5/7/2019 – Black Rock Mt. State Park Trails – GA

Today’s hike at Black Rock Mountain involved three shorter trails. We hiked the beautiful Tennessee Rock Trail followed by the Black Rock Mountain Lake Loop and the lower portion of the James Edmonds Trail to a nice waterfall.

HIKERS – Ray Clark, Joe Collins, Greta Driggers, Jim Driggers, Angela Evans, Tim Hale, Stephen Gales, Jenna Hensley, Dick Metzgar, Terre Pratt, Tony Presley and Vic Robson .

TRAIL INFORMATION – The Tennessee Rock Trail is a beautiful 2.2 mile loop trail that has beautiful mountain views along with nice rock outcroppings and a lush wildflower environment. The terrain is moderately hilly since this is the North Georgia mountains. We did a portion of the James Edmonds Trail West Fork which is a moderately hilly hike that includes gushing mountain streams and a nice waterfall. We also did the Black Rock Mountain Lake Trail which is just off of the James Edmonds Trail. It is a very nice flat walk around the lake. There are a couple of nice boardwalks along with a gravel surface trail portion and a wood chip trail portion giving a loop of almost one mile. Today’s hiking distance – 5 miles – moderate difficulty.

Directions: Black Rock Mountain State Park is located on Black Rock Mountain Parkway, 3 miles north of Clayton, GA off U.S. Hwy. 441. Look for brown directional signs in Mountain City. There is a parking fee unless you have a GA State Parks Pass.

Another great day for a hike! Partly cloudy with temperatures ranging from the mid 60’s to the mid 70’s F.

FLOWERS IN BLOOM: Catesby’s Trillium, Perfoliate Bellwort, Rattlesnake Weed, Red Toadshade Trillium, Red Erect Trillium, Yellow Round-leafed Violet, Blue Violet, Star Chickweed, Indian Cucumber Root, Mayapple, Wild Strawberry, Blackberry, Tall Buttercup, Foamflower, Robin’s Plantain, Yellowroot, Sweetshrub, Jack-in-the-Pulpit, Pink Lady Slippers, Canada Violets, Oxeye Daisy, Flame Azalea, Catawba Rhododendron, Lyre-Leaf Sage.

BIRDS IDENTIFIED: Oven Bird, Pileated Woodpecker, Cardinal, Tufted Titmouse, Black-capped Chickadee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Black & White Warbler.

Parking at the Tennessee Rock / James Edmonds Trail parking area.

Trail sign at the start.

The Tennessee Rock Trail is a beautiful walk through a very lush hardwood forest loaded with wildflowers.

A very well-maintained trail with footbridges where needed.

We found this group of Red Erect Trillium (Purple Wake-Robins).

The summit of Black Rock Mt..

Another Nature’s Marvel!

“Stunning beauty!”

Always a treat to find Lady Slippers in bloom!

Next, we move down the road a bit to the Lake Loop at Black Rock Mt.

This flat trail includes some nice boardwalks over the water.