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The trail does get quite narrow at a few points with light brush hanging overhead, but we would classify the half we walked as easy to moderate-lite in terms of fitness requirements. Information on the Georgia state parks website may lead you to believe these trails are treacherous, but we walked about half of the trail, mostly with kids and had no problems. The backcountry trail is a 7-mile loop into the forest for access to the backcountry campsites. This trail is great, but if you make it to the canyon floor, be sure to check out canyons 1-9 while you are down there. It includes descent to the canyon floor and the accessible flat areas above the rim of the canyon. The canyon loop trail on the park map provided at the ranger station is a 3-mile loop that circles the canyons. This included a few stops to dig and hide within the canyon walls. We were able to casually walk at a 4-year-old pace and viewed canyons 4 and 5 in about 2 hours time. We were told by the park ranger that Canyon trails 4 and 5 are the most popular and most stunning and were not disappointed. The most popular of the trails are for canyons 1-9. The boys had the time of their lives dragging sticks in the clay and muddying their boots in the water. Once you get to the bottom, the trails are completely flat, albeit very muddy. Canyon Floor Hikeīeyond the accessible hike, other trails require a short 0.25-mile descent from the Park Office to the canyon floor. It was really fun to talk about geological history via the colors of the canyon walls with the kids, even if they won’t fully understand the scope of the lesson for a few more years.
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We originally walked right past this trail eager to get dirty hiking through the canyon floor, only to discover that the views from the top are probably the best views of all! Even if you plan on going the distance on the longer hikes, do not miss out on observing the stunning landscape from above. The most accessible option is a dirt trail around the rim of the canyon that is accessible via one of the parking areas. The park offers excellent hiking trails suitable for all ages and fitness levels. Lincoln and Rowan completing their Junior Ranger activities at the park Hiking Even the adults end up learning something with these programs so they are a great addition to any trip. Everyone, however, loved the instruction to drag sticks in the mud. The activities at Providence Canyon were not broken down by age group so a few, like the crossword puzzle, were a little advanced for our 4-year-old. The programs typically require kids to complete activity books in exchange for a pin or a badge. As a quick overview, these programs are designed to engage young children in educational experiences in the parks. We are big fans of Junior Ranger Programs at state and national parks and true to form our kids were all over the program at Georgia’s Little Grand Canyon. Georgia State Parks Junior Ranger Program Plan to spend at least a few hours in the park including hiking and exploring, and eat a meal on-premise at one of the picnic tables overlooking the canyon. The park office does have a few snacks like trail mix and ice cream, but otherwise, there is not much around the park. So we have cautioned you, wear pants that you are OK getting dirty and definitely wear hiking shoes or boots. And the red dirt was a bear to clean out of the pile of laundry we came home with. As a result of all of the fun, they were shockingly dirty. We have three young boys who really, really had a great time. The more sandy canyon soil near the canyon walls is also cool to run your hands through and examine the different colors with glittery shine. Kids will have a great time splashing in puddles and drawing with sticks in the mud.
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The hike involves trekking across a light stream on top of the clay and sand soil mixture. One of the main attractions of visiting is hiking the canyons. We will let bygones be bygones, however, because the result really is beautiful and the local wildlife doesn’t seem to mind.
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Native forest cover was cleared to make room for farming, but farmers made no effort to prevent soil erosion. While the canyons appear as a smaller version of the grand counterparts in Arizona, the history is sadly a result of poor farming practices in the 1800s.
#Chitchat tour in georgia full
Activities in the park include hiking and camping, along with full facilities, a nice amount of open space, and plenty of picnic tables to feed the family. With massive gullies and 16 canyons that tower as high as 150 feet, the views of the chasms, plateaus, cliffs, and pinnacles are spectacular. Known as Georgia’s Little Grand Canyon, Providence Canyon is a 1,103 acre Georgia state park near Lumpkin, Georgia, about two and a half hours southwest of Atlanta. For a weekend adventure in the southeast United States that rivals the beauty of the actual Grand Canyon, if not the size and scope, Providence Canyon is a great option.
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