Update on Garland Mountain Trail Phase 1
Jul 30th, 2009 by Admin 1
Nearest Town: Canton, GA
Directions: From Canton, take Hwy 140 North/West through Waleska. Take Right onto Garland Mountain Rd, take left onto Garland Mountain Way. Parking lot is on the left.
Trail Length: Phase 1 -5.5 mi
We were on our way to hike Pine Log Creek last Thursday and decided to stop at Garland Mountain (Cherokee County’s newest trail system) to check on the progress.
So far, there is a huge unmarked gravel parking lot and main loop that descends to a creek bed at the bottom and has an off-chute to what seems to be an old service road or old horse trail. There are a couple of cool places they have graveled where you can ford through the creek to cross it.
The trail is essentially a muddy wide track that may be great for horses, I don’t know personally, but is a little lack-luster for hiking. The area is beautiful and I think they could have wound the trail around some natural features to ad a little more visual interest. I also think single tracks naturally lend more beauty since they can wind through trees and boulders more easily. It’s got an uphill stretch that is pretty nice, but would have been better with some well laid switchbacks, again I don’t know how that works for horses and I understand the primary purpose of this trail is for riding.
As of yet, there is no signage, but they will be putting up signs for phase 1 with a trail map around early September. All in all it is a decent trail, and it’s certainly a welcome change from the usual track around the ball field type park.
