Cloudland Canyon Rim and Gulch Trails– Rising Fawn, GA 5-10 miles –Mod to Stren

Cloudland Canyon Rim and Gulch Trails – Rising Fawn, GA – 5-10 miles – Moderate to Strenuous
Let's Take a Hike at Cloudland Canyon State Park!

Located on the Western edge of Lookout Mountain sits an awesome state park called Cloudland Canyon.

While there are several great hikes worth doing at Cloudland, we’re gonna hit the top two. The first is the West Rim Loop Trail, which is 4.8 miles and has superb views from the top of the canyon. The second is the Sitton Gulch Trail, which is 5 miles and walks down into the canyon to multiple waterfalls as well as a scenic trail along a river. It may also worth mentioning that it has a 1000 foot elevation gain with lots and lots and lots of steps. 😊

We will complete the Rim Trail first, take a break long enough to eat a packed lunch (which I recommend bringing along), and then complete the Gulch Trail. If you choose to join us for just the Rim Trail, but not the Gulch Trail. That is fine too.

While hiking we will keep a pace of 2.25 to 2.5 mph. Maybe a little slower for some of the more challenging parts, but with ample time to pause and take in the views.

As with all GA state parks, there is a fee of $5.00 per vehicle unless you have the appropriate annual parking pass. Day passes can be purchased at the park or online in advance through the State Park Link included below.

Doggies are very welcome and encouraged to join, but please note that the gulch trail has lots of steps at the beginning going down, and then at the end going up as it is an out and back trail. Also, we will be completing that one second. So, please keep that in mind.

We will meet outside of the restrooms near the parking lot at what is called the main overlook. This is preferable to meeting inside the restrooms, which probably wouldn’t work out very well. It is easier to find than it sounds. Even easier would be to just link to the pin map in the invite using google maps and it should bring you to the precise meeting place … give or take a few meters. YAY technology! 👍

The hike will start at 9:30 am from the meeting place. I do like to start events on time so please do not be late in consideration of all the attendees. I would expect us to be completed with both hikes by around 3:30 pm but please don’t hold me to that. In any case, plan on a full day outing.

The links below will have some more information on the trails and park itself. Please review them for more information and as always if you have any questions, please let me know and I will do my best to answer them:

West Rim Loop Trail – 4.8 miles – moderate:
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/georgia/a-walk-back-in-time-cloudland-canyon-state-park

Sitton Gulch Trail – 5 miles – moderate to strenuous (RE: elevation gain):
https://www.alltrails.com/explore/trail/us/georgia/sittons-gulch-trail

State Park website:
https://gastateparks.org/CloudlandCanyon

State Park Trail Map:
https://gastateparks.org/sites/default/files/parks/pdf/trailmaps/CloudlandCanyon_TrailMap.pdf

Please note: due to the travel commitment this hike may be cancelled if foul weather is foreseen as a very strong chance. I will send out notices in advance if we do have to cancel, but please check back as the date draws nearer.

Hope to see you there, and of course please remember that you will be participating entirely at your own risk as Suwanee Take-a-Hikers assumes absolutely no liability (nada, zero, zilch, zip, jack squat) for adverse events which may occur during meetups. Cheers! 😊