With Atlanta’s oft-repeated tagline ‘the town in a forest,’ it’s no marvel Atlanta and the encircling space provide many thrilling trails for hikers. The town is including extra city path choices as it really works to finish its fashionable BeltLine, which is able to ultimately make a 33-mile loop round Atlanta to attach all the metropolis. However that’s not all of the metro space has to supply. Whether or not hikers choose multi-use city strolls or the seclusion of forested areas, Atlanta has loads of choices for all mountaineering fanatics.
A view of Midtown over Lake Clara Meer in Piedmont Park. (Picture by Charity Davenport underneath CC0 1.0)
Piedmont Park is a well-liked spot for individuals close to downtown and Midtown Atlanta to get an additional dose of sunshine. Those that select to stroll on the loop path get a bonus: all the pieces from lake and meadow strolls to Atlanta skyline views. Piedmont Park’s loop additionally connects with one other well-liked Atlanta path, the Eastside BeltLine, a pleasant choice for hikers who need to fluctuate their route. Pack a lunch and a blanket and be part of the tons of (generally 1000’s!) of park-goers who lounge in Piedmont Park’s inexperienced house for some well-deserved leisure.
Chattahoochee River NRA – East Palisades (Picture Credit score: )
There’s a good purpose why this is among the hottest hikes within the Atlanta space. This peaceable stroll alongside the banks of the Chattahoochee River is simply outdone by the variety of hikers vying for an opportunity to return throughout the hidden bamboo forest. Hikers alongside the path aren’t shy about asking for instructions on learn how to discover it (Trace: It’s at mile marker 26.), which provides to the legendary nature of its existence.
For hikers who’ve gotten sufficient of the “bamboo forest path,” there are a number of different fantastic trails to select from on this part of the Chattahoochee River Nationwide Recreation Space, together with trails with hilly inclines and others with openings to small river seashores.
Kennesaw Mountain – Mountain Loop
- Location: Marietta, GA
- Size: 5.8-mile loop
- Issue Score: Average
- Finest For: Historical past lovers
- Canines: Leashed
Kennesaw Mountain Battlefield Park (Picture Credit score: TranceMist underneath CC BY-SA)
The Mountain Loop path is a part of greater than 22 miles of trails on practically 3,000 acres of preserved land at Kennesaw Mountain Nationwide Battlefield Park, which is managed by the Nationwide Park Service. Mountaineering right here doesn’t simply provide lovely nature and skyline views, however a wealth of historic details about the realm. Kennesaw Mountain is the ancestral residence of the Cherokee Nation. Regardless of resistance, white settlers pressured them out of their homeland in the course of the gold rush within the 1830s. In 1864, a big battle occurred right here in the course of the Civil Battle.
The Mountain Loop path, which makes a virtually six-mile loop round and over the park’s tallest peak, is the park’s hottest path. Most individuals shorten the route by climbing to the highest of Kennesaw Mountain to catch lovely panoramic views of Atlanta after which coming again down, a 2.5-mile up and again hike.
Stone Mountain Park Stroll-Up Path and Cherokee Path
- Location: Stone Mountain, GA
- Size: 1 mile up-and-back and 4.6-mile loop
- Issue Score: Average
- Finest For: Hikers who get pleasure from nature walks and panoramic views
- Canines: Not Allowed on Stroll-Up, Allowed – Leashed – on the Cherokee Path
The Cherokee Path and Stroll-Up Path are common stops for eastside Atlanta hikers and train fanatics. The Stroll-Up Path could solely be a mile lengthy, up the big granite rock, however hikers will discover the regular incline that will get steeper near the summit. The panoramic views are definitely worth the effort; you’ll be able to see 60 miles price of Georgia panorama on a cloud-free day. The Cherokee Path crosses the Stroll-Up Path at one level. It additionally passes by way of a lot of totally different terrain, together with forested areas, a lake and even an previous rock quarry.
Metro Atlanta communities stay divided on what to do concerning the Accomplice monument carved into the aspect of the granite rock, however Stone Mountain and its many trails up and across the park proceed to draw a various group of hikers to the realm.
Arabia Mountain – Mountain High Path
- Location: Lithonia, GA
- Size: 1/2-mile out-and-back
- Issue Score: Simple
- Finest For: Hikers who get pleasure from various landscapes
- Canines: Leashed
Davidson Arabia Mountain Nature Protect (Picture Credit score: HP Contributor Clint Fowler)
Arabia Mountain’s Mountain High Path is a wonderful choice for hikers on the lookout for a novel, rocky panorama with out all of the lung-punching inclines of typical mountain trails. A lot of the path is paved and superb for wheelchairs, strollers and bikes. Begin on the wildlife middle by way of the forested part of the path and Arabia Mountain’s “peak” (a gradual incline up the granite quarry) will quickly come into full view. Arabia Mountain’s rocky terrain is a good place to chill out or examine wildflowers rising out of the moon-like floor of the summit. Hikers on the lookout for a bit of extra journey can proceed on one of many many different trails within the Arabia Mountain Nationwide Heritage Space, together with a hike to close by Panola Mountain.
Doll’s Head Path at Structure Lakes
- Location: Structure Neighborhood, Southeast Atlanta
- Size: 1.5-mile lollipop
- Issue Score: Simple
- Finest For: Hikers who desire a dose of Halloween year-round
- Canines: Leashed
This hike will not be probably the most difficult however is well probably the most talkable romp in metro Atlanta. Begin alongside the wetland boardwalks of Structure Lake the place you’ll catch glimpses of herons, geese and turtles. Subsequent, make your option to the Doll’s Head part of the path, a much less well-marked, generally muddy jaunt. It’s right here that your gaze will drift from nature to discarded home items like metallic followers, gentle bulbs and push-button telephones as soon as scattered all through the forested space, now rearranged into an inventive show. Probably the most notable displays are the doll elements, indifferent heads and limbs which have been reassembled to make unconventional figures. Some hikers discover the installations creepy; others see an interesting show of repurposed youngsters’s toys that make a press release about how people alter the pure surroundings.
Cascade Springs Nature Protect Spring Path
- Location: Cascade Heights, Southwest Atlanta
- Size: 1/2-mile loop
- Issue Score: Simple
- Finest For: Hiker households or informal strolls with pals
- Canines: Leashed
Falls in Georgia. (Picture Credit score: Getty Pictures)
There are 4 trails to select from within the 125-acre Cascade Springs Nature Protect, and all of them are lower than a mile lengthy. Selecting the Spring Path offers hikers of all ages loads of wildlife to take a look at alongside the way in which, together with woodpeckers, turtles and deer. Comply with alongside Turkey Creek and younger hikers could need to cease at Cascade Falls, a small waterfall with giant boulders that make wading simple. The Spring Path additionally has an early twentieth-century pump home. The boardwalk in entrance of it on the path junction is a pure spot for a meetup or a easy place for contemplation.
Pink (Historical past) Path at Sweetwater Creek
- Location: Lithia Springs, GA
- Size: 2-mile out-and-back
- Issue Score: Average
- Finest For: Ruins and river views
- Canines: Leashed
Sweetwater Creek State Park (Picture Credit score: HP Contributor David Asgari)
The paths in Sweetwater State Park are a favourite for hikers within the Atlanta space. The park’s purple path is the preferred, seemingly as a result of it takes hikers on to the park’s predominant attraction: the Manchester Mill ruins. The hollowed construction was a cotton mill within the mid-nineteenth century that was burned down in 1864 in the course of the Civil Battle. As soon as solely recognized to native hikers, the mill gained extra reputation after it was used within the Starvation Video games films. Because the path continues, it takes hikers close to the banks of the creek after which by way of extra rocky terrain. Sweetwater State Park can also be recognized for its lovely meadows with considerable wildflowers, sufficient to maintain hikers coming again time and again!
Atlanta Beltline Eastside Path to Freedom Park Path
- Location: Atlanta
- Size: 3 miles + 1.4-mile out-and-back
- Issue Score: Simple
- Finest For: Hikers who get pleasure from metropolis views
- Canines: Leashed
Why select one path when you’ll be able to have two? The Atlanta Beltline’s Eastside path was the primary part of previous railroad transformed to paved, oak tree-lined trails to welcome metropolis hikers. The favored eastside path gives nice views of downtown Atlanta and lots of intown neighborhoods. Hikers on the beltline path can flip close to the 4th Ward Skate Park within the Inman Park neighborhood onto the Freedom Park Path connector, which takes hikers previous the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, and on to Freedom Park. Each paved trails are wheelchair accessible in addition to stroller, scooter and bike-friendly. A number of eating places and outlets alongside the way in which might flip a brief in-town hike into an all-day outing.
Homestead Path at Pink High Mountain State Park
- Location: Acworth, GA
- Size: 5.5-mile lollipop
- Issue Score: Average
- Finest For: Lake views
- Canines: Leashed
Pink High Mountain State Park is generally recognized for water actions like boating, fishing and jet snowboarding, nevertheless it is also residence to arguably certainly one of metro Atlanta’s greatest hikes. The Homestead Path offers hikers a bit of little bit of all the pieces the state park has to supply, beginning with a one-mile hike by way of a wonderful forest filled with pine bushes and ferns. Subsequent, it makes a loop round Lake Allatoona, which offers a serene house for enjoyable, or perhaps a swim. Hikers full the lollipop path by looping again to the forest stroll they began on, which leads again to the customer’s middle.
- Location: Dunwoody, GA
- Size: 2.8-mile, round-trip lollipop loop
- Issue Score: Simple
- Finest For: A straightforward-going outing for all the household
- Canines: Leashed
Chattahoochee River at Island Ford (Picture Credit score: thomasawolff underneath CC BY-SA)
This simple 2.8-mile, round-trip hike options loads of fairly views alongside the gradual, winding waters of the Chattahoochee River. The quick size and mild inclines of the well-maintained forested path make this a fantastic choice for inexperienced persons or household outings. Plan an early morning hike to benefit from the peaceable setting alongside the river because the fog lingers over the waters. Catch glimpses of the grey shoals of the Chattahoochee River at numerous factors all through the hike. Elements of the path comply with proper alongside the shore, with the calls of geese and different waterfowl and the light rippling of the river making a melodious soundtrack for the hike.
Are you a brand new hiker excited to be taught or somebody extra skilled trying to join with fellow hikers? Try our native mountaineering occasions and go on an journey with REI.
