Some time ago, I read about a private resort southwest of Atlanta called Banning Mills. I think it was from an advertisement and while I didn't really have much interest in staying there, I was interested in hiking the their trails and visiting some of the ruins. As I'm driving down that way later today anyway to join the Meetup for another hike, I decided to leave early and check out Banning Mills. After parking my car and speaking with a young man at the main office, I paid my $7 fee, which goes to the preservation of the historical site and hit the trails.
To get to the first trail that I wanted to check out, I have to cross a creek by traversing what I believe is the longest suspension bridge I've ever crossed. I would estimate it to be about 100 yards long and stretched 100+ feet above the shoals below. I'm not really scared of heights, but the shaky nature of a suspension bridge combined with the distance and height are a bit unnerving. I slowly make my way to the other side and then head into the woods.
My primary point of interest is the ruin of the old Paper Mill. While there doesn't seem to be much documentation on when the mill was built, it was in operation in the 1880's. Apparently, it was once four stories tall and powered at first by a large water wheel on the creek and later by steam power requiring two smoke stacks. Now, it sits in ruins - piles of stacked stones forming walls. It must have been a pretty large facility and I walk around it a bit before moving on.
There are other ruins that I'm interested in seeing here, but the trail map is a bit confusing and by the time I get my bearings, it's almost time to depart. It was still nice to finally visit this place and I got a bonus 1.3 miles in.
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