We were aprehensive, due to a bad review of this location (posted in 2011), but decided to go with…read morethis anyway after interviewing the owner. My sister and daughter are avid horsebackriders from Sweden, own several, and have ridden in competition successfuly. THEY LOVED IT! It was precisely what they wanted: trails, unlead, free riding, beauty, and over one hour of enjoyment of equine luxury! I am not sure what Emily D ran into (10/26/11), but it was likely NOT this riding stable. our experience has no corelation whatsoever to their experience at all.

Staff is very friendly and intentional about their pairing of riders and horses. The horses are…read morewell taken care of and so sweet. They've got something for everyone- kids, adults, experienced riders and people who have never seen a horse a day in their life. We'll definitely visit them again, they were awesome

Garland Mountain Horse and Hiking Trails is a Cherokee County park located west of Waleska…read morefeaturing 14+ miles of trails with several more miles planned. The park has a very large gravel parking lot - suitable for horse trailers - as well as some picnic and toilet facilities. The trails are well laid out of the map at the information board and there are color-coded trail markers on posts at the various trailheads. The weather was not cooperating when I visited so I did not venture too far away from the parking lot. I'll update on a subsequent visit. This looks to be another nice hiking spot near to metro Atlanta. Looking at the map, the property adjoins that of Pine Log Creek Trail operated by adjacent Barrow County.

I lived in Ellijay and worked in Atlanta so i found this place on my commute. I got to watch the…read moreprocess of them stripping the field, planting the seedlings and watching the beautiful sunflowers pop up in what felt like a blink of an eye. lol.. anyways.. finally one day, i dragged my sister to the field to take a closer look and it was awesome. The field is huge so bring your best walking shoes, someone you love, and a camera and go out there!

A beautiful drive towards the North GA mountains, Fausett Farms is a stunning escape from the…read morecity/suburbs. Located in Dawsonville off Hwy 136, this beautiful farm is a must-see stop during Fall. Before you even pull in, you'll see the acres of beaming and bright yellow sunflowers happy and thriving in the fields. The farm charges a small entrance fee, and they do allow you to cut and purchase your own sunflowers during certain weeks of peek season. They are great about posting updates to their website and social media for the upcoming season. I had so much fun walking through the fields and snapped some awesome photos of our local Georgia pollinators and famous monarch butterflies enjoying a snack provided by the sunflowers. Nature loves to show off!

December 13, 2020…read more Approximately 8 miles north of Elijah, GA on highway 76 shortly before entering the town of Cherry Log, you'll turn right onto Rock Creek Connector which takes you to a regular looking two lane road called Rock Creek Rd. Almost immediately upon making the right hand turn on Rock Creek road is the sign "Rich Mountain Wildlife Management Area" and my cell reception (meteo PCS) dropped again. Following Rock Creek Road eventually turns into a crushed gravel road with a stream running next to it and past several farms including a small horse farm. This was my third time to this area in the past month, and thankfully my final time. My goal was to summit Tickanately Bald, a peak that was nearly 4000 ft tall and nestled 0.7 miles south of Rich Mountain. This time I went up FS295 to the end and hiked the rest of the way. The 4000 ft challenge led by the Appalachian Trail Club has less than 10 members who have ever climbed all 32 peaks. And there is a good reason why. You might think...hey, these peaks aren't Mt Everest. What's the big deal? You wouldn't be wrong, however, plan accordingly, if you want to attempt it. Be warned: this activity is not without risk. Climbing walls of vegetation only to encounter brambles that want to cut you, is definitely not everyone's cup of tea. In many cases, there is no good footing. Especially after a rain. Stream crossings or hopping is a skill and balancing yourself across rocks to ford a small spring also is an art form, especially if your heart is pounding out of your chest from climbing 1000 ft. And finally, it's very easy to get yourself turned around. If your phone dies, runs out of battery, or you simply smash it while slipping on a patch of leaves covering a slick rock, well you are SOL, especially without cell phone service to call for help. And better have a back up plan. Don't go out there without a secondary GPS device. Pack water, pack a snack. Put something on your windshield in writing notifying people you are out for a walk and expect to be back. Give someone a clue where you are going too. Weather can change quickly, and the terrain difficult to navigate. While these mountains aren't huge, they are still fairly remote compared to the usual urban park you may have encountered. Plan ahead an be safe! Suffice it to say, I had fantastic weather. (Winter is the best season to get out and conquer your Georgia 4K peaks! And Limited Vegetation). I brought my phone and my GPS watch and a bottle of water and although the distance to the peak was 2.5 miles I gave myself 6-7 miles and plenty of daylight to climb this peak by leaving at noon. FS295 is approximately 4 miles from the beginning of Rock Creek Road and begins steadily up for 2 miles right at the Hunter Checkin Station. It's fairly navigable and I managed it in my Prius at 4-6 mph! There are a couple of nice choice camping spots along the way. At the top, I parked and ran 1.2 miles down to Little Rock Creek. From there I picked a line and started hiking up, and pretty much kept this up for 1300 ft or 1.5 miles till I reached the top of Rich Mt where there is an old chimney from an old house that once was. There is no benchmark (the geodesic marker often installed by the US Forest Service to denote the high point) to be found anywhere on Rich Mountain, unfortunately. There is an old unmaintained trail to the West (facing south) which leads you directly to Tickanately. Unfortunately, I went down the wrong side of Rich Mountain and had to adjust. Translation...climb back up to the top of Tickanately, then stumbled upon the path which I took back to Rich, before descending the same 1300 ft I had climbed----this time it was weeeeehaww and nimbly bounding down hill till I got back to Little Rock Creek. The total elevation gain was 2400 ft in 2.5 hours and my glutes got worked big time. The feeling of accomplishment was overwhelming. Seven 4K peaks done and 25 to go!

A really pretty trail, but I do not recommend it to those hoping to keep some (or any) social…read moredistance on their hikes. It was high traffic, narrow, and not accessible to those with disability/partial disability. I would have loved to complete at least one of the loops, but we turned around due to how crowded it was. The first creek stop would have been beautiful but for the religious graffiti painted all over the bridge. I guess I was hoping for another quiet trail on which to explore and take nature photos, and this just wasn't that.

Second and much more extensive visit. I hiked the entire length of the two loop trails and paid a…read morevisit to the scenic CCC quarry pool. This trail might be a bit of a drive from the Atlanta metro but on a nice, clear winter day, it was worth it. Except for a few spots, the trail surface is good - not as many ankle-twisting roots as in some parks. You can easily get away with a good pair of tennis/running/cross shoes. There are some spots where water has made the path muddy but you can pick your way around those. The trail system is laid out in two loops and is a little over four miles in total length. There's a half mile connector trail to the west loop, the larger of the two loops. At the opposite side of the west loop, there's a short connector to the east loop. At the opposite side of the east loop, there's an even shorter path to the CCC quarry, which is the easternmost point of the trail system. The trail is easily followed for the most part even if it isn't all that well marked. You'll find blue paint on trees along the way but not everywhere. The signs at the major intersections are basic. In particular, the signage where the parking lot connector meets the west loop could be better. As it is, you may be a bit confused as to where the south section of the west loop starts - there's actually another trail leading off in a different direction and that trail doesn't show on the map. I don't know where it leads. Also, the point where the east loop splits from the short connector to the west loop isn't marked, so you may wonder if one of the paths isn't part of the east loop. They both are but a sign would be nice. The hike is quite enjoyable and travels through varying terrains. You have choices of doing a fairly easy, mostly (but not completely) level hike along the southern sections of the west and then east loops to the CCC quarry located at the far end of the east loop and back, or you can do that but then hike the full east loop and get a better workout or, as I did, you can include the northern section of the west loop where you get serious elevation changes. With all options, you must make it to the CCC quarry, which is filled with water. That is the jewel of this trail system, although I found the northern section of the west loop to be enchanting as well. It's there where you'll reach the highest elevation and the switchbacks along the way afford good views of the hills and ravines, especially during winter when the trees are bare. I only saw one bench along the trail, on the northern part of west loop where the trail is at its highest elevation. There is a great rock for sitting on the left side of the quarry. Look for it if you want to pause for lunch or something. It's not the only good sittin' spot at the quarry, either. Highly recommended.

What an awesome job these people do! For $10, you get a tube and a ride back…read more I am not sure what other companies offer as far as tubing down the Cartecay goes, but the people at CWS do a good enough job for me.

This was an amazing experience! First part was like a slow "motion of the ocean" and then there…read morewere some easy class one rapids that made the experience exciting. Great and fun! The staff was awesome too

Great day with three generations on the trip. Colter, Ricky, and Luca were awesome. Can't wait to…read morego again.

Another amazing day with our favorite fly fishing guide and friend, Daniel Bowman. His nice fly…read morefishing shop in Downtown Dahlonega has great gear. Daniel always puts on great fish and he has a great team of guides.

Want to hike in an-out-of-the-way area? Cool. Want to hike in an out-of-the-way area that also used…read moreto be a Cold War nuclear research facility that still contains relic structures of when it operated? If so, Dawson Forest is your place. Dawson Forest is a huge tract of forested land operated by the Georgia Forestry people but owned by the City of Atlanta, bisected by the Etowah River and located just southwest of Dawsonville. It's open to the public for hiking, horse riding and bicycles, although there are some calendar/time restrictions because it's also a hunting area. Get there by taking Dawson Forest Rd from Highway 9 just north of Silver City. At the time of this review, the Yelp map marker is wrong. I submitted a correction but Yelp is not very good with that. Wait, owned by the City of Atlanta? Yep. Apparently they bought the land as a possible site for a second major airport from Lockheed - which used it for the site of the Georgia Nuclear Aircraft Laboratory - but found it was unsuitable. It's been owned by the city since the early 1970's and is maintained as an experimental forest for the use of Georgians. Wait, what!? A nuclear aircraft laboratory!? Yep. The US Air Force commissioned Lockheed to explore the feasibility of powering bombers with nuclear reactors. It didn't pan out, but only after quite a bit of effort. The site contained a nuclear reactor, a hot cell test facility, support buildings and a really bizarre test facility whereby a reactor was elevated by cables between four towers to test ... well, I'm not sure what. But in the process, they managed to kill off all the wildlife in the area. It was quite an operation. You can still find numerous structures on the site including two fenced off areas that contain the hot cell facility and the reactor. I prowled around the hot cell building fence but didn't go to the reactor area. In case you're contemplating mischief, they're pretty serious about the fences. You don't want to go in there. More photos and videos are available on the GNAL Facebook page (everyone has a FB page, even derelict nuclear sites): https://www.facebook.com/Dawson-Forest-GNAL-154640534555862/ Air Force video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXd9JSJbrsU Other than the odd relic nuke structure and the ghosts of millions of murdered critters, you'll find miles of hiking trails (or horse trails, if that's your thing). The trails are accessed either from the main visitor information area (which is just a large board with the usual information set among weirdly out-of-place concrete pads and sidewalks) or from trail heads off the numerous unpaved roads that interlace the site. Most of the roads are quite passable by passenger cars, but some require high clearance and 4WD. At one point as I travelled to the northern half of the forest, I had to cross Shoal Creek. I suppose you could do it in your Honda Civic, but I put my Nissan Pathfinder into 4WD-Low to cross. One note on the roads - you can access (or egress) Dawson Forest from the north but it requires passing through a couple of miles of Georgia Wilderness area and there are signs that pronounce it highly illegal for any citizen to trespass without possessing one of two permits (hunting/fishing license or something else). Neither of which I had and I drove on anyway. I'm a rebel. A second note on roads - there is a trail map available at the visitor info area that along with all the colored trails shows the roads in the Forest, and the names aren't necessarily what shows on Google Maps. Trailmap: https://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/dawson-forest-dawsonville?select=_MLh00vz2UpkgKfehZ0xag The main entrance road, for example, is shown as Reactor Rd while Google says it's Dawson Forest Rd. I believe Reactor Rd is the historical name. It makes a bigger difference when it comes to Clark Rd. Google says that road is a continuation of Dawson Forest Rd to the river, while the map has Clark as a dirt road going off to the west from Reactor Rd. I didn't do a lot of hiking - this was mainly a recon mission. But from where I did walk, there appears to be a lot of signage indicating the trails - blue, yellow, purple, etc. I think the trails fairly well marked, although as I was on the blue trail near the Etowah River (at the end of Reactor Rd), I noticed the blue tree markings abruptly ended. Not sure what was going on there. Horse trails are easier to follow, because, well ... horses. I can't believe I didn't know about this place before. Over the past three years or so (before I became obsessed with golf), I've made an effort to visit all the Atlanta regional hiking spots and I totally missed Dawson Forest. If you look on Google Maps, you'll see a very large and prominent green square denoting the Forest. Not sure how I missed that. I'm a big fan of wildlife and wilderness areas open to the public, and Dawson Forest is no exception. The history of the place adds interest. 5 stars

This review is for the Edge of the World hiking trail and park. It is in the Dawson forest as well…read more Parking is minimal (cars were parked on the main highway as well). Beautiful scenery and a boardwalk that runs next to the Amicalola Creek river. Flowers grow along the sides of the river, and there are benches along the way to sit and take it all in or enjoy a picnic. Boating/wading in the water/tubing are also options but there are big rocks jutting in the middle of the river near the boardwalk. Trails lead up and into the woods from the boardwalk...definitely my favorite part! It is a blue marked trail that runs a loop just under 3 miles. It's marked all along the way, and goes inland enough that you can enjoy the peace and quietude, along with changing landscape on a well paved dirt path that goes up and down. It's a good workout...I would call it an easy-to-moderate hike due to the hills and dirt path. Suggest downloading the All Trails app or finding a map so you have a reference during the hike, as it it quite windy and connects with the red/pink trail as well. There are signs for park fees but we didn't have to pay/there was nobody manning it and there was no gate (perhaps due to COVID or the holiday weekend?). Also a pretty drive from the city to