The once "Scenic Adventure" (Eric Champlan, atlantatrails.com)
Iron Hill Trail, a small, almost four mile loop on the south end of Redtop Mountain State Park is a place that I've been hiking since I was eight years old. It was one of the first places I hiked in Georgia, and I look back on it with fond memories. It was an incredible trail with well maintained pathways, sun shining through the trees, and scenic views of the water every inch of the way.
Unfortunately for those visitors with memories like mine, the trail is an utter disappointment compared to it's former self.
If you were to visit the Iron Hill trail ten yers ago, you would have seen a different hike. You would have seen the glimmer of the water through a thinner line of trees, been able to stand just feet away from the actual Iron Hill without standing on sprouting trees or pallets of wood dumped just a few feet away. Today's Iron Hill is a poorly maintained trail, with seemingly no effort put into it's upkeep. The trail is littered with loose chopped wood, rusted chain, eroded pathways, and overgrowth on a massive scale.
These features make for excellent photography, but are an embarrassment to conservation, and the entire point of what the parks service is here for. The goal of any state or national park is to preserve and protect a small patch of our nation's beauty, and sometimes that means chopping down overgrowth, performing trash pickups, and ensuring a site us Georgian's put nearly two million dollars into each year lives up to it's state park status.
Knowing that the maintainers of Red Top Mountain State Park are able to manage a boat marina, campground, fishing area, and other facilities almost flawlessly, begs the question, why do they overlook Iron Hill? According to their own public info from gastateparks.org, and Georgia Department of Natural Resources, their plans for Red Top Mountain are, "transitioning the management of Red Top Mountain State Park to operate more like a business, reflecting the Direction 2015 - Sustainable Business Planning initiative to improve the fiscal performance of the state parks and historic sites system." - Executive Summary, Department of Natural Resources. In a simple answer, the reason the park's trails are overlooked is money. Things like the park's booming marina, campground and cabin system, and other aquatic related activities generate more income for the park's system, and if you're running your park like a business, this is what is most important.
The whole idea of running a state park like a business is shameful. I completely understand the desire to reduce operating expenses, and stretch the park's budget as far as it can possibly go, but when a park is given nearly two million dollars each year and is able to recoup nearly 97% of that two million dollars, they should at the very least be able to lift fallen trees from main attractions, and pickup trash that is being routinely dumped on their trails. The same pallets, fallen trees, and overgrowth have sat and rotted for nearly an entire year since the last time I've personally visited the park, and who knows how long they've sat there before that.
The Iron Hill Trail of today is a beautiful lesson in conservation. Although the park remains a beautiful site thanks to it's wildlife, vibrant vegetation, and lakeside views, it's a testament to how quickly things can fall apart when left unattended to. With so much money, history, and public attraction to the site, Iron Hill Trail deserves to be maintained and remembered with respect for it's natural and historic wonder.
These features make for excellent photography, but are an embarrassment to conservation, and the entire point of what the parks service is here for. The goal of any state or national park is to preserve and protect a small patch of our nation's beauty, and sometimes that means chopping down overgrowth, performing trash pickups, and ensuring a site us Georgian's put nearly two million dollars into each year lives up to it's state park status.
Knowing that the maintainers of Red Top Mountain State Park are able to manage a boat marina, campground, fishing area, and other facilities almost flawlessly, begs the question, why do they overlook Iron Hill? According to their own public info from gastateparks.org, and Georgia Department of Natural Resources, their plans for Red Top Mountain are, "transitioning the management of Red Top Mountain State Park to operate more like a business, reflecting the Direction 2015 - Sustainable Business Planning initiative to improve the fiscal performance of the state parks and historic sites system." - Executive Summary, Department of Natural Resources. In a simple answer, the reason the park's trails are overlooked is money. Things like the park's booming marina, campground and cabin system, and other aquatic related activities generate more income for the park's system, and if you're running your park like a business, this is what is most important.
The whole idea of running a state park like a business is shameful. I completely understand the desire to reduce operating expenses, and stretch the park's budget as far as it can possibly go, but when a park is given nearly two million dollars each year and is able to recoup nearly 97% of that two million dollars, they should at the very least be able to lift fallen trees from main attractions, and pickup trash that is being routinely dumped on their trails. The same pallets, fallen trees, and overgrowth have sat and rotted for nearly an entire year since the last time I've personally visited the park, and who knows how long they've sat there before that.
The Iron Hill Trail of today is a beautiful lesson in conservation. Although the park remains a beautiful site thanks to it's wildlife, vibrant vegetation, and lakeside views, it's a testament to how quickly things can fall apart when left unattended to. With so much money, history, and public attraction to the site, Iron Hill Trail deserves to be maintained and remembered with respect for it's natural and historic wonder.
Sources:
https://www.atlantatrails.com/hiking-trails/hiking-iron-hill-red-top-mountain-lake-allatoona/https://gastateparks.org/sites/default/files/parks/pdf/businessplans/RedTopMountain_BusinessPlan.pdf