Georgia Botanical Garden: Orange Trail (Blog Hike #181)

Trail: Orange Trail

Hike Location: State Botanical Garden of Georgia

Geographic Location: south side of Athens, GA (33.90287, -83.38256)

Length: 1.7 miles

Difficulty: 2/10 (Easy)

Dates Hiked: October 2008, February 2013

Overview: A fairly easy hike first along a stream, then along the Oconee River.

Garden Information: http://botgarden.uga.edu/
Hike Route Map: http://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=442530
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: On the south side of Athens, take the Perimeter Road (SR 10 Loop) to SR 15/Milledge Ave. (exit 6).  Exit and go south on Milledge Ave.  Take Milledge Ave. 1 mile to the garden entrance on the right.  Turn right to enter the garden.  Remain on the main garden road and park in the large parking lot near the Garden Club of Georgia.  The trail starts near the entrance to this parking lot.

The hike: I came upon the State Botanical Garden of Georgia during my first visit to the University of Georgia (UGA).  I was visiting the university to decide whether I wanted to attend school there when, needing a place to eat lunch, I pulled into the parking lot and parked under a shade tree.  Several months later, having decided to attend UGA, I returned to the Botanical Garden on the day before classes began to take my “first” Georgia hike.  Coming from Ohio, I figured that a late morning hike even in August would be pleasant.  I finished this trail fully drenched in sweat and in need of a shower.  Despite the fact I had some adjusting to do, I had completed my first Georgia hike.

            As I have come to realize many times since, the State Botanical Garden represents a tremendous resource to the people of Athens.  As the name suggests, the center of the garden’s grounds is the conservatory, a large fancy greenhouse-type structure that contains numerous meeting rooms, a café, and, or course, plants.  The glass ceiling provides lush, warm, tropical conditions for the entire year.  Adjacent to the conservatory is the international garden, a walled facility that features exotic (to Georgia) plants from around the world.  The Botanical Garden is also home to the Garden Club of Georgia, a chapel, and several acres of cultivated gardens that give good color for much of the year. 

            For hikers, the garden also has many acres of natural areas.  Two main trail loops leave from the conservatory to access the natural areas with several shorter connecting trails.  The longer White Trail (described elsewhere in this blog) covers the western half of the gardens and provides a nice journey through upland and riverside forest.  The Orange Trail, described here, provides a similar experience in the eastern half of the garden but without the length.  The two loops actually meet along the river, so they could be combined to form one long hike.

Trailhead for the Orange Trail

            Begin at an information board at the northeastern end of the parking lot where a sign says “Orange Trail.”  Pick up a trail map if they are available and begin following the Orange Trail as it heads into the woods.  Immediately the trail begins a gradual descent into the upper reaches of a ravine.  Upon reaching the stream, the trail curves right and begins paralleling the stream, heading downstream toward the Middle Oconee River through some nice open forest.

            The trail crosses a few tributaries without the aid of a bridge.  During times of high water, these crossings might pose a problem, but usually they can be easily rock-hopped.  At 0.55 miles, the trail curves left to skirt the edge of a meadow.  Notice the large-leafed prairie dock that grows so abundantly in the meadow.  At 0.7 miles, the trail reaches the Middle Oconee River.  The water level in the river varies greatly by season.  I arrived during a period of above-normal rainfall and the river moved with a nice current.  Other times of year the river is not deep enough to float a canoe.

Wet meadow

            Upon reaching the river, the trail curves right, as marked by a double orange blaze, and crosses the stream on a sturdy wooden bridge just before the stream joins the river.  Notice the deep trench that the stream flows through, man’s attempt to stabilize the stream banks.  Though the result appears unnatural in appearance, the efforts have achieved their purposes.  At 0.8 miles, the Purple Trail exits to the right and heads back to the Conservatory.  The Purple Trail could be used to create a shorter loop of about 1.2 miles if that was desired.

            Continue straight on the Orange Trail as it parallels the river on the left.  The riverside forest consists of some large basswood and a few sycamores.  Wet spots are more common along the river, and erosion has forced the trail to be relocated further from the river bank in a few areas. 

Middle Oconee River

            At 1.05 miles, the trail map indicates a trail exiting to the right, but this trail has been retaken by the woods.  At 1.2 miles, the Orange Trail ends at a junction with the White Trail near a power line clearing.  This junction is unmarked, but just beyond is a wooden bridge with white blazes painted on the railing.  If you reach this bridge, backtrack about 50 feet to the junction.  To continue on this loop hike, turn right on the White Trail and begin following underneath the power line.  At 1.3 miles, use a gate to pass through an electric deer fence, and at 1.4 miles, come out at an information board along a maintenance road.

            While the maintenance road would return you to the parking lot, there are more interesting and scenic ways to complete the hike than that.  Stay to the right of the road and enter the Native Flora Garden.  You are now in the cultivated part of the garden, so stay on the rock-lined path.  Numerous paths all lead to the same destination, so just pick your own and remember to keep heading uphill.  At the end of the Native Flora Garden, the white trail heads left to begin its loop, but you should stay right and continue heading uphill.  Eventually, you will end up at a pavilion containing a bulldog sculpture adjacent to the lower parking lot.  Now you must turn left and continue heading uphill toward the upper parking lot.  The paved, winding path comes out at the western end of the upper parking lot.  Walk across the parking lot to your car to complete the hike.