New Trail: Sutallee Trace Trail

For hundreds of years and before Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto explored the area, the Cherokee and Creek had already long established a network of trails in the area around the Etowah River. Later, Euro-American settlers began using these routes for commerce in the area. The Sutallee Trace Trail is believed to be one of these historic routes.

I found and hiked this trail earlier this year and suggested it to Charlie as a possible new inclusion into his Sunday rotation. The trail offers ample parking at Boling Park and the adjacent Cherokee High Baseball lot. Our out and back distance will be approximately 8.3 miles with only about 650 feet of elevation change. Much of the trail follows the Etowah River and so, nice views are likely. We'll be doing roughly the normal Sunday pace, which is around 2.5 mph.

Directions:
Parking can be found here: 34.236508, -84.505512 at Boling Park.

To reach the park from the I-75 / I-575 Fork:

• Follow I-575N for approximately 16.1 miles to exit 16
• Take exit 16 for GA-20W / GA-140 toward GA-5N
• After about 0.8 miles, turn right to stay on GA-140W
• Drive 0.6 miles and then turn left, across the highway from the Etowah Carpet One Floor & Home
• Follow along the river to the parking area

We'll meet by the restrooms in the parking area. As usual, we will do our round of introductions and then hit the trail. I do not wait for those running late. Be on time or catch up.

Hope to see you there.