Hiking Fort Mountain: Outstanding Views along a Mysterious Wall

Quick stats: Length: 2-8 miles Difficulty: Easy to Moderate Highlights: The hiking trails at Fort Mountain State Park travel to outstanding long range views, a mysterious, massive rock wall, a CCC rock tower, and through incredibly beautiful forest. The hiking trails at Fort Mountain State Park in North...

Hiking Panther Creek: One of Georgia’s Most Beautiful Waterfalls

Quick stats: Length: 7 miles Difficulty: Moderate to difficult (short sections have sharp dropoffs and are difficult – we don’t recommend this hike for children or dogs) Highlights: This popular hiking trail follows along the banks of Panther Creek for 3.5 miles to one of the most beautiful...

The Giant Gennett Poplar in a Rich Creek Valley: Hiking Bear Creek

Quick stats: Length: 3 miles (loop) Difficulty: Easy Highlights: This hike in the Chattahoochee National Forest courses through a rich valley along Bear Creek and visits the Gennett Poplar, a giant tulip poplar tree. Bear Creek is a popular destination for both hiking and mountain biking – and for...

Unbridled Beauty: Hiking Scenic Point in Glacier National Park

Quick Stats Length: 6.25 miles, out-and-back Elevation change: 4400 feet Difficulty: Moderately strenuous Highlights: Spectacular, unbelievable views abound on this Glacier National Park hike. Add a side trail to a rushing waterfall, and it’s easy to understand why this hiking trail is named Scenic...

2010 Hiking, Backpacking & Camping Holiday Gift Guide

Our 2010 holiday gift shopping guide features hand picked gifts from our favorite outdoor retailers. Our gift guide features a bunch of our favorite hiking, camping and backpacking gear, plus a few favorites we wouldn’t mind seeing under the tree. All are perfect gifts for the hiker, camper,...

A Lakeside Trail Close to Atlanta: Hiking at Red Top Mountain

Clear blue skies, fair weather and hints of Spring make us crave some hiking time in the woods with our black lab – but unfortunately, schedules don’t always permit a day-long drive up to the Chattahoochee National Forest.  We’ve found a few nice trails around the metro area that...

Camping along Noontoola Creek – Chattahoochee National Forest at Three Forks

Along a rushing, rocky creek in the Chattahoochee National Forest in North Georgia just East of Ellijay, we found one of our favorite camping spaces in North Georgia.  The primitive campsites at Three Forks here along FR 58 are sheltered by beautiful forest of Rhodedendron, hemlock, poplar, and oak –...

Hiking the Appalachian Trail at Indian Grave Gap

This moderately difficult, 5.5 mile hike presents a challenge from the very start – the trailhead begins a steep ascent to the top of Rocky Mountain with a vertical rise of nearly 1,000 feet in the first mile of trail. The reward, though, is beautiful views from atop the mountain, as well as a...