We love hiking and while we prefer the cooler temps of Colorado and Tennessee... we have some pretty great hikes in North Georgia.
We find most of our hikes HERE as you can narrow down to waterfall, dog friendly, etc.
We started out hiking Kennesaw Mountain on cooler weekends with Brandon's mom and once we got Liam, we definitely branched out to find less crowded and more challenging hikes.
Some of my favorite Gear:
We just did Edmonds Back Country trail at Black Rock Mountain State Park on Labor Day weekend. The article says the hike is 6 miles, however when you get to the fork, there is a 7.2 mile option and a 2 mile option. We chose the 7.2 route and veered off to check out some campsites as well as the overlook.
Our elevation read as 3,175 where we took this picture and the views were very beautiful. One of the things I liked most about this hike was the fact that we crossed over creeks a few times which is great for cooling off our dog. There was also a detour to a pretty lake that we stopped at for a minute.
Liam loved it and it was very peaceful. However, about a mile down the road we saw a water moccasin so hanging out in these lakes and rivers may not be the smartest idea! This hike was fairly strenuous for us, the distance was manageable but the hike starts off very steeply going downhill, then drastically uphill and back down and up again. There were few valleys and a lot of narrow paths and rocks. We did the loop in 4 hours but had to take several breaks as the humidity was very dense the day we chose to go even though we had cooler temps in the morning.
Difficulty: Strenuous
What to Pack: Full camelback, second pair of socks, bug spray and light/dry-fit clothing
Another great hike for warmer weather is Bear Creek Trail near Ellijay. You can either do the 5.2 mile hike or the quick mile out and mile back trek to the giant Gennett Poplar tree. We chose to do the longer hike as getting to the Poplar tree is very quick and after driving to Blue Ridge we wanted to get a nice stroll in before heading home.
This was one of the first hikes we did in the afternoon as we normally start our hikes very early in the morning, sometimes requiring head lamps. It was a nice change of pace and we ended the hike around 5pm so we got to see some critters come out of hiding that normally would be sleeping during the warm hours of the day. You will see a lot of mountain bikers on this path so be careful to keep your furry friends on a leash at all time!
Difficulty: Moderate/Easy
What to Pack: Water, snacks, bug spray, second pair of socks or water shoes
A really pretty waterfall hike that would be good for cooler or warmer weather is Raven Cliff Falls near Helen! We liked this hike because it has beautiful rocks, waterfalls, and has good tree coverage which made it great for our dog who gets overheated quickly with all his fur.
The hike is just shy of 5 miles and with the drive not being too terribly far from Atlanta, we managed to hike and then enjoy a late lunch in downtown Helen at Cowboys & Angels (dog friendly patio) before heading back to Atlanta.
Difficulty: Moderate
What to Pack: water, snacks, sunglasses
Another fairly challenging hike is Blood Mountain by way of Vogel State Park. This hike puts you on the Appalachian Trail and is considerably less traveled. At 8 miles and about 4500 feet in elevation, the views are great and it will definitely get your heart rate up!
Difficulty: Moderate/Strenuous
What to Pack: Water, snacks, wind resistant jacket
This past Black Friday we decided to #OPTOutside instead of shop and did the Amicalola Falls hike. You can take the stairs up to the top of the falls and then take a gravel and dirt path down the back. A lot of people took the path up and the stairs down but we felt this way was less crowded. It is dog friendly but the stairs have holes in them so depending on your dogs paw size, they may need to be carried up like our pup did.
Difficulty: Moderate
What to Pack: water, sunglasses
A fairly easy hike in close proximity to Atlanta would be the Pine Mountain Trail up in Cartersville near Lake Allatoona. This can be an easy hike since you have the option to do a short loop thats probably 1.5-2 miles or the entire east and west trails for a total of 4.5 miles. The elevation profile is about 600 feet so the climb can get your heart rate up, but nothing too strenuous.
Dogs are allowed on this trek and you might even see a few deer. There is an overlook that has great views of Cartersville and you can even see Midtown, Buckhead and Dunwoody in the distance.
Difficulty: Easy/Moderate
What to Pack: Bottle of water, mosquito repellant, snack
I will continue to update this thread as we do more GA hikes.