Hiking in Fort Mountain State Park, Georgia

My job took me to Georgia this week where our carpet fabrication facility is. On Tuesday evening after work, I was able to drive up to Fort Mountain State Park for a short hike. The park is only a 20 minute drive East of Chatsworth. The road quickly winds up into the mountains, leaving the city far below. I went on a short, easy one mile loop hike to the summit of Fort Mountain. The conditions were calm with overcast skies and a temperature around 50°F.

Download route in Keyhole Markup Language (KML) format for use with GPS units and mapping programs. Disclaimer.

There are several well-marked trails that head from the parking lot up to the summit of Fort Mountain. I chose the most direct route, which heads North, straight to the summit. Near the top, there is an ancient rock wall running in a zigzag line for about 855 feet on the East side of the mountain. Its origin is unknown, but might be from early Native Americans.

   

At the summit of Fort Mountain, there is an old stone fire tower built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the Great Depression in the 1930's. From the summit, I headed East on another trail that follows the rock wall before joining the main trail again.

   

It was a beautiful early spring day in North Georgia. Wild flowers were just starting to bloom and the deciduous trees were beginning to get their leaves. I saw several squirrels scurrying around the forest floor gathering acorns. They refused to stand still for a picture.

   

It was relatively quite afternoon, with only a few other people on the trails. I am amazed at how close to town such a striking natural area is. I bet summer weekends are quite different with large crowds of people visiting the park.