Providence Canyon State Park
Ranking: Easy Pie to Moderate
What is grand but little at the same time? Oh that's right, Georgia's "Little Grand Canyon," of course! If you live on the East Coast or can't make it to see the real Grand Canyon, the state of Georgia has a smaller version to see. Tucked away in a small town, Providence Canyon State Park is a great place for tourists to visit. The park offers several places for families to picnic, play, and enjoy the fresh outdoors. This park also offers a few hiking trails ranging from easy pie to moderate, more so on the easy side.
On our visit, we opted for the Canyon Loop Trail which is 2.5 miles on average. On accident we hiked this trail twice due to we had missed the interior canyon signs and backtracked. So if you are like us and want to see the canyons interior make sure to stop along the trail and read the trail signs. The hiking trails located at this State Park are lovely. The Canyon Loop Trail is an easier hike that allows you to see the canyon from all sides for the most part. For optimal picture taking I would recommend you wait until the end, there is a huge area for viewing. I will say that this trail goes from gravel to dirt to sand, so make sure to wear some sturdy and breathable shoes.
As you hike, you will see signs along the way with warnings about how dangerous the canyons are. Don't be too alarmed at these. These are in place to keep people from messing around or climbing the canyon walls. Other than that if you stay on the trail and just do your thing, you will be fine. I would also rate this trail as very kid and animal friendly. We even saw some parents lugging strollers through....which I would veto the thought. Parts of this trail are extremely sandy making it feel like you are at the beach. But hey who I am to say, do what you are comfortable with.
As you hike on you will see several options presented. You can keep hiking the Loop Trail or choose the Back-country Trail or go for the Canyons. The choice is yours here. Depending on your start time, you could even finish most of the trails there! If you choose to explore the canyons, brace yourself. The interior sections are incredible! I have never seen anything like it before. You will just be hiking along and then out of nowhere greeted with a huge rock face that goes on for miles. It really is breathtaking. If I had to rate my favorite part of the trail it would be those interior sections. I will say if you go on a hotter day like we did, make sure you bring sunscreen and some shades- it is blinding down there.
All in all we really enjoyed our time at this State Park. We had never been and were super stoked about checking out a mini version of the Grand Canyon. If you have the time I would definitely recommend checking this place out!