Easter Afternoon Hike at Mason Mill Park & Lullwater Preserve at Emory

EVENT PLAN:   Hope you can join us this Sunday to celebrate the great outdoors on Easter Day with this adventurous but easy-paced late afternoon hike.  Ideal weather is expected - in the high 60s with a bright blue sky and no chance of rain.   We'll explore about 5 miles of the vast network of shady trails & boardwalks at DeKalb County's Mason Mill Park and the interconnecting Lullwater Preserve parklands at Emory University.
  We'll gather a few minutes before 3:30 PM in the free parking lot just inside the Mason Mill Park entrance (by the stone restroom building) and expect to be back there at the cars by 6:00.  See detailed Directions & GPS info below. (Please note:  DeKalb County's park restrooms have been been kept locked since the pandemic began, so take this into account before you arrive.
  We'll enjoy portions of popular multi-million-dollar "PATH Foundation" paved trails and raised forest-canopy boardwalks - also explore a few ruggedly scenic narrow trails that wind around the creeks & lakes.  At the base of the panoramic hill surrounding the 95-year-old Emory president's mansion we'll visit its nearby waterfall.  May also take the exciting suspension footbridge (above photo) across Peachtree Creek to explore the estate's old stone "hydropower tower" and other historic ruins.  We'll take a moderate pace, slowing down a bit on the few steep spots and pausing occasionally to take photos and discuss the native wild flora & fauna.  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.
  Bring your well-behaved dog if you like, but please make sure that he/she is leashed and under your control at all times - also please mention in your registration notes his/her name, size breed, etc.

COVID GUIDELINES:  As on all Atlanta Outdoor Club events during the pandemic we intend to follow CDC guidelines regarding safe social distancing, etc.  Let's each please bring a Mask and plan either to:  A) Wear it during the entire outing, or B) Keep it handy in case a situation arises that requires us to be closer than ~6 feet from one another or from passing strangers, etc.   Currently the Club normally limits the number of participants on each outing to no more than 10.  We also strongly recommend that each member get vaccinated as soon as possible, which will facilitate a safe return to our usual higher limits.

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.

CLICK THIS LINK for an INTERACTIVE  MAP of the SOUTH PEACHTREE CREEK "PATH" TRAIL and how its main and spur trails interconnect Mason Mill Park, Medlock Park, Lullwater Preserve and other DeKalb County green space:  https://maps.pathfoundation.org/trails/south-peachtree-creek-trail/

DIRECTIONS to our GATHERING SPOT in the free Parking Lot of MASON MILL PARK, just inside its MCCONNELL DRIVE Park Entrance by the STONE RESTROOM BLDG:

GPS and GOOGLE MAPS USERS:  As your Destination address, you can enter "Mason Mill Park, 1340 McConnell Drive" (or the following Lat/Lon, being sure to include the comma and minus sign:  33.8080, -84.3066)  (For a zoomable color MAP and satellite view of this spot and its vicinity you can click the square blue & green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article.)

FROM the I-85 CLAIRMONT ROAD EXIT in NE METRO ATLANTA to our MASON MILL PARK Gathering Spot:
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 much busier Clairmont/ North Druid Hills intersection.  If you reach the huge VA Hospital you've taken Clairmont a few 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 near the entranceway to DeKalb County's Avis Williams Library.)
3. Then turn Left almost immediately at the "Mason Mill Park" entrance sign and park just inside the entrance in the large free lot.  We'll gather by the stone Restroom building (which has been kept Locked during the Pandemic .  It adjoins the children's playground near the Park entrance.)
  In the unlikely event that you can't find a parking space there, the Library mentioned above also has plenty of free parking - just a 5-minute walk away.

Free Event with Free Parking!