Danita asked me if I had, "Ever been to the river" before. No, I have not.

The river, in this case, refers to the North Oconee River that snakes its way through Athens not too far from her house.

This particular access trail is one of these "well known hidden" river access points located in the Snapfinger neighborhood of the city.

We decided to check it out today.

The access trail heads downhill to the edge of the river.

After slipping and sliding on the rather steep and somewhat loose surface of the trail, we had arrived at the North Oconee River.

Thanks to a recent abundance of rain, the river seemed quite high today.

The photo above looks downstream heading south.

North Oconee River looking downstream.

Zooming out across the North Oconee River.

A mushroom of some kind.

There are at least three rivers named "Oconee" in the immediate area. The river seen in these photos is the North Oconee River.

The North Oconee River originates in Hall County, Georgia near the city of Gainesville.

The North Oconee flows south to the east side of Athens past this location.

The Middle Oconee River originates near Jefferson, Georgia and flows in a southeasterly direction toward the west side of Athens.

Roughly two miles downstream from where I was standing, the North Oconee River meets with the Middle Oconee River and forms the Oconee River.

The Oconee River then flows to the south for roughly 150 or so miles until it joins with the Ocmulgee River near Lumber City, Georgia to form the Altamaha River.

Zooming across the North Oconee River.

I wandered out onto the rocks to get a better view.

The photos above and below look upstream.

Following the river upstream seen in the photo above would lead you to the Whitehall Mill Loft apartments. Whitehall Mill was a cotton mill that dates from the 1860s.

The photo above looks downstream. There isn't anything happening in this direction until the North Oconee River meets with the Middle Oconee River about two miles away to form the Oconee River.

North Oconee River access, Athens, Georgia.

This looks interesting.

This looks like bamboo growing out of the center of a giant rock.

We hung around listening to the sounds of the river as it flowed by.

Soon it was time to head back to the car.

This was a great diversion ! I didn't even know this place existed before today.