Distance: 0.8 miles one way

Difficulty: Easy

I grew up picnicking and playing at Sloppy Floyd Lake State Park for much of my childhood, and yet somehow I had never hiked the trail to the Marble Mine, a really nice short hike inside the park.

Beginning at the Pinhoti Trail Parking area, the Marble Mine Trail begins as a small dirt trail rolling between small gradual hills and flat spaces before becoming dividing into lollipop loop with one side being a slightly wider, somewhat rocky forest service road, and the other side climbing several small hills.

Our initial path took us along the service road with views of a recently controlled burned forest on both sides of the trail. As we began approaching the mine, however, the hill got a little steeper and the trickle of a small creek in the ridge below could be heard.

Just around the bend, the top of the marble mine can be seen, and the faint sound of a waterfall can start to be heard.

A small creek above the cave pours down into a clear blue reflection pond. Hikers can take the short boardwalk into the small mouth of the mine.

The trail past to the right of the cave splits again. Taking a right will complete the loop and return hikers back down to the service road below. To the left, the Pinhoti access trail brings hikers up the ridge above the cave (far above, and does not provide any views from the top of the cave without some steep bushwhacking).

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The loop trail returning back to the forest service road is slightly longer than simply turning around and following the road back, but does provide a less rocky path that brings hikers through more of the park’s forest.

Directions:

1. Followy Hwy. 27 North out of Rome (20.7 miles from Turner McCall Blvd.)

2. Turn left on to Sloppy Floyd Lake Road approximately 0.6 miles.

3. The Pinhoti Parking lot is on the left after passing the Sloppy Floyd Lake.

Length:  1.2 miles one way

Difficulty: Strenuous

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield is the site of the beginning of the Atlanta Campaign during the Civil War.  Fighting began here June 19, 1864 and lasted until July 2. It is from this location that Sherman continued his March to the Sea burning miles wide of property from Atlanta to Savannah. One of three battlefields within the Park sits just in front of the visitors and Kennesaw Mountain, and on many weekends Civil War reenactments and demonstrations can be seen here.

The Trail:

While visitors can pay $2 for a shuttle to the top of Kennesaw Mountain, hikers will enjoy the rugged hike so close to Atlanta. The hike up Kennesaw Mountain begins behind the visitor center on a well marked path.

Kennesaw Mountain is 1808 feet above sea level. It is approximately a 700 foot incline from the Visitor Center to the mountain’s summit. The hike does not involve any technical difficulties, but is somewhat steep. The wide dirt path alternates between steep inclines and slow gradual climbs up the incline.

On weekends, the park can become very crowded with hikers, dog walkers, and trail runners, but the trail is so wide and spacious that the crowds don’t seem to be a big nuisance.

From the top of the trail, hikers will be treated to distant views of the Atlanta skyline. On a clear day, Stone Mountain can be seen in the distance just to the left of the Atlanta skyscrapers.

Directions:

From Barrett Parkway at the I-75 exit:

1.  Travel approximately 3 miles toward and past Hwy. 41.

2. Turn left onto Old Hwy. 41.

3. At the next light, turn right onto Stilesboro Road., the Visitor Center is on the left

Note: On nice Saturday and Sundays, the parking area at the visitor center can be full, and visitors will need to parallel park along the roadside prior to the visitors center.

Lafayette, Georgia

Distance: 1.0 miles

Difficulty: Easy

Blaze: Brownish Pink

Just outside of Lafayette, Georgia is a little known wildlife management area known as Crockford-Pigeon Mountain. Pigeon Mountain extends along the northwestern corner of Georgia crossing over into Alabama. The wildlife management area itself is packed with numerous miles of trails that are difficult to find. Most of the area is open to horseback riders, mountain bikers, and rock climbers.

The exception to this, is the area we recently visited, known as Rocktown. Rocktown is a day use only area for hikers and rock climbers. The area is known by most rock climbers in the south for its unique sandstone formations, and numerous climbing routes available for beginners and experts alike.

The most unique aspect of Rocktown’s geological formations are the sandstone hoodoos that dot the mountain top plateau. Hoodoos are tall thin spires of rock protruding out of the ground, and appear to be unconnected to any larger rock formations. There are several of these hidden among the bluffs and boulders of Rocktown, each of varying shape and height.

The trail to the Rocktown village is easier to hike than the drive up to it. Once atop Pigeon Mountain, the ugly brownish pink blazes bring hikers along an almost entirely flat one mile trail.

As hikers leave the parking area, the trail immediately crosses a bridge, and an old building foundation to the right. After this, the trail makes a very gradual climb along the sandy trail. Not long after the trail tops the small hill, one of several forks appear. Rocktown is covered in these trails that carry climbers out to numerous boulders that are scattered throughout the area. If one keeps left at the first fork, and follows the pink blazes, the major rock village area appears.

The first real signs of the major climbing area are two large bluffs that appear to surround both sides of the trail. A large boulder ceiling hovers over the trail in the area. Just past this point, the trail really ends, and hikers are left to explore and scramble around the hundreds of different rock formations in the area. Climbers could easily spend days exploring the sandstone formations, and still miss some of them. One of the most photographed formations in the area seems to be the Champagne Flute Hoodoo (larger Picture Above). While it is more fun to simply stumble around the area until its found, its GPS location is marked in the trail map below.

Even if rock climbing is not your thing, the top of most of these bluffs can be accessed with some simply scurrying somewhere. On the last day we visited, we didn’t do any real rock climbing, but were able to access several very tall bluffs to look off. Just be careful with the crevices that often cut these rocks in half. It would be easy to misjudge a leap over one, and suffer severe injuries. Of course, one could always go the other way, and explore under these crevices, just look out for snakes, spiders, and other wildlife. I recently read about one climber who scared a bobcat in one of the rock’s holes.

Rocktown is one of only a handful of places to explore on Pigeon Mountain. We plan to explore it all in the upcoming months, and leave details about other, lesser known trails.

Hood Overlook

It should be noted, that one of the best views in the area, can be had approximately two miles away from the Rocktown parking area. The Hood Overlook (pictured at top of article) provides an open view of the towns of Lafayette, Trion, Summerville, and even Johns Mountain and Taylor’s Ridge in the distance.

Directions From Downtown Lafayette, Georgia:

VEHICLES WITH HIGH CLEARANCE ARE RECOMMENDED

1. Turn onto Highway 193 and follow for 2.7 miles.

2. Turn left onto Chamberlain Road (a brown sign with an arrow indicates this is the direction to Crockford-Pigeon Mountain WMA).

3. Turn right in 3.3 miles onto a gravel road, marked with the entrance sign.

4. Pass the Visitor’s Center, and follow the gravel road up Pigeon Mountain. Follow the road over a series of switchbacks, until there a a junction with a brown sign.

5. To the left is the Hood Overlook. Turn right towards Rocktown Junction.

6. In 1.3 miles, turn left on a dirt road marked with a Dead End sign. This road ends at the parking area (really a muddy cul-de-sac) for Rocktown. The trail is on the right corner of the parking area.

Difficulty: Easy

Length: 4 Miles

Starting from the Terrora Day Use, hikers can access both the North Rim and South Rim of Tallulah Gorge, as well as gain excellent views of the Dam and Tallulah lake that sit above it.

North Rim Trail

Starting near the restrooms at the entrance to the Day Use Area, hikers begin the trail by passing under the Hwy. 441 bridge. From there, one can opt to continue along a relatively flat dirt path to the beginning of the gorge floor staircase (Note: continuing down the stairs to the floor is prohibited without walking up to the interpretive center and getting a permit).

Along the trail are 5 observation areas with views of several of the falls and gorge floor. Continuing Past Observation Point #3 will bring hikers past the interpretive center to the North Wallenda Tower, Observation Point #1 and the North Wallenda Tower.

South Rim Trail

Returning back down the North Rim Trail to the 441 bridge (or one can make the entire loop by accessing the gorge floor trail (with a permit), crossing the bridge and continuing up the south side of the gorge) climbing the staircase by the bridge, and then following along the bridge’s sidewalk to the south side of the gorge rim.

From this side of the Gorge, hikers can gain views from Observation #6 and #7 of Hawthorne Pools, Tempest Falls, Hurricane Bridge, and the Interpretive Center on the other side of the falls.

This section of the hike runs very close to the highway, but a highway retaining wall with a beautiful mural and some stone seating areas can be seen as well.

Returning back to the vehicle does not require crossing the busy highway. On the return, a set of metal steps climbs back down the bridge on the south side, and provides even better views of the Tallulah dams, and stairs can be accessed across the bridge with another side walk going back to the Day Use area and lake.

At Christmas, the lake has a lit floating Christmas Tree.

Directions:

Tallulah Gorge Terrora Day Use Area is located just on the left past the Tallulah Gorge Bridge on Highway 441.

Length: Less than 0.2 miles

Difficulty: Easy

Located within the Toccoa Falls College campus, Toccoa Falls is a 186’ waterfall, one of Georgia’s tallest (though not the tallest, that honor belongs to Amicalola Falls). The Falls is, however, one of the best views of a freefalling waterfall one can have.

The hike to the falls is a very short, simple walk along the falls creek.

The Falls also serves as a reminder of the true power of Mother Nature. On November 6, 1977, after five days of heavy rains, the dam above Toccoa Falls burst sending a high powered flood of millions of gallons of water over the falls and throughout the lower lying areas on the college campus. 39 students and faculty were killed during the flood. A memorial stands at the base of the falls with the names of those who lost their lives that day.

NOTE:  An small entrance fee may be charged to hike up to the falls. On the Sunday morning we hiked to the Falls, no fee was taken, and no signs indicated a fee was to be paid.

Some reviews online that I have read after the fact have suggested a $2 fee was charged from hikers.

Directions:

From Toccoa, Georgia:

1. Follow US-17 ALT West from downtown Toccoa for approximately 0.4 miles

2. Turn left onto US-17 ALT/Toccoa Falls Road and travel 1.1 miles.

3. The sign below and college campus entrance will be on the left.

4. The Falls trail is at the very back of the campus, and the parking area/visitor center is located across from a small pond and beach.

Length:  2.5 miles one way

Difficulty:  Easy Hike to the Falls, Difficulty Rock Scramble to Falls Overlook

Ravens Cliff Falls is a three cascade waterfall located just outside of Helen, Georgia in Ravens Cliff Wilderness.

The hiking trail to the falls runs parallel to the falls is a relatively flat hike, with only a few minor hills that provide little difficulty.  Along the trail, hikers will parallel a very scenic Dodd Creek. The creek winds its way through the valley floor at a quicker pace than one might expect, and changes somewhat randomly from whitewater flows to beautiful deep pools. The quick pace and depth of Dodd’s Creek has also created several small waterfalls throughout the hike, and it would be easy to think some of these are the actual Ravens Cliff Falls.

The Falls, however, are unmistakable once reached.  At its base, the lowest cascade, a 20 foot falls seems to mark the end of the trail.

At this point, however, the trail becomes moderately difficult, and a little dangerous. An approximately 40 foot scramble up the hillside to the right will bring hikers to a closer view of the 60’ cascade that is the focal point of Ravens Cliff Falls.

These falls are somewhat unique in that they don’t fall down the face of a cliff in the ways hikers might expect. Instead, Ravens Cliff Falls parts two cliffs creating its own path down into Dodd’s Creek.

From the top of the trail, views of the Ravens Cliff Wilderness Valley can also be seen, especially in the fall and winter months.

NOTE:.

This hike is a very popular hike close to Helen, GA and Cleveland, Georgia and can get a little crowded on nice Spring and fall weekends.

Directions: From Downtown Helen:

1. Travel West on Hwy. 17 for 1.3 miles.

2 Turn Left onto GA-75 North for 2.3 miles

3 Make a slight right onto GA-348/Richard B. Russell Scenice Highway and go 2.7miles.

Ravens Cliff Wilderness and Falls is not clearly marked on road side signage until the parking lot is reached on the left.

Providence Canyon State Park, located near Lumpkin, Georgia is known as Georgia’s “ Little Grand Canyon.”  While the canyon is beautiful, I’d have to say this may be a hard sell for those who have visited the Grand Canyon.

With that said, Georgia’s red-clayed canyon does provide a very interesting day hike.

Distance: 0.25 miles to Creek bed; up to 3 miles of canyon trails to explore from base of canyon

Difficulty: Easy

Upon arriving at Providence Canyon State Park, visitors will quickly find the visitor’s center is closed. The center was closed several years ago, and does not open.

Continue through the visitor center’s patio and to the left to find the trailhead down to the creek bed. The trail is a slow, easy hike with only a single switch back.

At the base of the trail, hikers will be able to choose whether to make a left along the creek banks to canyons 1-5, or continue across the creek, up the bank and then a left at the second creek to canyons 6-9.

I chose to hike to canyons 4 and 5.

To reach these canyons, hikers tread across the sandy, wet creek beds. While the beds contain running water, on the day we hiked, our feet didn’t get even a little damp.

As hikers reach the two series of canyons, one can see the various colors coming from the layers of soil and rock. These canyons were formed by erosion from poor farming practices during the 1800’s.

Directions:

1. From Highway 27 in Lumkin head north.

2. Turn left onto Georgia 39c (brown signs on the road where to turn)

3. Follow Georgia 39C approximately 7.5 miles.

4. Turn left into Providence Canyon. Hiking trail and park lot are at the end of the road.

Cloudland Canyon State Park, Rising Fawn, Georgia

Difficulty: Strenuous

Length: 0.4 miles one way

One of the most popular hikes in Cloudland Canyon State Park is likely also the most strenuous. The waterfalls trail travels deep into the bottom of Cloudland Canyon and gives hikers the option to travel to two tall waterfalls dropping 60 and 90 feet.

Hikers get to these falls via a series of staircases straight down into the canyon. Be aware that hiking down to these falls is very easy, it’s the coming back out that gets difficult, regardless of the short distance. If not in at least moderate shape, I suggest avoiding these falls (especially the second falls). If you decide to try the climbs, please do your self a favor and give plenty of time to rest along the walking platforms stationed between the staircases.

Now that you’ve been warned, and decided to continue anyway, you may as well know where to start.

The entrance to these trails begins next to the parking areas by the canyon overlooks. Travel along the rim of the canyon back towards the park entrance. You will quickly pass by a series of cabins that can be rented in the park. Past these cabins, the trail will begin to descend down several series of metal stairs.

In case you are counting, there are 179 stairs before you reach the intersection of the waterfalls. This is where you must decide which falls to see first. I suggest going with the upper falls first, it is ultimately the shorter trail, and if you find you are too tired after coming up from it, then you have saved yourself a much more painful trip up the longer, lower second water fall.

Just before you reach the waterfalls intersection you will see this nice little resting spot under a huge rock. You may be thinking, who needs to rest this is easy, but you’ll love this bench on the return trip.

Upper Waterfall

The First Waterfall is a short 0.1 miles from the falls intersection. The stair case down provides several views of Daniels Creek, and the boulders that sit along its banks. From the bottom of the staircase, visitors can cross the rocks and walk right up to the edge of the pool at the base of the falls. Several signs indicate that wading and swimming in the pool is illegal, and never try to get close to a falls of this size as unseen undertows can cause drownings.

Once enjoying the view, get ready for the first hike up the stairs. Once at the top, turn left if you want to see the taller of the two falls.

Lower Falls

The lower water fall is located 0.3 miles from the intersection. That’s 379 stairs, but whose counting? This trail hugs the canyon wall for some time before beginning to quickly descend to the falls. Watch out for the mud along the trail, the moisture on this part of the trail rarely dries out.

The stair cases on this trail provide several great views of the canyon from as close to the bottom as a view can be gotten.

Take advantage of the platforms going down and take in the canyon in its entirety. As you continue down the long trail, the base of the canyon appears in sight. Additionally, there is a new walkway that crosses Daniels Creek, latter becoming Sitton Gulch Creek and intersects with Sitton Gulch Trail, a newer trail in Cloudland Canyon  that is a 6.5 mile loop.

Once you reach the bottom, the trail requires just a little bit farther walk along the ridge of Cloudland Canyon.

Hikers will finally reach the platform for viewing the falls. The Lower falls differs from the upper falls in that hikers cannot approach the pool below the falls.

After viewing the falls, be sure to stop and take a look at canyon from its base one last time. If not, you may not remember its beauty after the long hike.

Look up from the stairs, take a deep breath, and take your time climbing back up. After the first 400, take a long break under that big rock I mentioned earlier, and take solace in knowing that there are less than 200 steps back to your vehicle.

When you get to the top, enjoy the view of all that you have hiked from the overlooks again.

Fees

$3.00 Per Vehicle

Nearby Trails

Sitton Gulch Trail -6.5 mile loop

West Rim Loop Trail – 4.8 miles

Backcountry Loop Trail – 2.0 mile

Nearby Disc Golf

Cloudland Canyon Disc Golf Course

Directions:

From Trenton, GA:

1. Take GA -136 east for 8 miles. Entrance will be on the left.

2. From LaFayette, GA take GA-136 18 miles. Entrance on the right.

Stone Mountain, Georgia

Distance: 1.0 mile (one way)

Difficulty: Moderate

Stone Mountain is a unique geological granite mountain, forming a round bald of rock rising up south of the Atlanta skyline. The walk up trail takes hikers to the summit of Stone Mountain by means of a primarily open granite trail. For the most part, the trail is a very gradual up hill walk. At the end, though, it becomes much steeper, even requiring handrails at one point. The trail itself does not go near the “edge” of the mountain, but throughout the trail there are numerous places to look off the mountain for spectacular views. Ultimately, the payoff for the hike is the 360 degree view from the top of Stone Mountain.

Trailhead

First, those that don’t hike (you’re probably not reading this site), there is an option of taking a tram to the top of Stone Mountain. For those that enjoy the hike as much as the destination, the trailhead is tough to find once inside the park.The parking area for this is actually located at the Confederate Hall. Once there, the trail is marked with a yellow blaze painted occasionally along the rock. The trail was extremely busy on the Sunday I hiked, and I’m guessing it’s even busier on warm Saturdays.

The Trail

As the trail continues, it becomes slightly steep and drifts into a very light forest of pines. If one pays attention to the ground, there are numerous names carved into the rock. At first, I assumed these were vandals, and I was offended, but looking closely, I noticed something amazing. Some of these carvings had dates in the 1800′s. These carvings were made by visitors from over 100 years ago, and continued to be made throughout the time when Stone Mountain was used as a granite quarry.

Approximately half way up the trail, a shelter sits in the middle of the trail. One of the best views along the actual trail is just to the left of the shelter. The mountain side is lined with a protective fence, here, but the views over the park are very nice. The fence can be followed for  a short distance where we saw three hawks soaring around. We also saw some wonderful wildflowers in this area.

Just past the shelter the trail begins the real climb to the top. The trees quickly begin to disappear, and the first dramatic views of Atlanta appear.

Shortly after the trees disappear, a very steep section of trail begins. This section actually contains hand rails up the mountain. The section is very short, maybe 50 feet, but the rails should be used (especially going down, we saw a girl slip and nearly fall down the entire length).

After this, the trail briefly flattens out, before the final summit. The final summit becomes increasingly steep, and is probably the hardest part of the trail. It also happens to be the widest area as well, which provides several options for walking up. The less steep, but longer climb follows the white (service vehicle) line to the left.

Summit of Stone Mountain

Once on top of Stone Mountain, hikers can visit the visitor’s center on the far right corner. The center only has a few signs about the geology of the mountain, a concession stand, and the tram departs from there. Hikers can explore the perimeter of the mountain top along a chain link fence.

If one looks behind them in the direction of the trail head, the Atlanta skyline, Buckhead, and Kennesaw Mountain can be seen in the distance. To the west, the airport towers can be seen on a clear day. To the south and east, one can see how geological different Georgia is. Mountains to the north, lowlands to the south. The view really is stunning.

Take some time to take it all in. The return is the save route.

Notes:

If possible, plan to make this hike on a weekday. The crowds are pretty bad. Think lots of screaming kids, and rude groups with no hiking etiquette.

Stone Mountain is not a state park, it’s a privately owned amusement area.  It has restaurants, rides, and a fantastic laser on weekend nights (check the park’s web site for a schedule).

The park also contains a campground within the complex, as well as numerous other hiking trails, and a small lake.

Cost:

To access Stone Mountain Park, there is a $10 fee per vehicle. During some holidays it goes up even more.

Directions:

1. Take I-285 North from Atlanta.

2. Take Exit 39B on Hwy. 78 East.

3. Travel 7.7 Miles and take Exit 8.

4. Follow signs to the Stone Mountain Entrance.

Difficulty: Easy

Length: 0.75 Miles

Blaze: Yellow

Big Rock Nature Trail in Fort Mountain State Park is perhaps my favorite short loop trail in Northwestern Georgia. This trail has almost everything, a great hike, two babbling creeks, wonderful overlooks, and cascading falls.

The Big Rock Nature Trail begins just past the road crossing the lake. Parking for the trail is in a gravel area to the left of the trail.

Don’t let the beginning of the trail discourage as it does not look like much, as it is somewhat muddy, and crosses under a section of power lines, but shortly after continuing down this hill, the hiker will enter a section of deeper forest where the trail really begins to become enjoyable.

Follow the Yellow blazed trail down the pathway for a few hundred yards where it will begin to run parallel to a babbling creek, and intersects the the much longer Gahuti Trail at a wooden bridge marked with Orange Blazes.

The trail does not cross the bridge, instead, follow the trail to the right. Although I do recommend standing on the bridge as the creek runs underneath, as the forest opens a bit for a beautiful overlook.

The trail then descends farther into the mountain hollow before turning back up the mountain ridge as a Yellow and Orange Blaze (marking Gahuti and Big Rock Nature Trail). This ridge provides some wonderful overlooks.

As the trail bends back around the ridge, it will meet up with Gold Mine Creek.

Gold Mine Creek cascades down the mountain ridge. The Creek provides some beautiful views of cascading waterfalls as it runs towards the hiker. Hike up largest section of the cascades, and don’t forget to look backwards now and again for overlooks.

At the top of the trail, Gahuti and Big Rock separate. Gahuti crosses over the creek via a bridge, Big Rock continues back up the mountain. The trail leaves the forest at the base of a dam blocking the lake.

At the base of the dam, there is also small birding area with signs indicating some of the local birds in the area. The trail ends back at the road that crosses the lake.

Nearby Trails:

Old Fort Trail – 1.1 miles

Gahuti Trail – 8.8 miles

Lake Trail – 1.2 mile loop

301 Biking Trail – 14.6 mile loop

Gold Mine Loop Biking Trail – 6.3 miles

Directions:

1. Follow I-75 to exit # 333 towards 411

2. Take GA Hwy. 52 8 miles past Chatsworth onto Fort Mountain

3. Turn left onto park entrance.

4. Once in park, turn left towards the lake, and follow to the right of the trail, cross the dam.