Emory’s Hahn Woods with an Irish Twist! a Last-minute Nice-Weather Hike

IN A NUTSHELL:  Although it's already Saturday morning I've decided to offer this "last-minute Hike and mini- St. Pat's Celebration" for this afternoon - esp. since the weather is looking so good - in the mid-60s with no rain, although a bit cloudy.  Please join us for this 2.5-hour nature walk at Emory's lovely Hahn Woods and Lullwater Park.  In the parking lot just after the hike I encourage you to stick around with me a few minutes for a St. Pat's sing-along of some old Irish favorites!  I'll bring my guitar, a couple of tambourines and a few copies of my song sheets.

The 185-acre forested nature preserve at Emory University's Hahn Woods and Lullwater Park boasts an amazing variety of scenery.  These parklands and their 5-mile trail network are prized by hikers as "crown jewels" of Emory's extensive campus here in NE Atlanta.  Attractions include old mill ruins & waterfalls along the South Fork of Peachtree Creek, a  210-foot-long swinging footbridge over the creek, Lullwater House with its beautiful Candler Lake, thousands of native trees & flowering plants, and frequent sightings of songbirds, raptors and other critters.  We've even had amazing views of wild otters swimming and cavorting in Peachtree Creek near the footbridge! 

    
WHEN & WHERE?  We’ll gather at 3:00 PM in the FREE Hahn Woods parking lot at 866 Houston Mill Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30329 where the road dips down and crosses Peachtree Creek—follow our detailed Directions below.  For a zoomable map or satellite view of our meetup spot click on the above rectangular blue & green "Location Icon," and if you use GPS consider entering the included Lat/Lon coordinates as your destination.
 
EVENT PLAN:  After introducing ourselves we’ll begin the hike on the pretty Hahn Woods creekside loop trail.  Then we'll cross underneath the bridge to the other side of Houston Mill Road and follow the trail eastward along the South Fork of Peachtree Creek.  We'll continue through the forest to the Emory President's estate and lake at Lullwater Park.  After a thrilling walk across the creek via its $190,000 swinging footbridge we expect to be back at the cars by about 5:30 PM.  We'll take a moderate pace, stopping occasionally to regroup and for photo-ops and snacks from our packs at several scenic spots—about 5 miles total.  If anyone needs to "split" early from the group, that's fine - just let me know.  It's easy to find your way back to the parking lot from anywhere along our hiking route.

BRING FIDO if you LIKE!  Emory's park property is a popular place for dog walking.  We'll permit up to three well-behaved dogs on this AOC event provided they're leashed and under their owner's control at all times. If you plan to bring your dog please make a note of that in your online event registration.

FOR PHOTOS from our JAN 2011 AOC HIKE at LULLWATER PARK:
Check out Scott & Laura Erich's Picasa SmugMug photo album at the following link:  http://www.jauntsaroundtheworld.com/Atlanta-Outdoor-Club/2011-01-23-Hahn-Woods-Atlanta/

FOR MORE on EMORY'S PARKLANDS:  Click on the following link for a concise history with some fascinating old photos.  Also check out from the library David R. Kaufman's excellent book, "Peachtree Creek: a Natural and Unnatural History of Atlanta's Watershed."  http://guidetolullwaterpark.wordpress.com/history/

DIRECTIONS to FREE HAHN WOODS PARKING LOT from the "SPAGHETTI JUNCTION" I-85 / I-285 INTERCHANGE in NE Metro Atlanta:

1. Take I-85 South toward Atlanta about 4 miles and get off at Exit #91 "Clairmont Road."

2. Turn Left onto Clairmont Road (US-23 southward toward Decatur) and go about 2.4 miles to the traffic light at Mason Mill Road (the 2nd light past Clairmont's big "North Druid Hills Rd" junction.)

3. Turn Right onto Mason Mill Rd and go 0.6 mile to the traffic light at Houston Mill Rd.

4. Turn Left onto Houston Mill Road and go just 0.3 mile down the hill.  Just beyond the bridge turn Right into the gravel Hahn Woods lot where we can safely park during the hike.  (In the unlikely event that this lot is full there's also free street-side parking on Mason Mill Road, just a 3- or 4-minute walk away.)

STREET ADDRESS and LAT/ LON COORDINATES of PARKING LOT:  One or the other of these may be useful as your entered GPS or Google.com/maps destination in conjunction with the above directions:

  866 Houston Mill Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30329
  33.8038,-84.3233

FOR a zoomable MAP or SATELLITE VIEW of the PARKING LOT and its SURROUNDING AREA:  Click on the rectangular blue & green event location icon near the top of this article.

No Charge!  Free Event with Free Parking.