Rock City Gardens (Lookout Mountain, Georgia)

What started out as Frieda Carter desire to create a garden with winding trails through giant rock formations in the early 1930’s, has become a popular tourist attraction in Georgia.

Rock City is a unique place on Lookout Mountain that attracts more than half a million people each year.

A 4,100-foot walking trail leads through rock formations, caves, and gardens, ending at the edge of a cliff know as Lovers Leap.

The name “Lovers Leap” comes from a Cherokee legend about feuding tribes and two lovers going over the cliff. One was thrown and the other jumped, both ending in death. What a tragic story for such a beautiful site!

The claim of “see seven states” from Lover’s Leap comes from diary entries of a Union office and a Confederate nurse during the Civil War, both talking about being able to see seven states from the summit. Flags of all seven states stand in representation of the documentations. The states are Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia.  

 Location:

1400 Patten Road

 Lookout Mountain, GA

Admission:

$19.95 Adults

$11.95 Children (ages 3-12)

Hours:

Vary by season. Check here.

Happy Travels! 

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

The Great Smoky Mountains are a mountain range along the Tennessee–North Carolina border.

Fall is, by far, the most beautiful time to visit the Smoky Mountains. The weather is crisp and the colors are beautiful.

There are several scenic overlooks and each have a very different view.

We visited the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Gattlinburg,Tennessee.

We had read a lot about Laurel Falls and decided we would hike it first. It was our favorite and is the most popular trail.

Laurel Falls and the trail got its name from the mountain laurel that blooms along the trail and near the falls every May.

The round trip distance is 2.6 miles and the hike is a fairly steep climb on a paved trail. It’s rated an easy to moderate hike, but it’s fairly difficult if you’re not used to climbing mountains. We had to stop and rest a couple of time on the way up, but it was an easy hike back down the mountain.

The reward for the hike is an amazing 80 foot waterfall at the top!

The Falls are separated to upper and lower sections by a bridge walkway.To get to the bottom, you have to maneuver big boulders. I did not think it was worth it at the time, but now wishing that I would have taken the adventure. ☺

We enjoyed the hike and the weather was perfect. The Smoky Mountains are a perfect place for a fall getaway.

Happy Travels!