Hidden Gems of Arabia Mountain! - a cool morning Hike on seldom-explored Trails

IN A NUTSHELL:  The weather forecast is looking great for Saturday morning with mostly clear skies and temperatures in the 70s.  Please join me to explore many of the seldom-visited "hidden gems" of this Park that make it such an ecological treasure.  Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve is a beautiful DeKalb County Park about 20 miles east of downtown Atlanta near I-20. (Please follow carefully my directions below.)  We'll gather at 8:00 PM beside the outdoor bulletin board kiosk adjoining the big free parking lot at the park's Nature Center.

HIKE PLAN:  After welcoming and introducing one another we'll explore some of the seldom-hiked trails including the "blue loop trail" around the lake beyond the twin summits of Arabia Mountain - also occasional off-trail terrain.  We'll stop at scenic spots along the way to observe birds & wildlife, rare native flora and the fascinating rocky outcrops.  Our friend, Ranger Robby Astrove may be able to join us. We expect to be back at the parking lot by about 11:00 AM.

FASCINATING "MONADNOCK" GEOLOGY!  The hundreds of acres of exposed rock at Arabia Mountain are remnants of huge globules of molten rock that bubbled up deep inside the earth about 400 million years ago. The igneous globules cooled and hardened and their tops were eventually revealed as miles of softer layers of earth and rock eroded away above them.  By comparison the granite of Arabia's nearby "siblings," Stone Mountain and Panola Mountain, is believed to be "relatively young!" - only about 300 million years old.  All three mountains are called "monadnocks" - the geologic term for such granitic igneous domes.

DIRECTIONS from the I-20/ I-285 INTERCHANGE on ATLANTA'S EAST SIDE:  (This "hypothetical starting point" for driving to the Park is about 10 miles east of downtown Atlanta via I-20 - also about 10 miles south of "Spaghetti Jcn" via I-285.)

1.  From the East-side I-20/I-285 Interchange proceed eastbound on I-20 about 5 miles (outside I-285 toward Augusta) and exit to your Right at Exit #74 ("Evans Mill Rd/Lithonia").

2.  Take the 1.3-mile-long exit ramp and access road STRAIGHT AHEAD to its end at the second traffic light where Evans Mill Rd crosses underneath I-20.  (AVOID the first "Evans Mill" opportunity, which would be a right turn before the end of the access road.)

3.  Turn Right at the traffic light onto Evans Mill Road and go just 0.1 mile to another traffic light.

4.  At that light continue straight ahead onto Woodrow Drive and continue another 0.8 mile to the stop sign at Klondike Road.

5.  Turn Right onto Klondike Road and in about 1 mile you will pass through a traffic circle at Rockland Road.  Stay on Klondike Road for another 0.25 mile beyond the circle and look for the" Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve" nature center on your right.

6.  Turn Right into the Nature Center's gravel parking lot where we can park for free.  We AOCers will gather initially by the big bulletin-board kiosk between the parking lot and the Nature Center building.

FOR a MAP of our DAVIDSON-ARABIA PARKING LOT VICINITY:  Click on the square blue & green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article.  You can also use Google.com/maps or your vehicle's GPS System in conjunction with the above directions by entering as your destination the following Nature Center address or Lat/Lon coordinates:
3787 Klondike Rd, Lithonia, GA 30038
33.67230,-84.11622

Free Event with Free Parking!