Harbins Park

I managed to beat the weather today and get in a hike. Today's destination was Harbins Park, a new, and now the largest, park in the Gwinnett County system at over 1,700 acres. Even though they have only developed the initial phases, the trails and facilities are extensive. The price you pay is that it is truely in the boonies of the county - in Dacula.

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!