Sweetwater Creek... W-R-Y-O = 11 miles

Rescheduled from 1/7.

Okay, let's try this again....

It's a new year and time to hit the trails of beautiful Sweetwater Creek once more.

We’ll begin our hike on the White trail, which will take us through the Jack’s Hill area (a former farming community). We’ll pass Jack’s Lake and hike along a lovely branch creek to Sweetwater Creek. Here we’ll take a hard left up the short but fierce Brown trail to get some elevation gain. We’ll circle around to rejoin the White. Since the Red trail is closed for rehab, we'll follow the White trail back to the Visitor's Center for a short break.

After our break we'll return to the creek via the short section of the Red that is still open. We'll join up with the the Yellow trail (more elevation gain), veer off on the Orange trail and back to the Yellow trail, returning to the Visitor Center.

The White trail will take us across some rocky terrain so if you’re not comfortable scrambling across rocks, you may want to sit this one out. I will maintain a roughly 2.5-2.7 mph pace for the hike so be prepared to maintain this pace. We’ll need to stay fairly close together as there are a lot of turns on these trails. The elevation gain will be approximately 1400 feet. This is a long solid D4 hike so please be ready with good hiking boots and enough water (you can refill at the Visitor’s Center on our break). I ask that you have solid D3 and up experience. If you are new to the club, feel free to email me your hiking, running, athletic, etc. background to make sure you and the hike will enjoy each other's company. In other words....

This is NOT a beginner's hike!

Sweetwater is a beautiful park with lots of history. If time allows after the hike, I encourage you to visit the excellent history and nature center.

We'll meet in the parking area for the Visitor Center. Please arrive early to allow time for a pit stop if needed (there are restrooms that will be open) and introductions so we can be on the trail promptly at 8:30 am.

$5 day pass or $50 annual pass. (50% discount on annual pass for hikers 62 and older!) Both can be purchased on site or online. Day pass can also be purchased at the kiosk in the parking area. You can also check out a Georgia State Parks pass at most public libraries. (But it's a good thing to support the parks and pay for a pass).