#96 Dowdell's Knob at Pine Mountain, Georgia (100 Natural Wonders of the South)

FDR's grill atop Dowdell's Knob

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's favorite picnic spot is #96 on our list of 100 Natural Wonders of the South!

Please click here to see the entire list as it is unveiled.

Dowdell's Knob is a rocky projection that extends from the gently sloping sides of Pine Mountain, Georgia. Taking its name from a farmer that once owned this part of the mountain, the knob was often visited by President Roosevelt during trips to his Little White House at nearby Warm Springs.

Statue of President Roosevelt

The top of Dowdell's Knob offers a beautiful views of Pine Mountain and Pine Mountain Valley. One of the southernmost mountains in the South, Pine Mountain is located between Atlanta and Columbus. It is perhaps best known as the home of Callaway Gardens.

Pine Mountain is certainly not the tallest mountain in the South, but its terrain is quite unique. Dowdell's Knob, for example, offers views comparable to many higher elevations and the fall leaf change can be quite beautiful. The hiking trails leading from the knob along the slopes of the mountain can be strenuous and the surrounding forests are vast and beautiful.

The views from Dowdell's Knob, in fact, are one of the reasons that FDR encouraged the development of a state park at Pine Mountain during the 1930s. Franklin D. Roosevelt State Park now covers some 10,000 acres and is a landmark of the Civilian Conservation Corps park development efforts during the Great Depression.

Please click here to learn more about Dowdell's Knob: www.exploresouthernhistory.com/dowdellsknob.