Watson Mill Bridge State Park: Ridge Loop Trail
Watson Mill Bridge State Park: Hiking and Biking Trail
Sprewell Bluff Outdoor Recreation Area: The Natural Dam Trail
Sprewell Bluff Outdoor Recreation Area: Longleaf Pine Loop Trail
Ocmulgee National Monument: Mound Walk
Ocmulgee National Monument: Bartram, Opelofa, and River Walk Trails
Oconee National Forest: Ocmulgee River Trail
Piedmont National Wildlife Refuge: Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Trail
Appendix 1: Hikes by Theme
Appendix 2: Recommended Books and Maps
Appendix 3: Agencies and Information Sources
Appendix 4: Conservation Organizations and Trail Groups
Preface
You better eat your Wheaties.” I will never forget that park ranger’s warning spoken so many years ago. He was trying to warn my high school buddies and me that the trail we were about to attempt was pretty difficult. Of course, we paid no attention to him—hey, we were teenagers—and carrying little knowledge of what lay ahead, we stormed up the path. Hours later, several exhausted 16-year-olds lay strewn about a campsite, too whipped to whip up dinner. Our disregard for the ranger, and our failure to educate ourselves about the trail, led to much misery. These days we laugh about it, but nobody was laughing at the end of that hard day.
That experience really taught me the value of using guidebooks and other sources to actually plan a trip. A major motivation for writing this book was to help others avoid such trouble and truly enjoy their time while exploring trails surrounding Atlanta. My involvement in the project resulted from my experience serving as a GPS mapping correspondent for Backpacker magazine. Through this work, I not only learned the finer points of documenting a trail, but I also encountered a great number of people from Atlanta who were new to hiking. Curious as to why I was scribbling in a notebook on the trail, they would often approach me and strike up conversations. And mostly, folks just wanted clear and concise information on good places where they could hike. This book is an extension of those conversations. My hope was to point people toward the places that I love to visit and provide them with good information, but not overwhelm them—to help them easily plan an outdoor excursion and be prepared to travel safely.
I have included the majority of the available trails within a couple hours’ drive of Atlanta, but in deciding what to leave in and what to omit, I focused on including those that are most enjoyable. I eliminated some areas where trails have become overgrown and very difficult to navigate. Some chapters, such as those concerning the Cohutta Wilderness and the Appalachian Trail, serve as a primer, offering details on selected hikes that will familiarize you with the area. (Although the Georgia Pinhoti Trail is not included in this edition, I hope to include it in a future one.)
I have occasionally flavored trip descriptions with my experiences while hiking, but be aware that you could have a very different experience, depending on weather and other variables. One of the best things you can carry on the trail is a flexible frame of mind—that and basic knowledge of the terrain and environment. It always helps to know if you need to eat your Wheaties.
All of these trail descriptions come with one important caveat: You’ll probably have a better time if you avoid hiking during peak travel days. The population of the Atlanta metro area has exploded in the past 20 years, so on a warm spring Saturday, popular trails resemble I-285 at rush hour. Granted, work and other responsibilities relegate most hiking to the weekends, but if you can arrange to hike on a weekday, you will be rewarded. That campsite you love so much will probably be unoccupied, and you could have that swimming hole with the waterfall to yourself for a little while.
Arrowhead Wildlife Interpretive Trail (Trip 15)
Introducing the Atlanta Area
Since 2000, the population of the Atlanta metro area has skyrocketed to include more than 5 million residents. This explosive population growth and accompanying urban sprawl have obviously affected the number of natural areas where Atlanta residents can escape the congested world of concrete to walk in peaceful, green corridors. By 2008, 55 acres of land were being developed in the Atlanta area each day, according to the Georgia Statewide Comprehensive Outdoor Recreation Plan (2008–2013). To their credit, city and state officials recognized that the lack of recreation land posed a serious risk not only to the health of the environment but also to the well-being of Atlantans. Former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue called for the state to create its first comprehensive land-conservation plan where the state, private sector, and local governments and institutions would work to conserve natural spaces. Unfortunately, the Great Recession has impeded efforts in Georgia to preserve land, create recreation facilities, and even maintain existing recreation sites. In August 2013, the majority of state and local outdoor recreation professionals in Georgia reported that the condition of recreation facilities had stayed the same or declined since 2008. A majority also said they lacked adequate funding to conserve natural resources and support recreation for the population.
Despite these hardships, the state of Georgia and the City of Atlanta have seen some victories in their efforts to create green space for recreation. In 2008, Atlanta introduced the Beltline, a 22-mile greenway where old railroad corridors were transformed into parks and multiuse trails. In 2014, more than 1 million people walked, hiked, and biked on the Beltline trails, and the Beltline project has generated