Chattahoochee National Forest: Lake Russell Trail (Blog Hike #248)

Trail: Lake Russell Trail

Hike Location: Chattahoochee National Forest, Lake Russell Recreation Area

Geographic Location: southeast of Cornelia, GA (34.49873, -83.48373)

Length: 4.6 miles

Difficulty: 5/10 (Moderate)

Dates Hiked: August 2008, November 2012

Overview: A loop hike through nice forest circumnavigating Lake Russell.

Area Information: http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/conf/recreation/hiking/recarea/?recid=10490&actid=50
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=721655
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: Between Cornelia and Baldwin, take US 441 to Business US 441.  Go east (north) on Business US 441.  Take Business US 441 1.2 miles to Wyly Street.  Take a soft right on Wyly Street.  Wyly Street becomes Dicks Hill Parkway when you leave Cornelia.  Take Wyly Street/Dicks Hill Parkway 1.9 miles to Lake Russell Road and turn right on Lake Russell Road.  Take Lake Russell Road downhill to the Nancytown Lake entrance, and turn left to enter the recreation area.  Angle right where the road going left is gated.  This road ends at a blacktop parking lot above Nancytown Dam large enough for about 8 cars; park in this lot.

The hike: For my general comments on Lake Russell Recreation Area, see my blog entry on the Ladyslipper Trail.  While the other two trails explore the ridges surrounding Lake Russell and Nancytown Lake, this hike explores the area around Lake Russell itself.  The lakes and the dams that form the lakes take center stage, but parts of this trail also travel through some very nice forest with some large trees.  Combining this hike with either of the other hikes at Lake Russell makes for a great full day of hiking with a wide variety of scenery.

            The trail takes off in two directions from the parking area: down some stone steps toward Nancytown Dam and up a hill at a metal brown “Lake Russell Trail” sign.  Since the trail forms a loop, you could go either way.  I suggest beginning at the brown metal sign and hiking the loop counterclockwise because 1) it gets the ugly hike through the developed part of the recreation area over first and 2) the blazes and trail signs seem to be easier to find going this direction.  Of course, if you want an exercise in trail finding, especially toward the end, you could hike the opposite direction.

Trailhead-Lake Russell Trail

            The single-track dirt trail tops a small rise and then begins a gradual descent which ends with the headwaters of Lake Russell on the left.  Most of this trail passes through broadleaf forest with various degrees of maturity, but a few sections such as this one feature some tall pine trees whose needles form a cushy surface underfoot.  Cross a small stream and then ignore a side trail that exits left.  All of the major stream crossings on this trail are bridged including this one; most of these wooden bridges seem quite stable though a few are getting a little shaky.

            After only 0.3 miles, climb onto the shoulder of paved Lake Russell Road, which you drove in on.  Angle softly to the left and begin walking along the edge of the lightly traveled road.  The first of many lake views open up on the left, and some blue blazes painted on the blacktop reassure you that you are still on the trail.  You will pass a boat ramp on the left as the road curves right away from the lake.

Looking up Lake Russell

Looking down Lake Russell

            After 0.5 miles of road walking, the trail leaves the road on the left side and reenters the pine forest.  Another of the brown metal signs marks this turn.  In quick fashion the trail passes through a small picnic area and the campground beach area as it makes its way around a small inlet of the lake.  This is a relatively new section of trail, and while the developed area cuts down on the serenity, it definitely beats walking along the road.

Shortly after the trail reenters the woods, where a path leads left to stay near the lake, a sign indicates that the trail angles right away from the lake.  While it seems contrary to intuition given this trail’s name, you should angle right and begin climbing in a narrow ravine.  The climb is gradual at first but becomes steeper as you make the final ascent out of the ravine to arrive at an intersection with paved FR 57C.  To continue, cross the road and walk around a vehicle gate to begin walking downhill on the gravel dam access road.  A mileage sign at this intersection indicates that you have walked 1.5 miles so far.

The next 0.7 miles is an easy downhill glide on the gravel road to reach Russell Dam.  The trail does not cross the spillway, but, as indicated by another sign, it descends the side of the spillway very steeply (but only for a short distance) to cross the creek below the dam on another wooden footbridge.  An equally short and steep ascent awaits as you re-ascend the spillway to arrive at a T-intersection.  The trail going straight ahead quickly dead-ends at the lake, so you should turn right.  This turn is marked only by a double blue blaze, but it is easy enough to figure out.

The trail now crosses Russell Dam itself with the lake on the left and some very young scrubby forest downhill to the right.  This dam crossing is hot and sunny in the summer.  Your reward awaits on the other side of the dam, as the trail enters some mature broadleaf forest, the nicest forest on this hike.  Even better, this side of the lake has no development, helping to keep crowds down and enhance your interaction with nature.

Trail on south side of Lake Russell

At first the trail undulates over some low ridges and through some ravines with the lake out of sight, but soon the trail returns to the lakeside where it will remain for the next 1.2 miles.  Looking across the lake, you can see the beach and boat ramp you passed on the other side.  Closer to the trail, some dead logs in the shallow lake water make perfect spots for turtles to sun themselves.  Make sure to look ahead for the turtles, as you will probably hear them plop in the water as you approach.

At 4.3 miles, as you approach the headwaters of Lake Russell, the trail angles right and begins following a small stream.  This ravine is choked with rhododendron.  After stepping across the stream, a larger stream comes within sight and sound on the left.  This is Nancytown Creek, the outlet of Nancytown Lake and the main feeder stream for Lake Russell.

Stone steps at end of Lake Russell Trail

After climbing a small bluff, just as Nancytown Dam comes within sight, watch for a set of steep wooden steps that head downhill to the left.  This intersection is unmarked, and continuing straight will lead you down the Nancytown Trail to a picnic area.  Descend the steps and cross Nancytown Creek on a new wooden footbridge.  A small waterfall lies just upstream from this bridge.  The waterfall is pretty to the ears, but the ugly dam background somewhat ruins the waterfall’s appearance.  From here, some 60 stone steps must be climbed to return you to the parking lot and complete the hike.