Fall Color Photo Hike - Black Rock Mountain State Park

Photo Hike: This hike will be geared toward the hiker that wants to balance exercise with the chance to enjoy the scenery. We'll take a moderate pace and allow for breaks at scenic spots. Photographers of all levels and abilities are welcome. Please bring your point and shoot camera, SLR, or other favorite camera. Click the following links for information on why leaves change colors in the fall and on general tips for photographing fall colors. For general info on photography, see photo.net.

Blackrock Mountain State Park:
This hike is located located in the Blue Ridge Mountains just north of Clayton, GA, Black Rock Mountain is Georgia's highest State Park, with much of its rugged terrain at 3000' above sea level or higher. On clear days hikers enjoy 80-mile vistas, including three states! Several overlooks offer beautiful views of the Southern Appalachian mountains and the valleys below. In other places the trails encircle lakes and meander along cascading streams with occasional small waterfalls.

Our plan is to take a moderate pace and to hike the James E. Edmonds trial and a couple of short loops around Black Rock Lake and up to Ada-Hi Falls. The total hike distance is 8 miles and will involve some hill climbs. The hike is moderate with some strenuous hill climbs. On the hike, we'll walk beside the meandering Taylor Creek, see a fabulous view of the Little Tennessee Valley, and check out Ada-Hi falls.

NOTE: Since I have not been on the trail before, this will be an exploritory trip. However, this is a well marked state park trail, we'll have good maps from park officials, and there will be other hikers along the way to help if needed. With this in mind, please have a sense of adventure and openness to experience.

Free Downloadable Trail Map! Use the following link for the State Park's beautiful color topo map that clearly shows all of the trails. (Free copies of these nice maps are available now in most of the GA State Park Visitor Centers upon request, so don't forget to stop by and ask for one!)

http://www.gastateparks.org/content/Georgia/parks/trail_maps/BlackRock_map.pdf

If constant rain or severe thunderstorms are forecast, I may decide to postpone the event, in which case I'll try to notify everyone no later than Saturday Morning, Oct 22st.