Cloudland Canyon

Had some work to finish up in Georgia the week before Mardi Gras, which took me on a driving tour from Columbus to Macon, up through the East side of metro Atlanta and finally toward Chattanooga.  When I finished I found myself in the NW part of the state near a park I had always wanted to check out in person – Cloudland Canyon, which is on the western part of Lookout Mountain.  It was late in the day and I had about two hours left of daylight, but the folks at the front office assured me I had plenty of time to see the sights.  They were spot on too because in no time I was treated to this view.

Cloudland Canyon was full of scenic vistas like this one at the top of the canyon.  Being a sucker for waterfalls I hiked the waterfall trail which was basically a there-and-back trip down to the bottom of the canyon.  It was a breeze going down, but I had to take my time coming back up – lots of stairs.  It was a really cool trail though with a lot of exposed rock.

Daniel Creek lies at the bottom of the canyon and looks like it would be fun place to sling some flies.  I’ll bet it has it’s share of redeye bass.  It also boats a couple impressive waterfalls that I’m told become trickles in the summer – so I got to see them when they had decent flow.  I’m sure they rage after a storm.  Daniel and Bear Creek meet a short ways downstream at that point of my first picture as they flow through Sitton’s Gulch, views extend over both canyons via an overlook trail.

Cloudland Canyon made for a nice end to my sojourn through Georgia, definitely worth a visit if you ever find yourself up that way – it is not too far off of I-59 near Trenton, GA.  After I left the park I made my way down to Attalla, AL to have a beer with my buddy Josh before I made the drive home the next morning.  He told me that those crazy Jacksons run Bear Creek when it has enough water.  Wasn’t too hard to find some film of this: