hiking
22 Feb

Staying Fit On Vacation By Hiking Near Helen, GA

After a season of hearty holiday meals, lots of tasty treats, and the ensuing New Year’s resolutions, many folks are just beginning to get comfortable with their fitness routines. As timing would have it, weight loss and enhanced fitness coincide with traditional scheduling of vacation time.

The good news is that when you visit our luxurious cabins in GA, you will have plenty of opportunities to burn of all of those unwanted calories by hiking. Helen GA and its surrounding areas are home to nearly an infinite number of hiking trails for all experience levels and abilities. In the process of enjoying the sights and sounds of nature while hiking, Helen, GA trails will help you to get the cardiovascular exercise necessary in order to maintain your newly developed fitness regimen; possibly even increasing your daily, physical activity.Escape cabin living

Once again, when it comes to trails for hiking, Helen, GA and the surrounding areas maintain a plethora of options. In order to help jump start the planning of your tentative itinerary, here are some of our favorite Helen-area, hiking trails.

Unicoi State Park hiking trails

Unicoi State Park is full of opportunities for sightseeing and fitness through hiking. Helen, GA residents and visitors alike love the trails at Unicoi, for their close proximity to Helen, as well as their beautiful settings. When staying at our luxury cabin rentals, you can enjoy hiking Helen, GA trails, at Unicoi State Park, such as:

  • Lake Trail – For those who are looking for a relatively easy hike, the Lake trail is your best bet in Unicoi State Park. This trail is a 2.5 mile loop that remains mostly flat and winds around the edge of Unicoi-Lake. You’ll get spectacular views of the lake, as well as the mountains and trees surrounding it.
  • Bottoms Loop Trail – Bottoms Loop Trail is a two mile loop that is slightly more challenging than Lake Trail. You’ll have ample opportunities to observe indigenous plants and animals. You’ll see several small creeks, and will also pass by what’s left of a historic homestead. The trail will loop back at the point where it reaches Smith Creek.
  • Unicoi/Helen Trail – This moderate and sometimes challenging path will lead you three miles, in one direction, for a total of a six mile, round-trip hike. On this path you will be able to hike from Unicoi State Park to Helen, on an engaging trail, that begins at Bottoms Loop Trail before continuing on through magnificent wildlife and woodsy scenery and crossing Lower Smith Creek. On your journey down this trail, you will also pass over multiple, small streams, as you approach the pivotol point in your journey, Unicoi Hill City Park in Helen, where you will turn around and head back to Unicoi.
  • Smith Creek Trail – If you’ve been extra dilatory in your health endeavors and want to burn off a lot of calories, Smith Creek Trail is the path for you! The strenuous hike is 4.8 miles one-way and takes approximately 6 hours to complete the round trip. The trail begins at Unicoi Park and continues on through the Chattahoochee National forest and to the headwaters of Smith Creek.
Amicalola Falls State Park Amicalola Falls new

This State park offers many opportunities for fitness and hiking. Helen, GA visitors are delighted as they witness a bounty of wildlife, wild flowers, and natural wonders; so much, in fact, that they often like to make a day trip to see the falls and hike the trails such as:

  • West Ridge Falls Access – This trail is fairly easy and takes hikers down a .3 mile path that is flat and leads to one of the best views of Amicalola Falls.
  • Fitness Trail – When hiking just is not enough, you can try the fitness trail. The wooded path features more than 20 exercise stations.
Smithgall Woods 

Smithgall Woods State Park and Conservation is another great destination for Hiking. Helen, GA houses this lovely park which boasts numerous trails, magnificent opportunities for spotting wildlife, and even fishing. Here are some of the best trails in Smithgall woods:

  • Visitor Center Loop Trail – An easy trail that is only .3 miles long, Visitor Center Loop Trail is great for those who would like simpler hiking conditions. The path crosses a small tributary of Duke’s creek, passes around a pasture, and features some adult swings and picnic tables. You can enjoy walking around this trail several times while taking in the sights of the region and enjoying good conversation before heading back to your cabin. hiking smithgall woods ga
  • Laurel Ridge Trail – This path is located adjacent to the visitor center and is of more moderate difficulty. You can request a free interpretive brochure from the visitor center, prior to embarking on your hike, so that you can learn about the various points of interest along the 1.6 mile loop trail.
  • Cathy Ellis Trail – If you would like to check out a waterfall when hiking Helen, GA trails, be sure to head down the Cathy Ellis path. This is a memorial trail that is of moderate difficulty. The path will lead you to a gorgeous waterfall on what is referred to as the “Alabama Branch”. You will cross a short wooden bridge that passes over a historic section of water which is related to the gold mining history of the Helen area.

When plotting your course for hiking Helen, GA trails, which trail do you intend on trying first?

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