I'm a big fan of getting out in nature and exploring, and I recently had the opportunity to visit Fort Yargo State Park in Winder, GA. I had never been to this beautiful park before, but it's a stunning area and definitely worth a visit. It's best known as a summer park thanks to its beautiful lake and multitude of water recreation options, but I visited in early October and had a great time exploring the trail system here. There's quite a lot to do at the park, and whether you're with family, friends, or just out for a solo adventure, it's a spot I think you'll really enjoy.

I visited on a warm early fall day before the leaves had started turning. The trails all start near the visitors center, which was easy to find, and there was plenty of parking. The admission fee was just $5, which I felt was quite reasonable for an afternoon of fun spent in nature.

I was out hiking with a friend and two of my dogs, and have just one caveat if you're planning on bringing your furry buddies along. The weekend morning that I visited was quite crowded, and the lake area had a ton of dogs of various sizes and personalities. If you have reactive dogs, it might be a good idea to visit on a weekday or at a less crowded time. It was a little bit chaotic trying to maneuver my 140-pound Great Dane and my incredibly hyperactive pit mix when they were both super-excited at having just gotten out of the car, just because there were so many dogs in a relatively tight area.

Once we got to the trail areas, however, it was relatively uncrowded, and we didn't see too many people along the route that we were taking.

The variety of scenery was great - over the course of the eight miles that we hiked, we went through fields, wooded areas, around lakes, and even through a campsite.

We "remixed" the trail a little bit by taking several different blazed routes, but even for someone like me who's terrible with directions, the different color blazes and well-maintained trails meant that I never ended up lost. In the end, we ended up going a little over eight miles around most of the park.

The one thing I would do differently next time is bring along more water. I actually ended up ordering a CamelBak as soon as I got back to the car because carrying around big heavy water bottles was not comfortable and we still ended up running out of water about three-quarters of the way through the hike.

Other than wishing I had more water, visiting the park was a great experience. This was such a beautiful place to spend time outdoors, and I can't wait to head back again!

For more information about the trails available at Fort Yargo State Park, check out our friends at AllTrails. I used the AllTrails maps quite a bit while walking through the park, and right now you can even enjoy a free trial of AllTrails+ that will give you extra benefits like turn-by-turn directions and trail guides.