Pine Mountain Rec Area Trail System - East Loop
Jan 25th, 2009 by Admin 1
Pine Mountain Trail System - East Loop
Nearest Town: Cartersville, GA
Trailhead Location: 20 Spur near Bartow Beach
Directions:I-75 Exit 290, East on GA 20. Right at light onto 20 Spur. Continue approximately four miles. The East Loop Trailhead access and parking area is on the right, just past the turn to Bartow Beach and Gatewood Park
Trail Length: 2.34 mi
Trail Management:City of Cartersville
Trail Description: An easy loop trail with gradual climbs and a series of switchbacks that connects to the Summit Overlook Trail via the East Pass.
Once again we headed out late in the afternoon with kids in tow for a short local family hike. We ended up taking the East loop Clockwise and were pretty happy with what we found. The trail is well designed and has been cut into the hillside leveling the entire trail top to bottom. The trail appears to be very well maintained making this one of the most pleasant hikes we’ve done in while. The topography ascends and descends of course, but when you’re ankles aren’t bent sideways to keep yourself from rolling down the hill, it makes it so much easier to walk.
The trail winds through some nice scenery up a gradual climb to the East Pass(.14 mi.) which connects you the Summit Overlook trail(.16 mi.). The Summit Overlook is a large boulder outcropping that provides a panoramic view of the surrounding area and we were told you can see the Atlanta skyline on a clear day. It was too hazy for that today, but it was a nice view anyway and a cool place to hang out for a while.
When we came down from the overlook we wanted to continue left on the West Pass and hike the West Loop, but it was getting late so we took the East Pass back to complete the East Loop. After winding through some more boulders the trail descends to a creek with a Mountain Laurel thicket and a couple footbridges that cross the creek. In case you haven’t read any of our other posts, the aesthetics of a hike are very important to us. This area is very beautiful, a little close to civilization, so in some areas you can hear boats and cars. Still a pretty decent hike near Canton.
This trail is open to hiking every day and is also open to mountain bikers on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Directional blazes which are posted at the trailhead must be followed according to the day.
