Featured Hike: Cloudland Canyon State Park

Cloudland Canyon State Park features 64 miles of hiking trails spread over 3500 acres near the western side of Lookout Mountain, Georgia. For only $5 to park (or by using a Georgia State Parks annual pass), the entire family can enjoy cascading waterfalls, breathtaking views, well-maintained trails, and abundant wildlife. All of this is only an hour and 45 minutes from East Cobb.

Upon arriving at the park, you’ll enter through the gate and choose where to park. To see only the waterfalls - there are 2 - you can park in one of the lower lots to complete the 2-mile Waterfall Trail. There are many stairs and unfortunately, this length of trail is not handicap accessible. Energetic children will do well with this portion of the hike, though it’s not recommended to take dogs. The metal grid stairs can be painful on paws, and we witnessed no fewer than 10 dog owners carrying their pups up and down.

If you’re up for a challenge, the West Rim Loop (5 miles) will lead you around to breathtaking views of the canyon itself. Go left at the fork once inside the park and drive past the campsites to the northwest corner of the West Rim loop to park. Hiking down this trail will also lead you to the Waterfall Trail, which is worth tacking on. The trails are rocky at times and definitely not suitable for a stroller.

Pack a lunch, snack, and lots of water. Even our 2 young children were able to complete this longer combined hike with a lot of encouragement (and they napped all the way home!).