Hike F.D. Roosevelt State Park

Take a Hike at F.D. Roosevelt State Park – Pine Mountain, Georgia

In early May, we traveled to Pine Mountain, Georgia to hike at F.D. Roosevelt State Park. Pine Mountain is southwest of Atlanta, about an hour and 20 minutes away, and only 30 minutes from the Alabama state line. Callaway Gardens Resort is also located in Pine Mountain – Not to be confused with the Pine Mountain that is in the Cartersville area.

F.D. Roosevelt State Park is Georgia’s largest state park – it is over 9,000 acres! Set your GPS to the state park office. There are two reasons to start at the park office. The first one is simply because it is cool. Believe it or not, there is a small mountain range – Pine Mountain Range – and that is where FDR is located. The park office is a great location for a picnic because of the mountain and valley views there.

The second reason is because there is a giant map outside of the park office. Unlike other GA State Parks, the maps are not free. There are $7 maps of the Pine Mountain Trail and other trails in the park, but we did not buy one. We took a picture of the giant map. Make sure to get a few detailed pictures of that map, because trust me, you are going to need it.

We started at the trail head behind the park office. Our original plan was to hike the blue blazed Pine Mountain trail and loop back to the park office on the red and white dashed trail. Our mistake was not realizing that the red and white dashed trail was actually the main road that ran through the park! We hiked mainly on the Pine Mountain Trail, constantly looking for the red and white. We hiked for a really really long time before we realized what we had done.

That being said, If you want to find a defined loop and not do a “choose your own adventure” trail, then make sure to pick one of those out and find its exact starting point. There are several loops on the Pine Mountain Trail, such as the Overlook Loop (3.4 miles), Mountain Creek Nature Trail (3.2 miles), and Wolf Den Loop (6.7 miles).

Starting out, the trails were brushy. We found ticks on us and unfortunately carried some home with us. Because of the location, there was a lot of uphill and downhill parts of the trail. There were also long leaf pines, wildflowers, and tons of lizards and toads on the trail. After our long hike, we ended up near the Liberty Bell Swimming Pool. At that point, we decided to walk along the road. Nothing like ending a hike walking in the late afternoon heat uphill on the side of the road! It is okay though, we survived. I will definitely say that was one of the most exhausting hikes we have ever done. If there was ever a time for a cold drink, it was after that hike. And we found that cold drink at Wild Leap Brewing Company in LaGrange!

Tips for your trip:

Make sure you bring water! Take your normal amount and then some! We hiked a lot longer than we were planning, and I am glad I packed more water.
MAKE SURE SOMEONE KNOWS WHERE YOU ARE GOING! We visited the park on a warm Sunday. I expected it to be a lot more crowded – we only saw one other hiker on the trail the entire time. You can’t always count on someone to pass by you for help if you are alone. Always hike with a buddy if possible.
Make sure your phone is charged. We used our phone’s GPS with the park map several times.
Do a tick check periodically on your hike. You will be traveling through brushy areas.
Save the ranger number on your phone just in case of an emergency.
Take plenty of breaks. The trails have a lot of uphill parts.
If possible, spend a little time in LaGrange! LaGrange is a great small town with places to eat, get ice-cream, and of course, get a cold drink.

F.D. Roosevelt State Park
2970 GA-190
Pine Mountain, GA 31822
Google Map