Garland Mountain Trail System Being Developed Near Waleska, GA By Larry Wheat

In today’s environment of tight budgets and scarce resources, a bright light is shining in Cherokee County, Georgia. A new trail system is being developed on 532 acres of Garland Mountain located in the northwest part of Cherokee County, on the west side of Garland Mountain Way, just a few miles northwest of Waleska. This property is green space owned by Cherokee County. The property is heavily wooded with hardwood trees and is quite hilly with a stream near the middle of the property. One old logging road traverses the site. This road has been used for years by local equestrians and others, and it will be incorporated into the new trail system. The location is being prepared as a free, peaceful outdoor recreation area for hikers and equestrians.

Mountain bicyclists have for several years enjoyed the popular Blankets Creek bicycle trail complex off Sixes Road; however, there are no official public equestrian trails in Cherokee County — a county that has numerous equestrians, equines, and stables. In May 2007 the Cherokee County Saddle Club (CCSC) initiated discussions with Cherokee County management about enhancing this green space for use as a public trail recreation location. Discussions led to approval by the County Board of Commissioners and a formal agreement followed whereby CCSC, using volunteers and donated resources, will design, build, and maintain an equestrian and hiker trail system. Trail layout began in late May 2007 and construction activities began in December 2007. The Cherokee Parks & Recreation Agency (CRPA) is the county agency responsible for project oversight.

The name of the new trail system is “Garland Mountain Horse and Hike Trails”, but the trails are designed for and open to hikers/walkers and equestrians. The system will include 12-14 miles of scenic trails; a large parking lot for both equestrian vehicles and family/hiker vehicles; a county installed toilet, and other amenities. The trails will offer several loops so that one may take short hikes/rides or longer ones, as desired. Construction will proceed such that sections of the system will be opened for public use as they are completed, and after the parking lot is finished. The first section to be opened will provide about 5.5 miles of trail, including the existing 2.8 miles of old roadbed. The opening date depends on the amount of volunteer support provided, completion of the parking lot, completion of a bridge/culvert replacement, and availability of a suitable trail machine for volunteer use. CCSC expects to have the first section open no later than March 2009. Rental horses are not provided as part of this park.

Funding and resources to design and develop the trail system, including the parking lot and other amenities, come from three sources: a federal Recreational Trails Program (RTP) grant that has been approved but not yet authorized for expenditures, volunteer labor and donations arranged by CCSC, and county funds. The RTP grant will provide funds for CRPA to purchase a mini-skid steer trail machine, similar to the one shown in the photo taken at the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park. Trained volunteers will operate the machine. CCSC also expects to receive occasional donations of other equipment use, such as mini-excavators and skid steers for various trail construction activities. CCSC arranges volunteer trail workdays on the second Saturday of each month, starting at 9:00 a.m. from a location along Garland Mountain Way. Additional workdays are scheduled to take advantage of equipment availability

The trails are designed to follow the terrain contour, with grade changes of no more than 10 percent. First an 8-foot wide corridor is cut through the woods, weaving around large trees but otherwise removing brush and small trees. Then a nearly flat tread is cut in the center of the corridor, providing a solid natural surface for hiking and riding.

Persons willing to volunteer their time to help work on the trails should notify the CCSC volunteer coordinator, Cindy Young, by email at Cdingodog1@aol.com or phone at 770-517-9550. Persons willing to donate machine use, such as skid steers, trail machines, mini-excavators, dump wagons (to haul stuff), or money for fuel purchase, should contact Larry Wheat by email at L.Wheat@mindspring.com (note period in name) or phone at 770-977-4783.

CRPA will soon be scheduling a vendor training session on how to operate the mini-skid steer trail machine. We would welcome any interested persons who are willing to help build the trails, to register for the machine training (I think it is a four-hour session, free of charge). They should contact Larry Wheat by email at L.Wheat@mindspring.com (note period in name) or phone at 770-977-4783. if interested.