Hidden Gems via the Trails of Mason Mill Park and its adjoining Emory Lullwater Preserve

EVENT PLAN:   Hope you can join us for this leisurely but adventurous outing with the bonus of ideal hiking weather - a sunny, warm and calm afternoon in the mid-70s.  We'll explore about 4 miles of the network of beautiful trails & boardwalks at DeKalb County's Mason Mill Park and its conveniently interconnecting Lullwater Preserve at Emory University.  Our focus along the way will be to enjoy a variety natural and historic "hidden gems" that most fans of these popular parklands may not yet have discovered.
  We'll gather a few minutes before 2:15 PM in the free parking lot just inside the Mason Mill Park entrance (by the Playground & stone Restroom building) and expect to be back there at the cars by 4:15.  See detailed Directions & GPS info below.  Bring your well-behaved dog if you like, but please make sure that he/she is leashed and under your control at all times and in your sign-up notes please mention his/her name & breed, etc.
  We'll begin via short portions of the multi-million-dollar "PATH Foundation" paved trails and raised forest-canopy boardwalks, then quickly branch off to enjoy ruggedly scenic trails that wind around the creeks & lakes.  At the base of the wooded hill surrounding the 95-year-old Emory president's mansion we'll visit its nearby waterfall and cross Peachtree Creek via the exciting suspension foot bridge (above photo).  Along the way we can expect to see songbirds, great blue herons and colorful wildflowers, shrubs & trees sprouting new greenery and beginning to bloom.  If you need to "split" early from the group for any reason, that's OK, but please let me know if and when you choose to do so.  From almost anywhere in the terrain it should be easy to direct you back toward your car at Mason Mill.

OPTIONAL EXTRA INFO about the PARKS, TRAILS etc:  The hundreds of acres of beautifully wooded parklands at Mason Mill and Emory conveniently interconnect with one another.  The PATH Foundation's South Peachtree Creek Trail (see interactive map link below) is the main artery through this multi-park region, and like the Silver Comet Trail was built to their high design & construction standards.  In the ~15 years since PATH built the original mile of "double-wide" trail & boardwalk between Mason Mill Park and Medlock Park the foundation has invested additional millions to create and maintain a beautiful 3/4-mile spur from Mason Mill to North Druid Hills Rd and another 1/2-mile spur to Emory University underneath Clairmont Rd, allowing easy access to the awesome Lullwater Preserve trail network.  At Mason Mill a high wooden deck overlooking the historic "Decatur Waterworks" ruins by the RR track has proven to be a favorite dark spot for urban skygazing - i.e, viewing the stars & planets, sunsets, moonrises, eclipses, meteor showers, comets, etc.  Just across the creek below that deck is Ira Melton Park, with a convenient set of massive flat stepping stones allowing hikers easy access to its trails at normal water levels.  Although we don't have time to include it this time, another fun option is to walk eastward beyond Medlock Park a few blocks further to lovely Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve and enjoy at least a mile-long "bird-habitat wetlands loop" there before heading back.

For an INTERACTIVE  TRAIL MAP of the MASON MILL, MEDLOCK & EMORY PARKLANDS, click: https://www.pathfoundation.org/south-peachtree-creek-trail 

DIRECTIONS to our GATHERING SPOT in the MASON MILL PARKING LOT just inside the main Park Entrance by the Playground & stone Restroom building:

GPS and GOOGLE MAPS USERS:  The street address of the Park office building adjoining our gathering spot is 1340 McConnell Drive, Decatur, GA.  (For a zoomable color MAP and satellite view click the square blue & green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article.) 

ROUTE to this GATHERING SPOT from the I-85 CLAIRMONT ROAD EXIT in NE METRO ATLANTA:
1. From the I-85 Exit (#91) take Clairmont Rd southeastward (toward Decatur) about 2.3 miles to the traffic light at McConnell Drive.  (This is the next light south of the much busier Clairmont/ North Druid Hills traffic light, and is ~1/2 mile north of the huge VA Medical Center.)
2. Turn Left onto McConnell Drive and go just 0.1 mile to the stop sign.
3. Turn Right to stay on McConnell and continue another 0.1 mile to the "Mason Mill Park" entrance sign.
4. Turn Left at the entrance sign and park your vehicle just ahead on your right in the large free lot.  We'll gather there by the Playground & stone Restroom building.  In the very unlikely event that the parking spaces are all taken, the nearby public library at the above right turn has plenty of free parking - just an easy 3- or 4-minute walk to reach us.

Free Event with Free Parking!