The best part about running is the fact that there is so much explore. You can reach places by foot than you can’t get to any other way. And by running, you can cover those places faster and find more places. This past weekend, I drove to Sweetwater Creek State Park. It’s only thirty minutes from downtown Atlanta and worth the adventure.
To save some money, I parked my car at the local elementary school and ran the mile on Cedar Trace Road to the park entrance. I love running around water and immediately decided to run around the reservoir. Surprisingly there wasn’t a path around it. There’s wasn’t even level ground for running. Disappointed, I decided to head back to the road and head to the trails.
After another mile of running, I got to the parking lot at the beginning of the trails. Upon seeing a runner changing out of his sneakers, I asked him for advice on where to run. He simply suggested to run one trail south and take another trail back north. His words seemed promising.
Unfortunately, Sweetwater Creek State Park was not made for running. Although the trails were made for hiking, they were just big enough and firm enough to complete my workout. There were four trails with most of them intertwined.
Red Trail: Moves along the creek and past the mill ruins. The paths were big enough to allow passing the many hikers. The creek was close and offered some nice views. I had bigger expectations for the sight of the mill ruins, but I barely felt the need to pause as I passed them.
Blue Trail: I accidentally turned off the red trail and onto the blue trail too soon. The trail was a little smaller and forced me to stop a few times to pass. There was a slight upward elevation change that turned out to be a big positive. From the top of the trail, there were absolutely amazing views of the creek rapids. I might return to this park just for that view and I might even bring my camera.
White Trail: After going as far south as possible on the trails, I returned back to the parking lot on the white trail. With only slight views of the lessening creek, there wasn’t much to see. However, there were fewer hikers and it was a nice trail to just enjoy the rest of my run. There was a section of the trail that went straight upward and continued straight upward. It might have been annoying on a hike, but was even worse for a sprinter on a long run.
Yellow Trail: Via a brige, it crosses to the other side of the creek. I didn’t get to see any of the yellow trail and will definitely do the loop if I ever go back.
Although I haven’t been running much the last few months, my entire run lasted an hour and twenty minutes. It was great to take advantage of a beautiful day, work on my tan, and explore a great state park in my own backyard. It’s not the right place for a weekly run, but certainly satisfactory fora daytrip.
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