Kennesaw Park Trail Mix - Southern Meadow

The weather may be cold and miserable now, but we are at the tail end of that huge storm and spring is just around the corner.  We will feel spring coming tomorrow since the weather will start out around freezing, but will warm up considerably.  And it should not rain (maybe a light drizzle or the last few snowflakes), even though it will still be mostly overcast.

Please join me on my first solo hike as a potential trip leader.  This is an example of one of the easier hikes I'd like to do regularly, exploring eventually ALL of the trails in the entire Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park.

We will start at the Cheatham Hill parking lot and after the customary introductions, we will hike the east and west trails clockwise, seeing the swamp, the horse trailer area, the John Ward parking lot, the grave of the unknown soldier, the unfinished bomb tunnel, and the huge Illinois Monument (near the parking lot where we started).  But instead of finishing, we'll go back down the hill, through the woods, around the meadow and finally back to the cars, making just over 7 miles.

It is a D3 because of the 7+ mile distance and 2.5 mph avg pace, but since there are no huge elevation changes, this will make a good first hike at this difficulty level.  We will make short, frequent stops to get a good feel for this part of the park (and maybe catch your breath if necessary).

This is one of my all-time favorite local hikes with lots of variety of terrain and changes throughout the seasons. 

The trailhead is the Cheatham Hill parking lot off of Dallas Hwy, west of Marietta, GA.
Dallas Highway is also known as Whitlock Ave and GA Hwy 120.

Going north on I-75 near Marietta, take exit 263 (120 South Loop to Marietta and Southern Polytechnic).  Follow the 120 South Loop for about 3 miles to Whitlock Ave.  The "loop" makes a hard right after you cross under the tracks (but you can't miss it).  Then left (west) on Whitlock Ave and go about 3 more miles to Cheatham Hill Dr on your left. The parking lot is at the end of the road.

The GPS coordinates of the trailhead are 33.936571, -84.596983

Alternatively, this street address works in my google maps on my android phone: Cheatham Hill Dr, Marietta, GA 30064

There is water available at the parking lot and at Kolb farm about half way through the main loop.
However, there are no bathroom facilities in this part of the park.
Parking is free!

I will let you know (by e-mail) by 7:00 am on the morning of the hike if I need to cancel this in case of freezing rain (being unsafe to drive).