RIDE DEFINITELY a GO! Gwinnett’s Harbins Park Mountain Biking

GOOD NEWS as of SUN AM FEB 5!  Ride is DEFINITELY ON, folks, so Harry and I will see you there at 2:00. The Gwinnett Parks Hotline states that "all Gwinnett Parks trails are OPEN today," since the recent rainfall has been negligible.  Actually, the forecast is looking great for this afternoon, with partly sunny skies, ride-time temps in the upper 60s, and a little breezy - so dress accordingly and enjoy!  -Charlie 

OVERVIEW:  Situated on the beautiful Alcovy River and its Cedar Creek tributary, Harbins Park is Gwinnett County's largest park - also one of its newest, opening in 2009.  In its nearly 2000 acres of wooded rolling hills it boasts a network of well designed single-track mountain biking trails.  It also offers hiking and horseback trails, a paved Silver-Comet-like trail, restooms, changing rooms, a picnic pavilion and good drinking water. (See detailed directions and parking lot address & lat/lon below.)
 
EVENT PLAN:  Please be ready to ride at our 2:00 start time, so we can be out of the park by sunset when the park closes.  Our pace will be moderate, but our intent is for our main group to ride a minimum of 12 miles, thus the D4 rating.  For this longer ride, some minimal mountain biking experience is recommended.  Our more experienced riders may wish to ride ALL of the major loops, including the new 7-mile "Loop #5" (on the W side of the park).  On the other hand, if we have a few riders who prefer riding only a shorter distance such as the popular 5-mile loop we can also arrange that.

FOR a TRAIL MAP:  Click on the following link to reach the the Gwinnett Area Trail Riders' webpage for Harbins Park, then click on "Harbins Map JPG".  Note that Luke Edwards Rd and the parking lot are at the top center of the map: 
http://www.sorbagatr.org/trails/trail-harbins/

WEATHER:  If we need to cancel or postpone the ride for any reason (e.g., trails closed due to recent rain or temps below 45 degrees) we'll send a group E-mail by 10:00 pm the night before, in which case we'll likely reschedule it for the following weekend.  You can check Gwinnett trail closures yourself by calling their Trails Hotline at 770-978-5270.  Please also check your E-mail for our advisories.

FROM the I-85/ I-285 INTERCHANGE in NE ATLANTA: (Allow about 35 minutes for the 26-mile drive from this "Spaghetti Junction" interchange to Harbins Park.) 

1) Take I-85 North about 10 miles and exit at GA-316, Exit #106 (bearing right here toward Lawrenceville and Athens).

2) Take GA-316 East about 2.0 miles and exit to your Right at Sugarloaf Pkwy.

3) Turn Right onto Sugarloaf Parkway, go about 8.4 miles and exit to your Right at New Hope Rd.  (Your GPS may not show that Sugarloaf continues to this point.)

4) Turn Right onto New Hope Road and go about 5.3 miles to Luke Edwards Rd.

5) Turn Right onto Luke Edwards Road and go about 0.5 mile to Harbins Park on your right.  We'll meet in the parking lot near the restrooms.   Look or Harry's bright green Honda Element.  Parking is free.

ADDRESS and LAT/LON COORDINATES of Harbins Park parking lot: (May be useful as your entered GPS destination in conjunction with the above directions.)

  2995 Luke Edwards Rd, Dacula, GA 30019

  33.9108,-83.8526

Free Event with free Parking!