budget,  travel

Cloudland Canyon: Another Visit

July 15, 2020 /

We visited Cloudland Canyon on our way back from Chattanooga on our last family vacation in January. Cloudland Canyon State Park is in North Georgia and about 1 hour and 45 minutes from us. When we went in January, the waterfalls were majestic as we had had a really wet winter and thankfully, even though we just went in the middle of summer, the waterfalls were still beautiful and full of water (not like our trip to Nocalula Falls in Alabama last fall where there was barely a trickle of water. The first picture is now vs January.

 

We packed a picnic but did not want to carry it around so we just brought a packback full of waters and snacks and ate once we got back to the car. The day was hot but not bad in the mid 80s and while there were people there (the parking lot was pretty full) it did not feel crowded. People kept their distances and tried to walk quickly by. I did bring my carrier for my youngest as there are a number of stairs and I was not about to walk that slow or risk a fall. He had plenty of opportunities to walk so we was pretty content.

The boys really enjoyed playing in the rock near the waterfall. We did not go in the water as we were wearing regular shoes for hiking and not watershoes but that could be a fun thing to do. There are signs warning people of danger as it could get slippery.

There are two waterfalls to see and this time we went a little further than on our last visit.

We walked accross the bridge to walk the gulch trail which was very green and beautiful. I had to warn the children not to touch the plants bordering the trail because someone pointed out that they were stinging nettles. Very large stinging nettles plants!

Rock formations are always beautiful to look at and there was plenty to keep our attention. Following the river was fun and the hike was really mostly in the shade. We actually ended up packing our hats at the waterfall because we didn’t need them and they were just making us sweat!

I really love that my children can hike without much complaining (well one was complaining that his legs were hurting) but they really did enjoy our outing. Having some food and water is always essential: keep the kids happy and hydrated too. It was hot and it was important for us to keep on drinking. I have a small backpack that my oldest usually carries that can hold about 5 or 6 bottles. It was a great find at Aldi one year and now I really need a small backpack cooler. We hike enough that I know we would use it a lot and it would be more practical than carrying something in our hands or on the shoulder (which is why I left our lunches in the car).

Hope I am not boring you by sharing our hikes! They have been our major outings these past 6 months.

A bientôt!

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