Sarah The East Palisades Trail of the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area fits neatly into the “perfect hike for spring” category. It features beautiful river views, a babbling brook or two, and, if you take the right path, you will find yourself frolicking through a magical bamboo forest. But the bamboo forest is harder to find than you might think!
If you’re a hiker in the Atlanta area, you know there are certain hikes that are perfect for springtime. The moderate weather and lack of bugs make any riverside or potentially marshy hike a good one to try. Bonus points if you can see blooming flowers or other unique plants along the way. After seeing several beautiful bamboo pictures on Instagram, I decided it was time for me to seek this forest out.
I Love the AllTrails App
I checked my trusty AllTrails app for a hiking route. I often use AllTrails because it has so many hiking trail options, and you can sort them by difficulty and length. It also lets you save hikes, GPS track your route during your hike, and verifies when you’ve completed a hike. I’ve used the Pro version in the past, but right now I’m just using the free version, and still find it very helpful. I was happy to find that a hike labeled “East Palisades Trail and Bamboo Forest” was already loaded into the app, so I selected it and started on my way.
But Don’t Use AllTrails to Find the Bamboo Forest
However, this is where things started to go wrong for me. A word of advice: Don’t use the East Palisades Trail and Bamboo Forest hike in AllTrails to find the bamboo forest–it doesn’t take you there!! I had a few problems with this route. First, it takes you away from the river and through a parking lot that isn’t marked on the AllTrails map, which is confusing. Next, it takes you through a very rocky and muddy area that was a little hard to traverse. Finally, it turns you back toward the river, circling you back to your starting point BEFORE you get to the bamboo forest. You totally miss it if you follow the AllTrails route!
The Two Best Ways to the Bamboo Forest
The bamboo forest is at EP 26. You have two options–the fastest way there, and the prettiest.
The fastest way to get there, and to avoid the hardest footing, is to park at the Indian Trail entrance, near EP 20, and take the following route: EP 20 -> EP 22 -> EP 24 -> EP 12 -> EP 14 -> EP 23 -> EP 17 -> EP 16 -> EP 26. Then retrace your steps back out.
The prettiest way to get there is to enjoy river views the whole way there and back. Park at the Whitewater entrance, near EP 28, and take the following route: EP 28 -> EP 1 -> EP 2 -> EP 4 -> EP 5 -> EP 6 -> EP 8-> EP 10 -> EP 14 -> EP 23 -> EP 17 -> EP 16 -> EP 26. Then retrace your steps for an out-and-back hike that will be about 4 miles total.
Since it took me a couple of tries to find the bamboo forest, I was a bit grumpy about it and really didn’t expect to be impressed. But it truly is a magical spot, and I’m so glad I put in the extra effort to figure out it’s location in the East Palisades trail system. Now that you know how to find the bamboo forest, I hope you take a trip over to the East Palisades Trail in the Chattahoochee NRA and check it out! Let me know what you think in the comments below!
xoxo
S
