I initially turned into the wrong entrance, and found myself in a partking lot dedicated to the equestrian trails. After a quick look at the map, I go to the right place.
This park has over 4 miles of general purpose paved trails, 7 miles of equestrian, 7 miles of mountain bike, and a 4.35 mile hiking trail (we hikers always get the short end). I started out on the 1 mile paved loop, which took me quickly to the start of the hiking trail.
The trail is well laid out, but traction can be difficult on the compacted clay/sand surface when wet (and it rained overnight). I slid down more than one water diversion hill. Before long, I came to the first bridge, crossing a small screen. I have come to expect the bridges in Gwinnett parks to be overkill, and I was not disappointed. I hadn's seen anything yet.
The trail continued winding up, down, and around for some time, on occasion crossing the equestrian or mountain bike trails. Aound 3.5 miles in, I turned the corner to find the granddaddy of all bridges. There was a large outcropping (which I suspect is part of Stone Mountain). Rather than just letting hikers just walk across the rock (which I did anyway), they built an elaborate, winding bridge over it. While I admired the construction of the bridge, I wished that my tax dollers were spent more wisely.
I finally came to the end of the hiking trail. Since I was not yet fully engulfed in sweat from the high humidity, I hiked a portion of one of the equistrian trails. This trail had a bravel base, and was much easier to navigate.
Since I have just scratched the surface on this park, I look forward to returning and visiting my tax money!
