Cloudland Canyon- Part 1- Along the Rim and Below

Cloudland Canyon is a great place to go if you want to have a nice long weekend adventure. It's one of Georgia's most beautiful state parks and at times can be very busy with visitors. The best part about Cloudland Canyon is you don't HAVE to stay and hike the trails with everyone else. There is a "secret" at the bottom of the canyon that most folks don't even know about. I'll share that with you in my next blog. What you see in this blog is the most common trails with waterfalls and spectacular views.


A view from the Main Overlook of the Canyon.

Taking part of the West Rim Trail to the Waterfalls Trails. First stop is Upper Falls.

This picture was taken several years ago of Upper Falls. The last time we went, the water barely cascaded from the rocks because of the lack of rain we've been having. No telling when we'll see the falls as full as they are here. The pool below looks great for swimming, but there are signs posted asking you not to. But... when have we ever followed the "rules" ; )

You can see in this picture where the falls aren't as full.

After taking a series of stairs down into the Canyon, you find yourself at Lower Falls, the most impressive of the two. It's really hard to get an idea of actually how tall the waterfalls really are, but to give you an idea, that large boulder in the foreground is at least 10' tall.

Once finished hiking those wonderful stairs, take the West Rim Trail to stretch out those burning and cramped calves. It's worth it. Now, I will honestly say that we didn't make it to the end. We got to the boulder walls and played there until we were tired and made our way back to the picnic area. It was like an adult jungle gym and lots of fun!

Just a slight little detour to check out a "cave".

Right now we are looking back at the other side of the canyon where the trail begins.

What you don't see is that crack in the boulders where Steve's legs are hanging is a good 8' to 10' deep.... or from a girl that's scared of heights.... A LONG WAY DOWN!

Here's Megan making her way through that same crack. It gets tighter the further you go in, so be ready to turn around if you think you might get stuck.

HA!!! Andy working it for the camera!

Marquardt looks sooo far up there.

Here's the other Overlook. Basically, you make a left to access the West Rim and Waterfalls Trails, but you'd make a right to go to this overlook.

I could be wrong, but I think that's Trenton down in the valley below.

Chris and Marquardt striking a pose. hehehe!