Mason Mill Park Nature Wonderland: An adventurous Sunday afternoon Hike

EVENT PLAN:  This gorgeous fall weather is expected to continue at least through the rest of the weekend.  Hope you can join us for this adventurous 2-1/2 -hour hike via the network of shady creekside trails that connect Mason Mill and Medlock Parks here in NE Atlanta near Emory. We'll gather a few minutes before 1:30 PM just inside the Mason Mill Park entrance, in the free parking lot beside the stone restroom building and kids' playground.  (See detailed Directions below).
  Along the way we'll explore portions of the exciting NEW PATH Foundation trails that are under construction now and soon will connect Mason Mill with other nearby parks and greenspaces including Emory University's popular trails network.  We'll pause occasionally to regroup and to enjoy the native flora & fauna and other interesting scenery.
  Our total distance will be about 5 miles with just one or two steep spots.  We'll target being back at the cars by 4:00 PM.  If you need to "split" early from the group that's OK, but be sure to let me know if and when you do so.  It should be easy to direct you back to the parking lot.
  Bring your well-behaved dog if you like, but please make sure that he or she is leashed and under your control at all times.

ABOUT the PARKS, TRAILS and HIKING OPTIONS:  Mason Mill and Medlock are two pretty DeKalb County parks located just east of Clairmont Road near Emory University and the VA Hospital.  They conveniently connect with one another via a network of hiking/biking paths and boardwalks.  The currently 1-mile-long South Peachtree Creek PATH Trail is the main artery through this shady corridor, and like the better known Silver Comet Trail was designed and built to the high standards of Atlanta's "PATH Foundation."  One nice section of this PATH Trail is its half-mile-long raised deck through the forest canopy above Peachtree Creek.  Another nearby section traverses the railroad track via a 3-story-high wooden walkway and deck.  Hikers here are treated to aerial views of the picturesque restored ruins of the historic early-20th-Century Decatur Waterworks.  This high wooden deck is well protected from the glare of city lights and has proven to be a good spot for "skygazing" - i.e, viewing the stars & planets - also sunsets, moonrises, eclipses, meteor showers, comets, etc.
  The main PATH Trail itself has a couple of exciting new spur and connecting trails currently in the works - also numerous single-track small trails branch from the PATH trail into the surrounding forest.  It's always fun to explore a few of them during Mason Mill/ Medlock hikes.  One such spur fords the South Fork of Peachtree Creek via stepping stones and allows optional access to the half-mile white-blazed loop trail around Ira Melton Park.
  Another option (that we sometimes include in hikes of 3 hours or more) is to walk beyond Medlock Park a few blocks through the neighborhood to lovely Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve and do at least a short "wetlands" loop there before heading back (via Medlock Park) to our Mason Mill Park meetup spot.

FOR a COLOR MAP of the SOUTH PEACHTREE CREEK "PATH" TRAIL and how it interconnects Mason Mill & Medlock Park and other DeKalb County-owned green space, click this link:  http://pathfoundation.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/south-peachtree-creek-trail.pdf

FROM the I-85 CLAIRMONT ROAD EXIT in NE METRO ATLANTA to our MASON MILL PARK Meetup Spot:   (For a zoomable color MAP and satellite view of this spot and its vicinity click on the square blue & green "Event Location" near the top of this article.)

1. From the I-85 "Clairmont Road" Exit (Exit #91) in NE Atlanta take Clairmont Rd southward (toward Decatur) about 2.3 miles to the traffic light at McConnell Drive.  (This is the next light south of the big Clairmont/ North Druid Hills intersection.  If you reach the huge VA Hospital you've gone a couple of blocks too far!)

2. Turn Left onto McConnell Drive, go just 0.1 mile, and turn Right at the stop sign to stay on McConnell. (Note the small "Mason Mill" directional sign here.)

3. Then turn Left almost immediately at the "Mason Mill Park" entrance sign into the large free parking lot.  We'll gather by the stone Restroom building near that main entrance adjoining the children's playground.

LAT/LON COORDINATES of the Mason Mill Park spot where we'll meet: (You GPS or Google.com/maps users may wish to augment my above verbal directions by entering these map coordinates as your destination address.)
  33.8080,-84.3066

Free Event with Free Parking!