Dauset Trails Annual Fall Camping and R&R Retreat: Free Kayaking & Canoeing and miles of Hiking & Biking trails!

IN a NUTSHELL:  Ask any of the hundreds of AOCers who have enjoyed this trip with us in the past.  It's a blast!  Beautiful Dauset Trails Nature Center is just 50 miles SE of Atlanta. (See detailed Directions below.).  Feel free to arrive and depart at your convenience at any time between midday Friday and Sunday afternoon.  We'll have exclusive reserved use of the amazing lakeside group recreation area for the entire 3-day 2-night weekend!
  Included at no extra charge in our unbelievably low $25 event fee are a wide variety of exciting optional activities:  Unlimited use of the Nature Center's fleet of Kayaks & Canoes (+ paddles & PFDs), miles of scenic Biking & Hiking Trails, nightly Campfires and much more. At any time, of course, you're welcome to just "chillax" by the lake at our lovely group site - the perfect place for outdoor rest & relaxation.
  Our volunteers will serve up a delicious Saturday cookout dinner and Sunday morning breakfast (included in your fee) at our exclusive-use lakeside Dining Pavilion.  The big airy building is incredibly well equipped, with hot showers, flush toilets, power outlets, electric lights - also plenty of free parking, picnic tables and charcoal grill space.
  There are dozens of beautiful shaded Campsites!  Feel free to sleep in your own tent, hammock or RV either or both nights - OR - you can sleep comfortably WITHOUT a tent, etc. in one of our "Turkey Roost" roofed open-air sleeping structures (see more below).
  Camping not your thing?  Since our reserved AOC group site is so conveniently close to Atlanta, feel free to do your sleeping at home if you like. As your time permits join us during the day(s) & evening(s) all weekend for whatever activities (or "inactivities"!) that appeal to you - including our 2 provided meals, other "potluck-family-style" group meals at the pavilion, campfires, kayaking & canoeing, hiking, mtn biking, road biking, etc. Our $25 event fee is the same regardless of whether you decide to join us as a "day tripper" or spend one or more nights at our spacious group site.

"C TO THE 10TH" EVENT!  This semi-annual AOC adventure and R & R getaway can aptly be described as "C to the 10th Power!"  Close, Convenient and Cost-Conscious, it includes big group Cookouts & Campfires —a quality Carside Camping and adventure experience for outdoor enthusiasts from beginner thru expert.  As mentioned above our "Covered-Camping Turkey Roost" structures are a convenient sleeping option.  We’ll have FREE Canoeing and Kayaking all weekend with the Nature Center's nice fleet of boats (+ paddles & lifejackets) in the pretty lake by our dining pavilion.  As usual we'll provide free 1-on-1 Classes in basic paddling strokes, launching skills, etc. for any who request it.  There are great Cycling and Hiking opportunities, including group Mountain Bike rides and hikes on the huge network of wooded trails—so if you have a hybrid or mountain bike, consider bringing it - and don't forget your hiking shoes or boots.  For the benefit of any who may be new to any of such wilderness pursuits, we'll have experienced AOC volunteers on hand to offer free Counseling in the basic skills of Camping, Hiking and the lore of GA's beautiful native plants and animals.  An amazing free bonus of the Nature Center is its 15-acre “Critter Corral” a.k.a. "Wildlife Trail,"  This shady open-air zoo and its adjoining Visitor Center, Museum and Botanical Gardens display dozens of GA's native wild mammals, birds, reptiles & fish and native plants in a picturesque lakeside setting.  On Saturday morning we'll offer an exciting 2-hour  "Critter Confrontation Hike" -  departing from our Pavilion at at 10:00 and exploring this fascinating "main-attractions" area.  You newcomers will quickly see why we Dauset "veterans" love this in-Credible place! -Your trip Leader Charlie Cottingham, a.k.a "C-square."  :-)

CAMPING FACILITIES:  There's plenty of nicely shaded level campsite space near our dining pavilion and lake, and for any who prefer more privacy it's fine to pitch your tent (or hang your hammock) in any of the many flat clearings in the adjoining forest.  If you prefer you're welcome to sleep on one of the convenient “Turkey Roost” platforms - see below.  From the big shady parking area at our group site it's no more than a 2- or 3-minute walk to any of the dozens of beautiful tent or hammock sites - or to the Turkey Roosts.   Or feel free to sleep inside your own vehicle or RV, as I (Charlie) often do - esp. if the weather happens to be unusually showery or cool.

 “TURKEY ROOST” COVERED SLEEPING STRUCTURES:  These three open-sided roofed buildings are available to us at no extra charge and conveniently adjoin our tent sites.  Each Turkey Roost can sleep up to about six and has two "stories" of wooden decks (~12 feet wide by ~10 feet front-to-back) with stairs and surrounding safety railings.  To sleep in a Turkey Roost without a tent simply lay your pad and sleeping bag directly on the deck and perhaps pat a little insect repellent on your face and neck as you go to bed. If you have a small- to medium-sized self-supporting dome-style tent (and there's available space) feel free to pitch it directly on one of the covered decks—no rain fly necessary!

GROUP MEALS:  Our lakeside Dining Pavilion conveniently adjoins the campsites and large free parking area.  With its numerous picnic tables, clean restrooms, hot water, electric outlets and  grill it is ideally equipped for preparing meals and dining - also for socializing with a friendly group such as ours.  Its excellent shelter means that we can be confident of enjoying the trip "rain-or-shine."   The king-size raised charcoal grill by the pavilion is ideal for group barbecuing.  Large coolers are appropriate to bring, with plenty of ice to preserve our favorite beverages and food items.  We like to consolidate all our coolers under the shady eaves of the pavilion over the weekend.  Extra bagged ice is normally available for purchase about 5 miles away by car.
  For this trip the AOC event leader(s) will provide the main ingredients and supplies for a big Saturday evening cookout meal (~6:00-7:30pm) and for a hot Sunday morning breakfast (~8:00-9:30am).
  We’ll also host optional “potluck-style” group meals at the Pavilion for our Friday dinner  (~7:00-8:30pm) Saturday breakfast (~8:00-9:30am) and Sat &Sun lunches (~12:30-1:30 both days). For any of these potluck meals that you choose to take part in, simply show up and share something with the group that you personally enjoy.  . (E.g., for Fri Dinner perhaps an hors d'oeuvre plate, pre-cooked covered dish, grilled item, salad, dessert item, etc.  For Sat breakfast: perhaps a dozen eggs, pound of bacon, quart of juice, fresh fruit, half-dozen bagels, etc.) – also please do your share to help with food prep, cooking & cleanup for all of our meals at the Pavilion.
  On Friday evening, for the benefit of those who arrive by about 7:00 PM, the Pavilion's charcoal grill will be lit and implements provided for those who would like to barbecue a REASONABLE-sized personal item of your own: e.g., a piece of steak, chicken breast, 2 or 3 hotdogs, couple of burgers, etc.

  "PerfectPotluck.com" is a free website that provides convenient real-time access to well organized online charts of gear, supplies, food & refreshment items that each person wishes to bring to share. It's incredibly easy to "click below" and enter or re-edit your own info, and I encourage each of you campers to do so ASAP for the benefit of the group. You can easily see what there may be too little of or too much of and insert or adjust your own contribution accordingly! Our AOC "Group Password" if you happen to need it is AOC2017.
  Group Potluck Dinner (Fri ~6:00 - 8:00 PM): If you expect to participate, please Click this Link ASAP to enter or re-edit your items,and please indicate beside each item when you plan to share it: http://www.perfectpotluck.com/meals.php?t=DJME3771&v=25dc2d02d6
  Group Potluck Breakfast (Sat  ~7:00 - 9:00 AM - Same easy entry and re-editing as for above Dinner.) Click this Link ASAP: : http://www.perfectpotluck.com/meals.php?t=YLGS4096&v=25dc2d02d6
  Lunches: For those of us who happen to be at the campsite at midday on Sat or Sun we'll enjoy putting out various tasty "potluck" items at the pavilion to share, but we don't bother trying to pre-plan specific Lunch contributions.  During part of each day many of us will likely be away from the campsite hiking, biking, exploring, etc. Consider bringing a light daypack or fanny pack for carrying a few snack items such as fruit, a sandwich, trail mix, cookies, etc.—plus water and your smartphone, camera, etc
  The Club will provide a limited supply of napkins, paper towels, steel silverware, cooking utensils, etc. for group use at the Pavilion all weekend.  Our Club policy is to minimize the amount of disposables, so to "Be Green" please bring your own personal insulated and covered drinking mug and your own personal washable plate and bowl, plus personal knife, fork & spoon.  We’ll provide a hot-water dishwashing station, "camp suds," scrubbing pads, & towels, and will recruit a small crew to wash & dry dishes after each group meal.

 An added bonus of Dauset Trails is its proximity to historic Indian Springs State Park and its quaint village - also lovely High Falls State Park is just a 5-minute drive away.  These adjoining parks offer more fabulous hiking trails + waterfalls, lakes, botanical gardens, country stores, antique shops, etc.  A beautiful lakeside hiking & mtn biking trail was opened that conveniently connects Dauset Trails with Indian Springs.  High Falls is a very pretty place to explore and is directly on our route back toward Atlanta from Dauset Trails.

AOC Dauset Trails Photo Album:  For more than 100 colorful photos from our AOC Sep 2015 weekend, click this link for Joyce Taaffe's superbly done Facebook Album:  https://www.facebook.com/joyce.taaffe/media_set?set=a.10154265231915260.1073742659.540275259&type=1&l=f7de108755

For our Sep 2015 AOC Post-trip Archive writeup about that 15th semiannual Dauset Trails retreat, click here: https://www.atlantaoutdoorclub.com/event/archivedetails.asp?eventid=10194

Thanks to Angela Nelson for the above beautiful group "beach & boats" shot taken on our May 2009 Dauset Trails trip.

 
DIRECTIONS from ATLANTA to AOC GROUP CAMPING AREA & PAVILION at DAUSET TRAILS NATURE CENTER:  Please pay close attention to the numbered verbal Directions below. They give the precise mileages between turns and explain the special entrance & exit procedures for reaching our remote AOC Group Site.  Don't try to rely solely on GPS!  (As an adjunct to these directions you GPS users can enter Lat/Lon 33.2321,-83.9489 as coordinates of our special AOC entrance gate discussed in detail below.)
Our reserved AOC group site is roughly half-way between Atlanta and Macon and just 8 miles east of the I-75 "High Falls Rd" Exit.  For many Atlantans this is normally about a 1-hour drive except during "rush hour."  For a zoomable map & satellite view of our special Camper entrance gate and its surrounding area click the rectangular blue & green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article.
1. From the southside I-75/ I-285 Interchange (east of the Atlanta Airport) take I-75 South about 35 miles and get off at Exit #198, "High Falls Rd." (If you live on Atlanta’s east side consider this shortcut:   From I-285 Exit #52 take I-675 southward to I-75 South, then it's just 29 miles further to Exit #198 at High Falls Rd.)
2. Turn Left onto High Falls Road (over the I-75 bridge) and go 4.6 miles to Mt. Vernon Church Road (passing through High Falls State Park en route).
3. Turn Right onto Mt Vernon Church Rd and go 3.0 miles and look for a gravel road on on your left with a sign that says, "Dauset Trails Nature Center...Group Camping Entrance."   You GPS users may wish to enter the following Lat/Lon coordinates of this gravel entrance as your "destination address": 33.2321,-83.9489  (If you happen to overshoot this entrance, in just 0.1 mile you'll reach the main Dauset Trails paved entrance, in which case you should make a U-turn and backtrack to this proper entrance near the street address "389 Mount Vernon Road.")
4. From Mt. Vernon Road, turn into the gravel Camper entrance road discussed above, and bear leftward for about 100 yards where you’ll arrive at a steel gate. (The gate is just beyond a large bulletin board and its adjoining gravel parking lot for mountain bikers & other day-use visitors.)  CRUCIAL GATE DETAIL:  Enter through it toward our Camping Area as follows: The gate is normally "Fake-locked" with an old padlock on a chain.  Simply lift the end of the chain off the nail, open the gate, proceed through it with your vehicle, then reclose the gate just as you found it by wrapping the chain and padlock around the gatepost and re-hooking it on the nail.
5. After entering through the gate drive about 0.8 mile via the gravel road to our covered lakeside campers’ Dining Pavilion ("Group Pavilion #2") and campers’ Parking Area on your Right.  (Just before you reach this group area you'll pass through a second steel gate that is normally left unlocked and open for reserved camping groups.  We like to leave this second gate in the OPEN position all weekend.  If you arrive early and find this second steel gate locked, feel free to ask a ranger at the nearby Nature Center Office to assist you, and you could try reaching them by phone at 770-775-6798.
6. When you arrive, park initially at the pavilion, and consolidate there your coolers, camp chairs, and cooking/dining gear, etc.  If other AOCers have already arrived they can assist you in choosing a campsite. The main tent camping area  is in the forest near the lake, about 100 to 200 yards to the right of the pavilion beyond the little open-air chapel.  The “Turkey Roost” camping platforms are about 50 yards beyond this tent camping area, via the same forested trail.

• Weekend-long Camping in spacious shady tent or hammock sites or in "Turkey Roost" covered sleeping structures. (Huge lakeside Group Site reserved exclusively for AOC!  - Or sleep at home and return Sat and/or Sun if you prefer!)
• Large Lakeside Dining Pavilion with its clean Restrooms, Hot Showers, Flush Toilets, potable Water, electric Outlets and adjoining free Parking,
• Saturday evening Cookout & Dinner Party (+ Dishwashing Station, Disposables & Utensils provided all weekend at the Pavilion),
• Sunday morning Hot Group Breakfast (+ Hot brewed Coffee - also Sat AM coffee for group),
• Use of Canoes & Kayaks (exclusively for our group + paddles & lifejackets) all weekend in lake by our camping area & pavilion,
• Use of Hiking & Mountain Biking Trails + amazing free Zoo, Botanical Gardens and 1920's-era Farmyard,
• 'Round -the-Campfire Fun & Fellowship each night!  - weather permitting.

It is your responsibility to get your AOC event payment in on time.  Please allow at least two days for processing a PayPal or Electronic Funds Transfer transaction payable to the Atlanta Outdoor Club Treasurer.

CANCELLATION POLICY:  If you cancel on or before September 15, full payment will be refunded less a $3 administrative fee to cover processing of the payment and refund. No refund for cancellation after September 15 unless another AOC member replaces you and pays in full, and then you may request a refund less the $3 fee.  No partial payment for partial attendance will be accepted or returned.  This is considered a "Rain-or-Shine" AOC Event, esp. since we have such excellent shelter in Dauset Trails' spacious dining pavilion and "turkey roost" structures - also since we have quick access to our vehicles.