West Palisades (Akers Mill) *National Park Week*

April 22 - 26 is fee free week at most National Parks, including the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. If you didn't know, there are lots of very popular parks all along the Chattahoochee River. If you haven't been to these parks before, now is your chance to try any or all of them for free. I'm launching a series of hikes this week that will introduce you to most of the popular CNRA hiking trails. I would love it if you would come join me. You'll be amazed at what is right in your own backyard.
 
For each hike in the series, the difficulty and pace will vary as will the starting times. There are some daytime hikes and some evening hikes. I've tried to hit all sorts of different times throughout the day so hopefully at least one hike will fit it to everyones schedules. There are hikes ranging from a moderately paced D2 on which beginners are welcome all the way to a fast paced D3 hike that borderlines a fitness pace and is intended for intermediate to advanced skill hikers. On Friday, I'm doing two hikes at Island Ford which is the Park Headquarters. If you have done one or two of the hikes during the week and really like what you see, please consider signing up for a Friday hike at Island Ford and coming a few minutes early (or staying a few minutes late after the daytime hike) and purchasing a yearly pass at the Rangers Office. The pass is $25 and if you are even a slightly active AOC member; the pass will pay for itself in no time.

About this hike in a nutshell: This will be a D2 moderately paced hike. This is a great beginner hike. We'll cover about three miles and won't go at a breakneck speed.

I've enlisted some of my fellow Trip Leaders to participate in this series, so each hike will have an awesome co-lead on it. My co-lead extraordinaire for this hike will be Sam. Sam has been in AOC for quite a while so there's a good chance you have met her. She is a wonderful person - always bubbly and so happy about life. I've co-lead quite a few events with Sam and she always makes them so much more fun. Sam will definitely bring the smiles to this hike.

I will stagger the starting times for Registration by only a few minutes for each of these hikes so everyone has a fair shot of signing up. This is especially helpful if you plan on signing up for more than one hike. As always, remember...you should try to sign up as close to Registration opening as you can. The early bird does get the worm at AOC.   :)
 
Parking may be a little bit heavier than usual so please plan to arrive early so you can get a spot. We will depart for each hike at the posted starting time.

You're welcome to bring your dog but please follow the rules. The Chattahoochee NRA requires that owners keep their dogs on a leash and clean up after their pets on the trails. Please cooperate with the posted rules. Dogs MUST be on leash at all times for this event

We will start on time, so please arrive 5-10 minutes early to check in.  Restrooms are  not available at this trailhead.

Lat/Lon will take you straight to the parking lot:

open maps.google.com and paste the bold text in to the search bar. Then chose Satellite view for a bird's eye view

33.891623, -84.444515 

Lat: 33.891623 Lon: -84.444515 Please get directions from your starting location. You can get there easily off of 285 or 75 depending on where you're coming from. open maps.google.com and paste the bold text in to the search bar. Then chose Satellite view for a bird's eye view. 33.891623, -84.444515 The parking lot is at the end of Akers Ridge Dr SE. There are signs pointing you to the National Park...it is an official parking lot.