Can I Bring Albus: Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield

A couple of weeks ago, I got up extra early on a Saturday and I was super motivated. So I loaded Albus up for a quick little hike up Kennesaw Mountain. You would think that since I grew up in Kennesaw, went to the park every year for field trips in elementary school, drive past it every single work day, that I would remember the date of the battle. It was June 27th, 1864 and you guys will never guess what day I took Albus to hike the mountain. Go ahead, guess. Did you guess June 29th, the Saturday after the anniversary of the battle? BECAUSE YOU WOULD BE RIGHT! 

This post is not sponsored (but I would absolutely accept a National Park Annual Pass in exchange for taking Albus to all of the dog friendly ones and exploring them...) This post does contain affiliate links, which means if you make a purchase through one of those links, I receive a small commission at no cost to you. Thanks! 

So, on this fateful day. I figured the park would be busy, it wasn't TOO hot yet, but it was a Saturday morning. I pulled up and the main parking lot was full (it's always full, but I always do a loop in case I'm there at *just* the right time and someone is leaving.) Then the overflow parking was a zoo too, I lucked into a parking spot, took a very official picture of Albus squinting in front of the sign in that parking lot, then we head to the opening of the park. We start to cross the street, and only then do I see the tents set up, the canons not in their normal places, and people dressed as Union & confederate soldiers. 

In case you were wondering, no, Albus was not a fan of the cannon fire or the rifles. Since we had already fought to park and made it to the welcome center, I decided that we should try to go up the mountain anyways. The hike up Kennesaw Mountain is only 1 mile, but man I struggle every time. Atlanta Trails says it's a "relatively moderate" hike. In the intro they say "Hike a strenuous 2.4 miles roundtrip on the Big Mountain Trail," so maybe it's not so easy peasey. Not sure I'm going to be trying anything they say is more difficult. 

SPEAKING of more difficult. If you're ever in the area and end up at the entrance on the back side of the mountain, they call it "Little Kennesaw Mountain" that hike is substantially more difficult and I have been glared down by a troop of Boy Scouts with those poky hike stick things (staunchly refusing to google what they're really called.) because apparently letting the large group of boys who look like they know what they're doing pass is not actually proper hiking etiquette. I always operate under "slower traffic get out of the way" 

So, on your hike up, you go about .8 miles and then there's a parking lot. Fun story, the first time I took my youngest brother hiking, he got SO MAD when we found the parking lot and insisted we walk the driving path down because he didn't believe that going around the mountain would be further than straight down it. Well, by the time Albus & I reach this parking lot, I'm breathing a lot heavier than I care to admit, and I plop down on the sidewalk for both of us to take a water break. We only do easy hikes, but I keep my doggy diaper bag packed with sunscreen, an extra water bottle, a bag of BarkBox treats, and a spare roll of poop bags. I also have this really cool collapsible bowl that clips on to the leash. Obviously I needed the break more than Albus did. 

I asked the park rangers if they would be firing the cannons on the tippy top of the mountain, because by this time I remembered all of the Kennesaw Mountain knowledge I have amassed over the years. They were also firing those, the reenactment must be historically accurate you know, so I decided we'd just head back down. It was hot and sweaty, but we ended up doing over two miles anyways because we had to walk to and from that satellite parking lot. 

Kennesaw Mountain itself, as well as the rest of the park associated with it, is all very dog friendly. A KEY thing to note though, you're gonna need to bring your own bags and be a little prepared to carry one for a while. We once accidentally went 6 miles on the Noses Creek trail looking for a trash can. There are several different trails in the park and we've done almost all of them! Maybe on our next installment of "Can I Bring Albus?" we'll talk about the dog beach where Albus made some overly serious dog dad very mad..

Have you been to Kennesaw Mountain? Do you think I'm a wimp getting winded on the trail (it's okay, I know I'm out of shape.) Is there a National Park near you that you love? Tell me about it! Also, always accepting new ideas for where to bring Albus.