Ed Jenkins National Recreation Area is a protected section of northern Georgia within the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, spanning about 23,330 acres in Fannin and Union counties under U.S. Forest Service administration. Established in 1991 as Springer Mountain National Recreation Area and renamed the next year to honor Ed Jenkins, it centers on Springer Mountain, the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail. That role gives the area significance beyond its size, linking its forested mountain landscape to the history of one of the United States' best-known long-distance footpaths.