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Sweetwater Creek State Park is a peaceful tract of wilderness only minutes from downtown Atlanta. A wooded trail follows the stream to the ruins of the New Manchester Manufacturing Company, a textile mill burned during the Civil War. Beyond the mill, the trail climbs rocky bluffs to provide views of the beautiful rapids below. Additional trails wind through fields and forest, showcasing ferns, magnolias, wild azaleas and hardwoods. Park rangers lead informative hikes to these areas throughout the year.
1750 Mount Vernon Road, Lithia Springs, GA 30122
Great place for some mushroom spotting! We walked the Yellow Trail for 2 hours. Lots of water to see. Nice hills. Beautiful lush scenery. The Visitor’s Center is a cool learning space for any age! It has a nice mix of nature and history of the area. Parking looked dicey when we left, so get there early.
Sweetwater has nice walking trails and has a nice lake for fishing, boating, canoeing, and is great for a picnic. The parking fee is $5 with a daily pass. The park has clean restrooms. The boat ramp opens at 7am, and the bait shop opens at 8am.
What a nice place, many hiking trails and beautiful views of the river or the lake. Not too many people, dog friendly and plenty of parking. There are plenty of picnic tables, located all over the park and around the lake. Some trails are under repairs but rangers advised us to take the red trail to the yellow and it was very nice. We were able to enjoy the river, bridge and see the ruins on the other side of the river. Beautiful.....
Great park that’s only a short drive from the city. The grounds are clean and signage is pretty good. Park staff is pleasant and helpful. I went up to rent a kayak for a couple hours and was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to do the rental. Boats are in decent shape and there’s a small ramp for getting in and out of the water. No beach area, but there’s a nice shaded section with picnic tables and room for blankets or your own seating. If you’re looking for this area, go away from the main visitor center and follow the signs for the bait shop. This may be my new go-to spot to get out of the city!
