenger pigeon which roosted on the mountain by the millions in the 1800s. The WMA was named in honor of Jack Crockford, the first professional wildlife biologist employed by the State of Georgia. Mr. Crockford invented and built the first "dart gun," a tool used today by wildlife professionals worldwide to capture wildlife safely.

Viewing Information: This is one of the few areas in the State where you may get a glimpse of the majestic golden eagle, made possible by a state reintroduction effort. Keep your eyes on the skies for many species of hawks and vultures soaring on the updrafts caused by the steep escarpments of the mountain. Green salamanders or the rare Pigeon Mountain salamander may be found by observant visitors. White-tailed deer and wild turkeys do well on this isolated flat mountain top. Spring and fall are filled with the calls and songs of migrating songbirds. Flora, fauna, geology, and scenic views - Pigeon Mountain has it all.

Directions: From LaFayette take GA Hwy. 193 west to Chamberlain Road. Turn left and go 3 miles to Rocky Lane Road. Turn right and go .5 miles to check station.

Management: Georgia DNR, Wildlife Resources Division 706-295-6041

Closest Town: LaFayette, GA

Site Notes: hunting, fishing, caving, rock climbing

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