When Winston asked me what my favourite city trail was, Constitution Lakes instantly came to mind. Located inside the Atlanta city limits, Constitution Lakes is a pocket of nature that easily makes you forget skyscrapers, terrible traffic, and day jobs are just a few miles away.
I typically have a rule against revisiting hiking trails, but it was hard to pass up the opportunity to see a local favourite. Besides, I had never seen Constitution Lakes in the fall, before.
It was well worth the exception. In fact, I think I may have to revise my rule to just not repeat hiking trails in a specific season. I hardy recognised the bug-infested swamps I had trekked in the summer of 2016.
I know it looks pretty dark and dreary to start with, but it gets brighter, I promise. Since this was supposed to be a social trip, and not an opportunity to make another travel post (happened anyway though, eh?), I didn’t take as many photos as I usually would.
Even so, the ones I did get — in spite of Mother Nature’s insistence on complete cloud cover — weren’t half bad.
This was my final Georgia hike before winter came early in the south, so I’d say it was a good ending to that fall hiking season, where fiery leaves battle with the evergreens of Atlanta for a chance in the limelight.
If you’re ever in the Atlanta area, and looking for a city trail that gives a real taste of nature, with very few other human faces around, this is probably your best bet.
From the swamps…
To the boardwalks…
…and the strange artwork.
— you won’t find another trail like this one inside the ATL perimeter! What are the trails like in your city? 🤔
Thank you!
I always love posts that give me a taste of Atlanta. Thank you for giving me a taste of home😍
You’re welcome, Cynthia. I was surprised to find the trails had such beautiful colours since the highways and everywhere else was pretty ugly lol
So beautiful! I wish I had known of this place while I was in Atlanta!!!
What trails did you hike while you were here?
Our kind of place. I would most definitely go for a hike there should we ever find ourselves in that part of the world. Since I am using my cell phone, I can’t read the caption that goes with the bomb that failed to detonate, but is sounds very interesting. Thanks for sharing.
Haha, I hope you get to read the fake news on the bomb soon. It’s interesting all the weird art they have on that trail, and looks like they change it out sometimes.
I sent T.Dashfield your way to learn more about your side of the world, by the way. She was asking me about Mediterranean travel, and I cited you as the expert I would ask for advice 😊
Thanks for dropping by again. It was a beautiful hike. I hope you do make it over to this crazy country when the madness ends 😂
Yes, I saw it was fake news, but couldn’t read past the second line; maybe when I get laptop out it will show better.
Thanks for recommending my blog. I wouldn’t say I am an expert, but it is true that we have done a lot of travelling on that coast, from southern France to Alicante in Spain (from July to mid October 2017). Hope I can help. 👍😉
I’m on my phone too, or I would type it out for you. 😄
I count you as an expert, haha. You certainly know more about those locations than I do!
Haha. As long as you don’t need a hotel recommendation, as we travel in our motorhome and have no need of them.
Haha, no. That the travel agency I work with does on their own. I bet that saves you a lot of money though!
Incredible photos!
Thank you!
so beautiful xx
It is. Thank you!
That looks great, particularly for a city hike. Strangely enough, there are actually some nice natural areas around Cleveland. Their metro park system is great and there is even a national park just outside of their city limits but still close to downtown! You already know a bit about the parks in Nashua, NH, close to where I live now. (More than I do, since I usually hike in the mountains…)
That’s awesome. I think having trails and reservations in the city is really important. Atlanta has Atlanta PATH which tries to connect all the city trails and then connect them again with the trails in the suburbs. I think that’s really ambitious of them, but with the progress they’re making, I’m sure they’ll get it done.
Hiking in Nashua was amazing. Still wish I had seen the White Mountains though!
Let me know if you come up this way again. I can join you on some of my favorites around here.
Are we going all the way up to White Mountains? Haha. I have my heart set on that one!
I can do a day trip up there, but I also have a few local hikes that I really like. And then there is Mt. Monadnock (Google it). It is ultra popular, but a lot of people (if you don’t know the back trails).
Those Google pictures are amazing. I would really want to check that out!
This is a 4 mile (I think) loop less than 5 minutes from my house and 20 minutes out of Nashua – https://trentsworldblog.wordpress.com/2017/05/15/waterfalls-a-hike-up-purgatory-brook/
I’m glad you’re thinking of modifying your rule. I live next to Shenandoah National Park and there are some trails up there that are almost unrecogizeable from season to season, so it’s like a new trail. I have a fondness for swamps so I loved you fall revisit to this trail.
Thank you, yes, now I wonder what all the other trails look like at different seasons. I plan to revisit a few.
I love the swamps in the fall. In the summer, snakes and mosquitoes make them less than fun haha.
Beautiful and some extra cool points thrown in for the OPIOID NOID! El Paso has mountain trails that hikers have to be rescued from every so often.
LoL. Rescued from?? What happens to them up there??
And thank you. Is there a story behind the Opoid Noid thing? I didn’t really get it. Figured it was a don’t do drugs kind of sign.
Sometimes there are inexperienced hikers who go too far up the mountain or they get injured while hiking and it’s dark and they need to be rescued.
The Noid was an 80’s Old School character created by Domino’s Pizza. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bri0SA7FTf4
Lol so Domino’s pizza is indestructible? Must be why they changed the recipe. We couldn’t chew or digest it 😂😂😂
I was guessing snake bites was the number one reason people needed to be rescued. The trails out west are pretty brutal. People die in the double digits every year on Vegas trails, I’m told. And having hiked them, I believe it.
You’re right! That pizza used to taste like the box it came in. There’s probably still some undigested, “indestructible” slices slowly making their way through my intestines from decades ago.
I think some El Pasoans view the Franklin Mountains from their backyard and convince themselves that it’s just a matter of having the right shoes and a fully charged cell phone and they’ll be fine when they go hiking the trails.
LoL. I probably felt the same before hiking out west. Then I got there and realised my life was really in danger on the trail for the first time. Crumbling rocks by 50 foot drops onto more rocks. Miles away from the trailhead in the desert with no water supply except for what you brought. Rattlesnakes. Even the cacti is in some conspiracy against you. 😂
I remember hiking up the Franklins for our military training in full gear and I didn’t even make it to the halfway point of the trail. Most of us had to turn back because of the heat and we were out of water.
Wow. If the military can’t make it, what about the rest of us poor civilians? 😂
Ouch! What can I say? We were out of shape! lol
I think I’ll take the hint not to chance it, myself. Sounds like I either won’t make it back, or need to be rescued. 😂
I don’t think so because you’re an experienced hiker and you know your limits. I had never been on that trail prior to military training.
Oh, well that explains it. That was totally evil of them then, haha. I’m planning to up my hiking game to include camping this year. Wish me luck…and miracles. Plenty of miracles!
You got it! Luck and miracles to you!
I never liked Domino’s. I was always a Pizza Hut girl, and now I’m a big fan of Marco’s.
What’s Marco’s?
A pizza franchise. We have them in ATL. Not sure where else they are, but they’re really good.
Think I’ll look them up.
You should. Maybe there’s some in your area.