Mason Mill Park Sunset Hike via new PATH Trails and old Creekside Favorites

EVENT PLAN:   Nice weather is expected this Thu evening with mostly sunny skies and comfortable temperatures & humidity.  Hope you can join us for this adventurous and scenic but relatively easy hike.
  We'll gather a few minutes before 6:30 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 6:30 sharp.
  Along the way we'll explore the beautiful wooded and creekside terrain via a variety of narrow single-track paths and also via multi-million-dollar trails and boardwalks - built by Atlanta's nonprofit PATH Foundation as in the above photo.  We'll include portions of an almost-finished PATH connector that will make it easy to hike safely between Mason Mill Park and Emory's Lullwater Park via a new boardwalk and paved creekside walkway under Clairmont Rd.
  We'll pause occasionally to enjoy the native wild flora & fauna and discuss the area's fascinating human history.  Toward the end of the hike we can expect to be treated to a spectacular sunset and a bright almost-full moon.  Our total distance will be about 5 miles with just one or two steep spots.
  We expect to be back at the cars by 8:30 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 shady 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 adjoin the banks of "South Fork Peachtree Creek" and its sinuous 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, etc.  Also in the Waterworks area is a set of large flat stepping stones across the creek, which at normal water levels allow hikers to access Ira Melton Park's white-blazed loop trail.  In 2017 a new ~1-mile-long high PATH boardwalk extension was opened between Mason Mill Park's "DeKalb Tennis Center" and North Druid Hills Road which proved to be an "instant AOC favorite."  A similar high PATH boardwalk will be completed soon (between South Fork Peachtree Creek and the lake at "Clairmont Place") as a key component of the Mason Mill - Emory connector 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:
https://pathfoundation.org/2018/04/s-peachtree-creek-trail-at-emorys-clairmont-campus-opening-soon/
https://pathfoundation.org/2017/11/emory-connection/

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 the square blue & green "Event Location" icon 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 the Park entrance, adjoining the kids' playground.

GPS & Maps.Google.com USERS:  Feel free to augment my above verbal directions by entering as your Destination Address these concise Lat/Lon coordinates for our meetup spot, being sure to include the comma & minus sign:  33.8080, -84.3066

Free Event with Free Parking!