Outdoor Adventure Day slated for this weekend at Cloudland Canyon State Park

photo The bluffs at Cloudland Canyon State Park are seen in this file photograph from 2011.

FOR MORE INFOFor more information contact Harry Abell, secretary for Friends of Cloudland Canyon State Park at 706-406-3440, or Cloudland Canyon State Park at 706-657-4050.

While last year's Outdoor Adventure Day got rained out, the Friends of Cloudland Canyon State Park hope perfect weather makes this year's event a fun family event to enjoy this Easter weekend.

The day of outdoor activities will take place at one of Georgia's most-visited parks, on top of Lookout Mountain in Dade County on Saturday. Activities start at 9 a.m. and will wind down around 5 p.m.

The event typically brings out between 1,500 and 2,000 people, said Harry Abell, secretary for the Friends of Cloudland Canyon.

There will be concessions available all day, including barbecue, burgers and biscuits in the morning, as well as homemade, brick-oven-fired pizzas.

Attractions available all day include caving, GeoCaching -- a sort of scavenger hunt played using global positioning system devices -- kid's activities, frontier and Native American crafts, disc golf and falconing.

There will also be archery classes taught by a representative from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Abell said.

The daylong event will also offer catch-and-release fishing from 1 to 4 p.m., a wildflower tour at 10 a.m., first aid and survival demonstrations at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m., and an 8 p.m. night hike.

"The wildflower hike is absolutely to die for, and it's not strenuous where they take them," said Connie D'Agostino, one of the event coordinators. D'Agostino added that there would be a possibility of a second wildflower tour in the afternoon if the demand is high enough.

Additionally, the rest of the park will be open to visitors who simply want to hike, camp, view scenery, enjoy the playgrounds and picnic areas, shop in the park store or take part in educational activities at the Interpretive Center.

The only up front cost to visitors is the $5 parking fee assessed by the Georgia State Parks Department.

Contact staff writer Alex Harris at aharris@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6592.

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