Sweetwater Creek White and Red Trails ~ Dog Friendly

This will be a moderately paced hike at Sweetwater Creek State Park. This is a fun and scenic hike very close to town.  We will start on the White trail and go counter clock wise until we come to the intersection with the Red trail. We will them follow the Red trail along Sweetwater Creek and past the ruins of the old Manchester Thread Mill. This hike includes some areas where we will scramble across rocks. Anyone who is interested is welcome to continue on to the Yellow trail to add 3 additional mile to the hike.

White Trail: 3 miles one way. Blazed white. Rated moderate to difficult. 

The White Trail passes through some of the most remote areas of the park west of Sweetwater Creek. It connects to the end of the Red trail following the rapids as they continue down the creek. The trail then turns west and follows Jack’s Branch upstream to Jack’s Lake. This stream community has a great variety of spring wildflowers. Hikers will also pass through areas covered with ferns, Bigleaf Magnolias, Wild Azaleas and Mountain Laurel. After climbing out of the lake valley the trail passes through the Jack’s Hill area, a former farming community now known for its open meadows and a favorite of bird watchers.  

Red Trail:  1 mile one way.  Blazed red. Rated easy to difficult.  

The Red Trail, after half a mile, takes you to the impressive New Manchester mill ruins alongside the white-water rapids of Sweetwater Creek and is the recommended hike for first-time visitors. New Manchester was a mid-nineteenth century mill town which met its demise during the Civil War.  The second half mile of the Red Trail, downstream of the mill, continues to follow the rapids to the Sweetwater Falls area and is considerably more strenuous because of the very rocky terrain.

Yellow Trail: 3-mile loop. Blazed yellow. Rated moderate to difficult for normal people.  

The Yellow Trail is accessed by entering the Red Trail at the bottom corner of the parking area and then turning left after approximately 150 feet. It then drops into the creek valley and heads upstream to the bridge across Sweetwater Creek. After crossing the bridge the trail turns downstream where, just past the wooden footbridge, you will find a fork in the path. Once we get to the fork in the trail, we're going to take it (Yogi Berra reference.  Also, not on the website).   We'll probably go clockwise around the loop.

Sweetwater Creek State Park hiking trail parking lot near the visitor center: Take I-20 west from Atlanta, exit #44 at Thornton Road, turn left and go 1/4 mile. Turn right on Blairs Bridge Road, go 2 miles and turn left on Mount Vernon Road. Travel a couple more miles and into the park. Just after crossing over the lake, look for a sign that says hiking/nature trails, and take a left there (there is a small entry gate). Continue straight to the end of the road to the parking area.

Will this event occur rain or shine? No, not in severe weather.

There is a $5.00 parking fee at the park.