Sweetwater Creek - Trails and History

Let's beat the heat (kind of) and the crowds (mostly) with an early start for 12 miles of hiking at Sweetwater Creek State Park - where history and Hollywood mingle with some beautiful hiking trails. 

We’ll meet at the Visitor’s Center for introductions. We’ll then head out on the Yellow trail to the bridge crossing over the creek. Here we’ll take a quick detour on the Blue trail before continuing on the Orange trail. We follow the Orange trail around clockwise until it intersects with the Yellow trail, which we take back to the Visitor’s Center for a short break.

The second half of our hike will start on the White trail. This trail takes us through the Jack’s Hill area (a former farming community), by Jack’s Lake then follows along lovely Jack's Branch creek to Sweetwater Creek. We’ll take a hard left up the short but fierce Brown trail. We’ll zig zag on the White and Green trails to finally reach the Red trail that runs along Sweetwater Creek. This trail takes us up to the Manchester Mill ruins. This  mid-19th century textile mill has more recently been featured in the Hunger Games movies. We will continue on the Red trail to return to the Visitor’s Center.

There is some rocky terrain on the Red trail so if you’re not comfortable scrambling across rocks, you do not want to sign up for this hike. We will maintain a moderate pace for the duration of the hike. We’ll need to stay fairly close together as there are a lot of turns on these trails.

The elevation gain for this hike will be approximately 1400 feet. This is a long solid D4 hike so please be ready with good hiking boots and plenty of water (you can refill at the Visitor’s Center on our break). It is NOT a beginner’s hike. I ask that you have solid D3 and up experience. If your hiking history is not with the AOC, please share your recent hiking or other fitness activity with me. I ask this for the safety and enjoyment of all.

About Sweetwater Creek Trails

Directions to Sweetwater Creek State Park -- 1750 Mt. Vernon Rd. Lithia Springs:  

• 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.

You will need an annual Georgia State Park pass (highly recommended and encouraged) or $5 to purchase a day pass. Park passes can also be checked out from area public libraries.