Hahn Woods & Lullwater Park at Emory: a Springlike Hike & BYO-Picnic Lunch

IN A NUTSHELL:  The weather this Wednesday is expected to be unusually warm and springlike - in the mid-60s by early afternoon, with lots of blue in the sky. Please bring your own picnic lunch (in a small cooler in your car or in a light daypack) and join me for this 2- hour moderately paced hike on the lovely trail network at Emory here in NE Atlanta - see precise Directions below.
  The 185-acre forested nature preserve at Emory University's Hahn Woods and Lullwater Park boasts an amazing variety of scenery.  These parklands and their 5-miles or more of wooded trails are prized by hikers as "crown jewels" of Emory's extensive campus here in NE Atlanta.  Attractions include old mill ruins & waterfalls along the South Fork of Peachtree Creek (photo above) - also a  210-foot-long swinging footbridge over the creek (photo below), Lullwater House with its beautiful Candler Lake, thousands of native trees & flowering plants, and frequent sightings of songbirds, raptors and other critters.  We've even had amazing views of wild otters swimming and cavorting in Peachtree Creek near the footbridge! 

    
WHEN & WHERE?  We’ll gather a few minutes before 12:00 Noon in the FREE Hahn Woods parking lot where Houston Mill Road dips down and crosses Peachtree Creek—follow our detailed Directions below and you can enter my concise GPS Lat/Lon coordinates in lieu of a spelled-out destination address.  For an online zoomable map or satellite view of our meetup spot you can also click the above rectangular blue & green "Location Icon," 

EVENT PLAN:  After introducing ourselves we’ll begin the hike via a pretty loop just downhill of the Hahn Woods parking lot, where we'll take the time on big boulders by the creek to enjoy our picnic lunches.  After stopping back briefly at our cars we'll cross underneath the bridge to the other side of Houston Mill Road and explore a rustic side trail up the hill the historic Houston Mill House.  We'll continue through the forest to the Emory President's estate and lake at Lullwater Park.  After a thrilling walk across the creek via its $190,000 swinging footbridge we expect to be back at the cars by about 2:00.  We'll take a moderate pace, stopping occasionally to regroup and for photo-ops and water or snacks from our packs at several scenic spots—about 4 miles total.  If anyone needs to "split" early from the group, that's fine - just let me know.  It's easy to find your way back to the parking lot from anywhere along our hiking route.

BRING FIDO if you LIKE!  Emory's park property is a popular place for dog walking.  Your well-behaved dog is welcome provided he or she is leashed and under your control at all times.

FOR PHOTOS from our JAN 2011 AOC HIKE at LULLWATER PARK:
Check out Scott & Laura Erich's Picasa SmugMug photo album at the following link:  http://www.jauntsaroundtheworld.com/Atlanta-Outdoor-Club/2011-01-23-Hahn-Woods-Atlanta/

FOR MORE on EMORY'S PARKLANDS:  Click on the following link for a concise history with some fascinating old photos.  Also check out from the library David R. Kaufman's excellent book, "Peachtree Creek: a Natural and Unnatural History of Atlanta's Watershed."  http://guidetolullwaterpark.wordpress.com/history/

CONCISE "LAT/ LON" ADDRESS of PARKING LOT:  To augment the above directions I suggest that you GPS users (or for Maps.Google.com) enter as your destination this brief Lat/Lon Address for our precise meetup spot: 33.8038,-84.3233

(The longer verbal street address for Hahn Woods is: 866 Houston Mill Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30329.)

FOR a zoomable MAP or SATELLITE VIEW of our MEETUP SPOT and its SURROUNDING AREA:  Click on the rectangular blue & green event location icon near the top of this article.

No Charge!  Free Event with Free Parking.