Cloudland Canyon Fall Splendor Day Trip

SPECIAL NOTE added on Friday AM:  Since I first posted this trip yesterday morning I've decided to move the event later by 1 hour - meeting for optional carpooling at 9:00 AM and then all of us gathering at the Park at 11:00 AM. -Charlie

IN A NUTSHELL:   Known for its beautiful vistas, brilliant fall foliage, spectacular waterfalls and incredible hiking trails, Cloudland Canyon is considered by many to be the "#1 crown jewel" of Georgia's state park system.  An easy 2-hour drive from Atlanta, it's just south of Chattanooga, where over the millennia powerful streams have cut steep-walled canyons and waterfalls into the western rim of Lookout Mountain.  On this fall day trip we'll enjoy a series of hikes to vista points along the top of the canyon - also down to the waterfalls deep inside the canyon via an amazing trail network and stairway.
  Although I've billed this as a "D4" event at a "Moderate" pace (about 9 miles total between 11 AM and 4 PM) I'm sure we'll enjoy pausing often along the way to enjoy the amazing views, take photos, let everyone catch up, etc. - also to have lunch together from our day packs at an appropriate scenic overlook. (See "Items to Bring" sections below.)

CHOOSE ONE of these DRIVING OPTIONS (PRECISE DIRECTIONS and GPS DESTINATIONS for both meetup spots are given below.)
1. Drive Directly to the State Park's main Parking Lot where we'll all gather at 11:00 AM beside the Restroom Building.
2. Meet me for Carpooling at 9:00 AM at the Busbee Drive Park & Ride Lot, just off the I-75 Chastain Road Exit north of Marietta.

MORE about CLOUDLAND CANYON STATE PARK:  Founded in 1938 it now boasts 3485 acres of amazing terrain with 1100 feet of vertical elevation between its lowest and highest points  The steep twin canyons cut by Daniel Creek and Bear Creek join one another hundreds of feet below the mesa-like mountaintop, forming the deeper, wider "Sitton Gulch Creek" canyon and numerous scenic waterfalls, cascades and pools.  (The photo above was shot from the Park's central overlook looking northward into the main canyon.)  For an excellent color Trail Map click this link:  http://gastateparks.org/Parks/images/cloudland/CloudlandCanyon-2013.pdf

For some great Cloudland Canyon photos click these two links:
Joyce Taaffes's colorful shots of our AOC group dayhike in the fall of 2014:
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10153485967570260&type=1&l=94ef930f85

http://images.google.com/images? hl=en&q=%22cloudland+canyon%22+photos&um=1&ie=UTF- 8&ei=o4R-S7z- PJPflAe4ouTEDQ&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum =1&ved=0CBcQsAQwAA

SPECIAL DEDICATION:  We dedicate this series of beautiful Cloudland Canyon dayhikes to the memory of Atlanta Outdoor Club member Don Conner who died of natural causes last Saturday while hiking at Mt. Yonah.  Don had been one of my closest friends since the mid-70s.  I was often privileged to be hiking, camping or stargazing with him on many of the AOC events that he and his wife Carol did since they first became active in our Club in 2011.  As Don's family members mention in his obituary this week, "He "entered eternal life doing what he loved best - exploring the mountains on a beautiful day."  Don will be with us in spirit this Saturday and I suggest that we ceremonially add his name to our hike roster following the event.  Don's Memorial Service will be held this Friday, Oct 23 at 2:00 PM at Holy Cross Catholic Church, 3773 Chamblee Tucker Rd, Atlanta, GA 30341.  AOC members who knew and loved him are invited to celebrate his remarkable life, his warm smile and his incredibly kind and friendly personality.  Many thanks to Joyce Taaffe for sharing this recent photo of Don (with me in green!) that she took at our AOC St. Pat's Day 2015 hike + Irish Picnic & Sing-along in Mason Mill Park.  The Irish songbook that we sang from was given to me by Don 35 years ago.

DIRECTIONS to CLOUDLAND CANYON STATE PARK MAIN PARKING LOT where we all meet at 11:00 AM (It's about 110 miles from the I-75/I-285 Interchange in NW Atlanta.  For a zoomable map & satellite view of our meetup spot click the square blue & green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article.)
1.  From the I-75/I-285 Interchange take I-75 North about 60 miles to I-75 Exit #320, "GA Hwy 136.
2.  Turn Left onto GA-136 West and carefully follow the GA-136 signs about 48 miles (through several sharp turns) to the Cloudland Canyon State Park entrance on your right.  (The Park entrance is on GA-136 about 0.8 mile beyond its junction with GA-189, the "Lookout Mtn Pkwy.")  More cautionary notes:  Along GA-136 pass through the towns of Villanow, Lafayette, and Cooper Heights, GA and climb up the steep eastern slope of Lookout Mtn.  Be esp. vigilant for the GA-136 signs when bypassing Lafayette:  There's a hard Right turn onto the Lafayette bypass (concurrent with 4-lane US-27) - then another hard Right followed by a hard Left to stay on GA-136 (leaving US-27) just 3 miles north of Lafayette!
3. Turn Right into the State Park and continue straight ahead on the entrance road about 1 more mile (northward).  We'll all park in the main visitors' parking lotl and gather there a few minutes before 10:00 beside the Restroom Building.  If you didn't already pay your $5 daily parking fee at the entrance there's a self-serve envelope & windshield-display  system for this.  Also it's fine to display a GA-DNR annual parking pass if you have one.

GPS and GOOGLE MAPS USERS:  You may wish to augment the above written directions by entering the following Lat/Lon coordinates (as you would a street address) as your destination for our 11:00 AM meetup spot: 34.83473,-85.47988