Chattahoochee National Forest: Bartram Trail to Martin Creek Falls (Blog Hike #264)

Trail: Bartram Trail (to Martin Creek Falls)

Hike Location: Chattahoochee National Forest, Warwoman Dell Picnic Area

Geographic Location: east of Clayton, GA (34.88215, -83.35100)

Length: 4 miles round-trip

Difficulty: 6/10 (Moderate)

Dates Hiked: April 2009, June 2013

Overview: An out-and-back hike with a couple of steep areas passing two attractive waterfalls.

Area Information: http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/conf/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=10519&actid=50
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=721954
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: This hike starts at the Warwoman Dell Picnic Area.  To get there from Clayton, take Warwoman Rd. east for 3 miles to the Warwoman Dell Picnic Area on the right.  Take a sharp right to enter the picnic area.  Park in the first gravel parking area on the left.  If this parking area is full, you can proceed to a second parking area about another 700 feet past the first one.

The hike: The year 1775 is probably best known as the year before the American Revolution began.  Yet while rumblings of revolution could be heard from New England, naturalist William Bartram was journeying back and forth across the southeast, cataloging the natural features possessed by the areas through which he traveled.  In May of 1775, after traveling north from Augusta to Keowee, South Carolina, he set his sights on the southern Appalachians in North Carolina.  To get there, he would pass through the Cherokee nation in northeast Georgia.

            In 1976, the Bartram Trail Conference was formed as part of America's Bicentennial observance to locate and mark the route Bartram had taken 200-plus years earlier.  Much of the route passed over private land, preventing any effort at physical reconstruction.  Fortunately, the 37 miles Bartram traveled through northeast Georgia in May 1775 lies within the Chattahoochee National Forest.  The trail that now bears his name follows the route he traveled, allowing hikers to literally follow in the footsteps of this great naturalist.

            At 37 miles in length, the entire northeast Georgia section of the Bartram Trail is obviously too long for a dayhike.  With its pair of waterfalls, the section described here is one of the better sections for dayhiking.  Even better, most of this section has been rerouted within the past 10 years, and the new route is among the best-engineered and best-maintained sections of the Bartram Trail.

Old fish hatchery near trailhead

            From the first parking area, continue on the gravel road deeper into the picnic area and look for the Bartram Trail as it exits the gravel road to the right.  The Bartram Trail is not hard to find: it is blazed with large yellow plastic diamonds.  After following Becky Branch for a couple hundred feet, the trail ascends via several short but steep switchbacks to arrive at the shoulder of Warwoman Road.  A metal historical marker placed here by the Bartram Trail Conference tells you more about Bartram’s travels in this area.

            Across the road, the trail reenters the forest and continues climbing, fairly steeply at this point.  At 0.2 miles, the trail tops out as you reach the wooden footbridge just below Becky Branch Falls.  This bridge makes a great spot to view the 25 foot ledge type waterfall.  Due to the steepness of this little ravine, there is no plunge pool, but the water keeps splashing over rocks as it continues downhill into Warwoman Dell.

Becky Branch Falls

            Just past the waterfall, the trail forks.  The neon-green blazed Becky Branch Trail heads steeply downhill to the right and quickly returns to Warwoman Road.  This option could be used to create a very short hike or add variety to the return route.  The Bartram Trail angles uphill to the left. 

After a gradual ascent, the highest point of the hike is reached, and the trail begins a long gradual descent toward the Martin Creek ravine.  This area burned recently, and hence you will see no large trees along this hillside.  Instead, a dense understory of doghobble and mountain laurel along with some young hardwoods occupy this slope.

Hiking up the Bartram Trail

At 0.8 miles, the trail crosses an old fire road before descending steeply to reach a small tributary of Martin Creek.  With the steepest part now behind you, the trail curves left as it passes through several shallow ravines.  At 1.5 miles, the old Bartram Trail route joins from the right.  Martin Creek can be heard but not seen through the dense rhododendron downhill to the right.

Soon the trail enters a wide, grassy dell.  Some primitive campsites can be seen across the creek to the right.  Keep your eye on the yellow blazes to make sure you don’t get lost in the dell.  At 1.8 miles, the trail curves right to cross Martin Creek on a wooden footbridge.

The trail leaves the dell on a short moderately steep section and soon crosses the creek to arrive at a wooden observation deck at the base of Martin Creek Falls.  This waterfall is another ledge type falls, but this one drops in two sections and is 35 feet high.  The clear plunge pool and steep rock walls make for a great setting to view this powerful waterfall.

Martin Creek Falls

            You can continue to explore the Bartram Trail past the waterfall, but no other points of interest lie in the next couple of miles.  No dayhike loop options are possible, so at some point you will have to turn around and retrace your steps back to Warwoman Dell.  Don’t forget to take the Becky Branch Trail to add a little variety to your return route.