One of the best things about living in Georgia is the number of state parks available to us. The mountains to the north offer a great selection of parks and places to visit, but unless you can go for a weekend or longer, the distance can be a deterrent.
Somewhat closer, less than ten miles outside the perimeter, is a little piece of the outdoors that can make you think you are in the mountains. Sweetwater Creek State Park, out past Six Flags, is a terrific place to spend a day. There is a lake, with rental boats available for fishing or just rowing, there are picnic areas, and there are trails for hiking. Since it is a state park, dogs must be kept on leashes, but having a place like this so close makes that a minor inconvenience.

As you leave the parking area, you enter a hardwood forest typical of north Georgia - lots of oak, maple, poplar, sweetgum, and dogwood trees, with ferns, mountain laurel, and wild rhododendron filling in the understory. There are three trails, each identified by the color of the blaze painted on the trees. The total distance of the trails is only six miles, so the entire park can be hiked in the course of a day.
There are two main attractions along the creek - the ruins of an old textile factory and a small waterfall. Both the red and blue trails will take you to each of them. The red trail follows along the stream, while the blue trail winds through the woods farther back.

At first the creek is deep and quiet, but it soon begins to move downhill, cascading over and around the rocky shoals that make up the streambed. For a diversion, you can walk out into the stream hopping from one rocky outcropping to another. It is a little over half a mile to the old factory, and for something called a ruins, it looks pretty good. It is completely fenced in, keeping the graffiti artists out. During the Civil War, the factory produced textiles which were used to make confederate uniforms or tents, depending on which version of the story you hear. Whichever it was, it got General Sherman all upset, and the little firebug had it burned down. In its day, it was a state-of-the-art facility, using the most advanced technology available.

On the red trail it is half a mile from the factory is the falls; on the blue trail it is one mile. You can tell you are at the falls because there is an observation deck there. In fact, that is the only way you can tell. As waterfalls go, this one is kind of a yawner.
At this point, you can return to the parking area on the same trail, or take the other trail for a three mile loop. The blue trail climbs up the side of a hill and into the woods, winding its way for two miles back to the ruins and the parking area.

The white trail begins at the waterfall overlook and takes you on a three mile hike. It is a nice walk, following the stream for about half a mile, then moving away from the stream and into a different part of the park. After climbing up the side of a ridge, you pass a small lake, where you might see beaver, turtles, heron, and many other birds and animals. There is a wide variety of plantlife in this park, with more than 100 species of wildflowers blooming in the spring.. The trail then passes through a large meadow and ends back at the parking area.

The white trail is less heavily traveled than the others, and most of the time there won’t be anyone else around. If you take the dog off the leash here, it can get some exercise.

Sweetwater Creek is a great place to spend a day. It offers a lot in a small area, and we are lucky to have it so close to the city.

A bridge was washed out during recent heavy rains making the main road to the park unusable. Here is a simple alternate route. Take I-20 west to Lee Road (exit 41). Turn left on Lee Road and go about one mile to Cedar Terrace Road. Turn left and go to Mt. Vernon Road. Turn right, the park entrance is about ½ mile on the left.