Three Rivers Side Trip #1: Woodruff Dam

After setting up at and exploring Three Rivers State Park, we wanted to know more about Lake Seminole.  This meant a short drive east from Three Rivers State Park toward the small town of Chattahoochee and the Apalachicola River.

As we crossed the Apalachicola River, the impressive Jim Woodruff Dam was to our left.  It captured our attention as such a dam is rather unusual for Florida.

Completed in 1952, the Woodruff Dam includes a single lock for boats and hydroelectric generators that can power 43,000 homes!

Lake Seminole backs up behind the 1000 ft long earthen dam. The lake is located where the Flint and Chattahoochee Rivers originally came together, covers 37,500 acres and has a shoreline of more than 350 miles.   There are plenty of recreational opportunities in the more than 30 parks and 5 campgrounds all around the lake.

We wanted a closer look at the dam and drove a few miles from Chattahoochee to the dam itself.  We crossed from Florida into Georgia, and then back into Florida before arriving.

After parking below the dam, we followed a steep sidewalk to get a closer look at the multiple spillways and power generating plant.  From the high sidewalk, several persons held study fishing poles hoping to catch one of large catfish said to live in the deep water below the powerhouse.

There is also a sidewalk and a few covered tables next to the river, but these were temporarily flooded as excess water from recent rains was being released from the dam.

From another parking area nearby, we had a broader view of the dam, lock and spillways, and the bridge we had driven across earlier.

The dam is a nice half day diversion from Three Rivers State Park, with opportunities to walk a bit and look around.  A small Corps of Engineers visitor center is nearby with additional information about the dam and Lake Seminole.

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Next week we’ll explain why the best time to visit Havana is NOT just before New Years.  We had to continue on to Thomasville, Georgia – a beautiful southern town with great bar-b-que, a scenic downtown and historic plantation nearby.