Red Top Mountain State Park, Georgia
Red Top Mountain State Park is an easy day trip from Atlanta, GA. There are also ample camping and cabin rentals here if you’re looking for a longer getaway. We ventured up to Red Top Mountain on a spring weekday with perfect weather for some much needed outdoor time. We combined our visit with the Etowah Indian Mounds Historical Site, also run by the Georgia Parks Department.
Red Top Mountain is more traditionally known for its water access. It is a popular place to access and enjoy Lake Allatoona. It is lesser known for its hiking trails, although there are plenty of them. That is what drew us there on a beautiful Thursday in February.
You should start your visit at the lovely Red Top Mountain Visitors Center. There is plenty of parking at the visitors center. We popped in to pick up our Georgia State Jr. Ranger Packet.
The official Georgia Geocache is also down one of the trails near the visitors center, so if you’re trying to comple the Georgia State Park GeoTrail, make sure you get this cache before leaving the area. Also near the visitors center is a short paved trail that leads to a reconstructed 1860’s homestead.
We had our eyes though on the 4 mile Iron Hill Trail, which starts just down the road. (You’ll need to drive to the trailhead.) This wooded and gravel topped path is nearly entirely flat and provides alternating views of the water and the iron rich soil hills which made this area a popular place to mine.
Geocache stops throughout the hike kept the kids’ attention. Plus we found plenty of sticks, rocks and bugs to investigate as we hiked. We had a ton of bird activity while we walked too, it was an oversight that I didn’t bring our birding guide and binoculars with us.
We also saw turtles and fish every time the path was close to the water. It was such a great way to get out and enjoy some great weather and get some exercise.
