New Trails

Map of Trails at Blue Heron nature Preserve (photos below)
From the July 2008 North Buckhead Newsletter By Nancy Jones, Executive Director Blue Heron Nature Preserve Thanks to the addition of the new property at 4055 Roswell Road, we now have a connected circular trail that can be followed. If you park your car in the lot at 4055 (the sign still reads Thompson, Hancock and Witte), follow the trail at the back of the lot through the woods. This stretch was just completed this spring and will take you to stone steps up the berm along Nancy Creek to the Rickenbacker entrance. From here you turn left, cross over the Nancy Creek bridge and pick up the trail on the other side. Follow this through the woods to the Community Garden site to see the bluebirds, bees and garden. Continue on the trail to the south end of the property which dead-ends into the sidewalk on Roswell Road. Turn left onto the sidewalk, cross the creek and you are back where you parked your car at 4055. Stop and enjoy the view of the pond on the way in on your right. The pond is home to multitudes of turtles who sun on a downed tree in the lake, the great blue heron, two green herons, a family of geese and on rainy days otters! The map to the right shows the new path through the nature preserve. Much of the trail is covered with wood chip mulch. When the path exits onto pavement on Rickenbacker Drive at Pinecrest Road, one has to walk on the pavement across the bridge before re-entering the path.	Download a page-sized version of this map (485KB PDF)
On June 27, 2008 we visited the new trail at the Preserve These pictures are in chronological sequence, starting from the 4055 Roswell Road parking lot at the "new Path" and following the loop in a counterclockwise manner. Photos and comments by Gordon Certain (click any photo to see a larger version)
We turned in at 4055 Roswell Road -- the sign still says "Thompson, Hancock and Witte", though it's really the City of Atlanta Blue Heron Nature Preserve	We go by the building and park.	Sue spotted the start of the trail, which was almost completely hidden at the back of the parking lot.	Sue disappears down the trail
				The path forks here -- go straight up to steep berm or follow the path to the right to some steps to climb the berm.
We climbed up the berm and then descended the stairs to the sandbar

		View of creek from sand bar, looking upstream.	A dog's calling cards. The owner apparently didn't respect the preserve enough to get a bag to clean up after it. (See photo at left, 2nd line down).	View of creek from sand bar, looking downstream.

We need to temporarily leave the preserve and walk on the street
Dog clean-up bags are available near the Pinecrest entrance	Preserve entrance on Rickenbacker at Pinecrest	Bridge over Nancy Creek on Rickenbacker Drive
Re-enter the trail from the road.	Walk on the trail near the condos.	The Preserve's USGS weather station
	Ultimately, the trail emerges in the area leading to the Community Garden

At the Community Garden



Leaving the Garden, we pass the sewer tunnel vent, up to Roswell Road and back to the 4055 Roswell parking lot


			The lake is visible from the driveway back to the 4055 building.	There is a strange stone structure in the small creek leading from the lake to Nancy Creek.
		There's our car, waiting for us.
We explored the dirt road leading from the back (northeast corner) of the parking lot to Rickenbacker Drive (the alternate loop around the lake)
You can take this dirt road to loop the lake. We didn't take this route today, but took these photos as clues for people who want to try it.	There is a bar across the road which one can walk around easily.	Looking south on Rickenbacker Drive towards Lakemoore.	The bar blocking the dirt road can be seen from Rickenbacker Drive.