Kennesaw Park Trail Mix - Southern Meadow

Please join me on this hike through the southern section of the Kennesaw Battlefield Park.  There is a lot of variety of terrain and micro-climates and to me, one of the highlights is the large open meadow on the last mile of the hike (hence the name).

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 and I plan to do this hike periodically to see those changes.  This Sunday may be drizzling but we'll see plenty of flowering trees and fresh green growth.

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 Drive 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 Drive, Marietta, GA 30064  Note: Make sure you plug in "Drive", NOT "Road".

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 really bad weather or road conditions.