Gold Branch Loop -- FAST

Hike the Gold Branch Trail on the banks of the Chattahoochee River near Roswell, exploring a wildlife- filled forest, visiting Bull Sluice Lake, and catching exceptionally beautiful river views.  Young hardwoods shade a forest floor that fills with mosses, ferns, and native Georgia wildflowers in warm-weather months. The tranquil lake and river are home to cattails, marsh grasses, and aquatic plants. And wildlife fills the banks, waters and air surrounding these lesser-traveled, often quiet trails: heron, geese, ducks, fish, turtles, and deer are frequent sights along the trail.

This is not a beginners hike.  To qualify, you need to have recently kept pace with a fast D2 group and be willing to keep pace with this group. Due to the small roster size, we will move any registrant with a high cancellation rate to the wait list so that we may have a full roster.

Avg. Speed:  FAST (last 3 hikes were 3.0 - 3.3 mph)

Elevation gain:  400 feet (includes 1 climb of 170 feet)

We will bear to the left to descend to the river, do the entire river stretch, and then start working our way to the parking lot.

There are no bathrooms at the park.

You will need a Chatahoochee NRA or National Parks parking pass for the park which is best to buy in advance. 

We will meet at the kiosk at the back of the parking lot.

Here is the Google Maps link:

https://goo.gl/m a ps/bCQJ1kPq72Bv6uW58

Google labels the pinpoint as the Gold Branch Trail

The park entrance is directly across Lower Roswell Road from the Ashforde subdivision and easy to drive past.

Trail conditions can be sloppy, muddy, puddles, slippery, roots and rocks

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