BackPacker Magazine (May 2009) contains a list of the top 100 Day Hikes in America and Cloudland Canyon State Park is the closest one to me, only a two hour drive.  Last weekend I drove up to investigate and was able to join an informative wildflower hike, an easy 2 hr walk through a restricted area.  This past Saturday I headed back with a buddy to tackle a couple of walking trails.  In difficulty, the first is categorized as strenous, the second as moderate to strenous.

The first trail led to this waterfall.  The walk was a 2 mile in-and-out, but steep!  350-foot drop, or 1150 steps.  Going down was easy.  Coming back up?  Well, let's just say that my heart rate hit the maximum range.

The second trail, West Rim Loop Trail, is one of the most scenic hiking trails in the nation.  It is five miles long and it took us 3 hours and 15 minutes to complete.  The picture below shows that we'd made it to the other side of the canyon (gorge) but we still had a long way to go in order to complete the loop.

Cloudland Canyon State Park was established in 1938, and is located on the western edge of Lookout Mountain.  The West Rim Trail begins at Daniels Creek Bridge, climbs out of the canyon onto a plateau, and provides magnificent views of Trenton, Georgia and neighboring Sand Mountain.

When I get the chance to return, I hope to complete Sittton's Gulch Loop (6.5 miles) and see waterfall #2.  In addition, there is the Two-Mile Back Country Loop that features Spring and Summer wild flowers.

How are you testing your endurance these days?

Currently A Guide to Georgia State Parks and Historic Sites By unk. see related