Read more about the article Petit Jean State Park – Morrillton, AR

Petit Jean State Park – Morrillton, AR

It’s hard to write this post. Usually, I relish writing about my trip after the fact. However, I somehow feel that if I write about it, I will be putting it to rest. I didn’t want this trip to end.

Just a short drive from Little Rock lies Petit Jean State Park. Since the pickings are scarce in the AAA guidebook for Arkansas, I decided we should review what’s on the list. Petit Jean was the first state park in Arkansas, founded around 1921 with help from Stephen Mather of the National Park Service.

We started at the point in the picture above. Overlooking the Arkansas River, we saw the remains of a building and a cemetery. It turns out this land was a former YMCA Camp Mitchell until it burned in the 1940s. Later that decade, it was purchased by the Episcopalian church which leases the land to Petit Jean today. (more…)

Sweetwater Creek State Park – Lithia Springs, GA

Located on the west side of Atlanta in Lithia Springs, Sweetwater Creek State Park offers 9 miles of wooded hiking trails. The highlight is walking by the ruins of an old textile mill burned during the Civil War.

Sweetwater Creek State Park
Sweetwater Creek State Park
The trail to the mill ruins is marked in red.
The trail to the mill ruins is marked in red.

We took our dog and hiked along the red, historic trail to see the mill ruins. The 1/2 mile to the mill ruins is relatively easy and follows Sweetwater Creek. (more…)

Vogel State Park – Fall Hike

Autumn:

Crisp Air.

Harvest Time.

Fall Leaves.

Time to get out of Atlanta and go “Leaf- peeping”

The Former Lumpkin County Courthouse is now home to the Dahlonega Gold Museum

First stop is Dahlonega. Flags and crosses honoring veterans line the streets leading into the town of 5,000 residents. Central to the historic downtown is the Dahlonega Gold Museum. Housed in the original Lumpkin County Courthouse – the oldest courthouse in Georgia, the museum details the history of the first gold rush in U.S. history. (more…)

Providence Canyon State Park in Lumpkin, Georgia

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Providence Canyon State Park

We took a trip to Providence Canyon State Park, near Lumpkin, Georgia a few weeks ago.  I had read about it in a GA state park brochure and was impressed by the pictures. Calling it the Little Grand Canyon I thought we needed to investigate this treasure in Georgia. According to MapQuest, the park is a good 2.5 hours away so we hadn’t made it down there. When we were at Callaway Gardens, it was only 1.5 hours away so we decided to go there.

Hiking down the quarter-mile descent, verdant shrubs bordered the path until we were greeted by rivers of red clay at the base of the canyon floor. We tiptoed around the rivulets toward Fingers 4 & 5, which according to the park ranger, were the most impressive. (more…)