6 fall hikes in and around Atlanta to help color your world
In June, Atlanta naturalists Jonah McDonald and Zana Pouncey released “Hiking Metro Atlanta’s Hidden Forests: An Hour or Less from Downtown.” The book came six months after the release of the updated and reissued first volume, “Hiking Intown Atlanta’s Hidden Forests: Inside and on the Perimeter.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution asked the co-authors to each pick three of their favorite metro Atlanta hikes to help readers make the most of fall. First are Pouncey’s suggestions:
Doll’s Head Trail at Constitution Lakes Park
I love hiking Constitution Lakes Park any time of year, because there’s always some cool feat of nature taking place, whether it’s tadpoles to watch in the frog pond in spring or migratory birds to scope out from the boardwalk. But going in the fall feels like a special treat, particularly around Halloween.
I recommend walking the Doll’s Head Trail, a man-made, found object art installation that heavily features dolls and other strange objects. The hand-painted signs and arrows add to the feeling you’re entering a funhouse in the middle of the forest. It’s spooky, funny and a great option for a free, festive, outdoor haunted house of sorts, especially if you’re hiking with kids.
The quickest way to the Doll’s Head Trail is to take the paved path at the left of the parking lot and follow the signs toward Doll’s Head Trail. On the way, I recommend folks take a moment to stop at either boardwalk over the wetlands where you can spot turtles, deer, herons and sometimes deer, if you’re patient.
Constitution Lakes is in south DeKalb County, and is fairly accessible no matter what part of town from which you’re starting. It’s just a quick hop away from I-285, but once you’re in the park it feels like you’ve entered an oasis in an otherwise industrial neighborhood. You enter the park off Moreland Avenue at an intersection with South River Industrial Boulevard and bear right onto a gravel drive at the sign for Constitution Lakes. The trail itself is fairly easy to navigate, making a 2-mile loop that starts and ends at the parking area.
DeKalb County recently hired a naturalist, Tasha Messer, to steward the park and lead fun activities. Stop and introduce yourself if you see her and check out her nature program calendar that’s sure to give you another reason to keep coming back.
Mountaintop Trail at Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve
Most people seek views of colorful changing leaves in the fall, but one of my absolute favorite fall foliage events is the yellow daisy blooms that spring up across Atlanta’s rock mountains (Stone Mountain, Arabia Mountain and Panola Mountain).
Starting in September, the seemingly barren gray rock becomes a breathtaking display of native yellow flowers that grow uninhibited on the outcrop. It’s an amazing sight, and happens in the most unlikely of terrains — on rock. What’s particularly enjoyable about hiking the Mountaintop Trail at Arabia Mountain is being immersed among the blooms while following the large, stacked-rock cairns to the top of the mountain. And unlike its younger neighbor, Stone Mountain, the hike to the Arabia summit isn’t nearly as strenuous, so you could bring a blanket and picnic among the flowers at the top. As long as you’re careful not to step in the sensitive solution pits where native plants grow, you can explore along the outcrop seeking a moment of seclusion from crowds. Or follow the blue-blazed trail down and around Mountain Lake.
To top it off, the view from the top of Arabia rivals any mountain in Georgia, so after the blooms have died back in October, you can return to see the landscape change from green to red, yellow and orange with the turn of the season. The fall is also a great time to be on the outcrop, because there’s not a lot of shade on the trail and the brisk temperature will help you cool down after you get your heart rate up making the hike to the top.
Arabia Mountain is about 30 minutes from Atlanta via I-20. You can opt for a shorter hike by parking at the second lot next to the AWARE Wildlife Center, or my preference, parking at the main lot off Klondike Road at the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Center and following a 1-mile route along a paved path and boardwalk before starting your climb up the mountain. There is no parking fee, and you can bring your leashed pup, if you want.
Roswell Mill Waterfall at Vickery Creek Unit, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
If you’re going to chase waterfalls, you don’t have to drive all the way to North Georgia. Of the numerous falls in metroAtlanta that provide the same thrill, the one I recommend most is the Roswell Mill Waterfall at Vickery Creek. This trail has everything you need for a fun, challenging fall hike — rolling hills to get your heart rate up, scenic views of the waterfall and beautiful fall colors.
What’s particularly interesting about the waterfall at Vickery Creek is that you can also view and read about several historic structures from the time when the dam was a working mill. The two cotton mills that stood on this site were burned by the Union Army during the Civil War because they were producing goods for the Confederate Army. The dam and mill remains you’ll see were rebuilt after the war and stayed in operation until 1975.
Though the Roswell Mill Waterfall and surrounding trails are a popular, well-used hiking destination, the large network of trails affords many stretches of trail to yourself. Trail junctions are marked with maps, so you have multiple options for exploration as you wind through this young forest.
This hike and waterfall are in the Vickery Creek unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, which is managed by the National Park Service. Most people familiar with the waterfall enter the park near the covered bridge in Roswell’s Old Mill Park. But, if you park in the National Recreation Area lot off Riverside Road, you can turn the waterfall viewing into a fun addition to a great fall hike. There’s a $5 parking fee, which you can purchase ahead of time at recreation.gov.
Here are Jonah McDonald’s fall hike recommendations:
Bear Creek Falls at Cochran Mill Park
You’ll find one of Atlanta’s best waterfall trails just 20 minutes south of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Cochran Mill Park in south Fulton County contains more than 15 miles of trails and at least four gorgeous waterfalls. And what’s better in the fall than red, yellow and orange leaves glistening on the edges of a tumbling waterfall? This hike is perfect for the season.
Named after brothers Berry and Owen Cochran, who operated grist mills on the property, Cochran Mill Park now spans 800 acres and is a popular destination for mountain bikers, equestrians and hikers. Two creeks — Little Bear Creek and Bear Creek — cut through the park’s rolling Piedmont forest. Along the trails, you’ll pass the ruins of the mills and a memorable waterfall where Bear Creek cascades down a steep rock outcrop.
I was sold on this hike from the beginning, as the trail passes a waterfall along Little Bear Creek, the site of Owen Cochran’s mill. From there, you can hike a 4-mile, figure-eight loop past Bear Creek Falls, across several rock outcrops, and through rolling hills and peaceful forests. The deep orange leaves of sourwood trees, mixed with the reds of black gum and the yellows of hickory make Cochran Mill a slice of heaven in the fall.
If the natural beauty of the trails is not enough, this hike also leads you past the Bear Creek Nature Center, a nonprofit environmental education facility that hosts field trips, animal encounters and boasts the only live bat program in the metro area.
Proctor Creek Greenway
Not all hikes are on dirt trails. Our city’s paved multiuse trails provide an important connection to nature for those of us with strollers, canes or wheelchairs. The other benefit of a paved trail is that, instead of worrying about roots and rocks underfoot, I can look up and around me, taking in the natural world with ease.
My favorite paved hiking trail to visit this fall is the Proctor Creek Greenway in Northwest Atlanta. You’ll see colorful autumn leaves, flowering meadows, a bubbling creek and have an opportunity to visit Atlanta’s biggest park.
One of my favorite things about this trail is that it’s mostly shaded by plentiful trees that provide ample opportunities to marvel at the fall colors. And the wide, paved trail also allows space for great photography. As you pass through several open areas, look for fall wildflowers, including ironweed, goldenrod and boneset. Listen for the sounds of Proctor Creek flowing nearby. Sporadic views of the water are available from the trail, including one particularly picturesque place where Proctor Creek flows among boulders, cascading through a rocky outcrop near the Bankhead MARTA Station.
The creek itself has a complicated history. Once used by churches for baptisms, Proctor Creek and its surrounding neighborhoods became the victim of Atlanta’s combined sewer system that allowed rainwater to mix with human sewage and overflow into the creek. By the 1960s, Proctor Creek was considered one of Atlanta’s most polluted waterways. Thankfully, through a combination of a federal consent decree that required Atlanta to separate its stormwater and sanitary sewers and strong activism by neighbors and nonprofit organizations, Proctor Creek is bouncing back.
In our guidebook, we recommend starting at Shirley Clarke Franklin Park (formerly called Westside Park) and walking to the Proctor Creek Greenway’s midpoint trailhead. Turn right and you’ll experience the forested northern 3 miles. Turn left and the trail snakes 3 miles through meadows and forests, culminating at the previously mentioned outcrop cascade.
South Peachtree Creek Trail at Mason Mill Park
I can’t get enough of the fall colors and views along the boardwalk at Mason Mill Park. Full disclosure: I work as the park naturalist, so I’m a little biased. But it’s so beautiful I still want more, despite spending 40 hours a week here. The South Peachtree Creek Trail connects Mason Mill Park to Medlock Park and Emory University, and is a gem nestled into a 100-acre forest in central DeKalb County.
The boardwalks are the stars of the show at Mason Mill Park, lined with hardwood trees and curving through wetlands and along creeks. But I like to get off the beaten path, hiking a network of single-track dirt trails that take me to my other favorite spots: a stand of giant beech trees, a rock outcrop with mountain laurels, a breached dam across Burnt Fork Creek, the mystery of an abandoned car hidden in the woods, the city’s largest red maple tree and the graffiti-covered ruins of the Old Decatur Waterworks.
For a relatively small county park tucked away between neighborhoods and shopping centers, Mason Mill has a ton to offer. When you visit this fall, start along the South Peachtree Creek Trail boardwalk as it winds down a slope through a mature forest containing more than 35 species of trees. Follow the boardwalk to a beaver-created wetland that is the most biodiverse area of the park, from there it’s a “choose your own adventure” to explore the rest of this fantastic park.
Find the trailhead at the far end of Mason Mill Park, with free parking near the DeKalb Tennis Center. Information kiosks provide trail maps and more. In our book, we recommend two hike routes within this park, but there are plenty more options. After your hike, Mason Mill has picnic pavilions, a large playground and playing field near the parking lot to continue your day of outdoor adventure.
