Mason Mill Park + Emory via new PATH Peachtree Creek Tunnel under Clairmont Rd

EVENT PLAN:   Nice springlike weather is expected this Sunday with partly sunny skies and ideal hiking temperatures in the mid-60s.  Hope you can join us for this relatively easy but "groundbreaking" adventure that will introduce AOCers to the PATH Foundation's exciting new South Peachtree Creek "tunnel" here in NE Atlanta.  It allows us to safely hike underneath Clairmont Road between Mason Mill Park and Emory University's Lullwater Preserve via the trails that adjoin the South Fork of Peachtree Creek. (Click PATH links below for more info.)
  We'll gather a few minutes before 2:00 PM just inside the Mason Mill Park entrance, in the free parking lot (by the stone restroom building and kids' playground - see detailed Directions below).  After introductions we'd like to begin the hike on time at 2:00 sharp.  Along the way we'll explore the beautiful wooded and creekside terrain via a wide variety of narrow single-track trails (with an occasional short "bushwhack"), multi-million-dollar boardwalks (as pictured above) and portions of paved PATH trails like the popular "Silver Comet."  We'll pause occasionally to enjoy the native wild 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 4:30 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.

MORE ABOUT the PARKS, TRAILS and HIKING OPTIONS:  The pretty DeKalb County parks & trails mentioned above now connect with one another - and also with Medlock Park and Ira Melton Park - via a network of heavily forested trails and raised boardwalks.  The South Peachtree Creek Trail is the main artery through this "multi-park corridor," and like the Silver Comet Trail is built to the high standards of Atlanta's "PATH Foundation."   Branching from it are several miles of ruggedly scenic narrow trails, many which wind around loops in "South Fork Peachtree Creek" and its tributaries.  An impressive section of the main PATH Trail traverses the railroad track via a 3-story-wooden deck and walkway.  Here hikers and bikers are treated to aerial views of the restored ruins of the historic early-20th-Century Decatur Waterworks.  The highest portion of the deck has proven to be a good dark spot for urban "skygazing" - i.e, viewing the stars & planets, sunsets, moonrises, eclipses, meteor showers, comets, etc.  In the Waterworks area is a set of large flat stepping stones across the creek, allowing hikers to access Ira Melton Park's white-blazed loop trail.

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

CLICK THESE LINKS for PATH INFO & PHOTOS about the new connection between Mason Mill Park & Emory and other new or recent PATH projects in the area:
https://pathfoundation.org/2017/11/emory-connection/
https://pathfoundation.org/2016/09/south-peachtree-creek-trail-to-be-extended/ 
https://pathfoundation.org/2016/12/new-construction-starts/

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!