Richard B. Russell State Park: Blackwell Bridge Trail (Blog Hike #293)

Trail: Blackwell Bridge Trail

Hike Location: Richard B. Russell State Park

Geographic Location: northwest of Elberton, GA (34.16156, -82.74364)

Length: 1.3 miles

Difficulty: 3/10 (Easy/Moderate)

Dates Hiked: many, most recently July 2022

Overview: An easy to moderate hike featuring historic and interesting Blackwell Bridge.

Park Information: http://gastateparks.org/RichardBRussell
Hike Route Map: http://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=431424

Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: From Elberton, take SR 77 north.  On the north side of Elberton, turn right on Ruckersville Road, SR 77C.  Take Ruckersville Rd. 7.9 miles to the park entrance, and turn right to enter the park.  Pass the park office and continue along the main park road.  Where the golf course road angles left, curve right to head for the beach parking area.  The trailhead is located on the left near (northeast) side of the beach parking area.

The hike: No less than 10 years ago, Richard B. Russell State Park was an also-ran in the Georgia state park system.  With a remote location and few attractions or facilities, few people came to this park other than boaters seeking access to adjacent Lake Russell.  Several years and several million dollars later, this park has been transformed from a second-rate destination to a top-notch recreation center.

            In addition to 28 campsites and several large boat ramps, the park today boasts of 20 cottages, a beach, a disc golf course, and a first class real golf course, Arrowhead Pointe.  The park also features 5 miles of trails, but many of these trails serve only to link the campground and cottage areas to other points of interest in the park.  The one exception is the Blackwell Bridge Trail described here.  While this trail does not feature any scenic waterfalls or mountain top views like you might find in other parts of the state, the bridge, lake views, and nice hardwood forest make this hike more interesting than your average Piedmont hike.

Trailhead

            Start at the trailhead at the corner of the beach parking lot and pick up the signed Blackwell Bridge Trail as it starts along a paved route heading away from the lake.  The unmarked gravel trail heading left and uphill from this trailhead is the Cottage/Beach Trail; it leads to the cottage area.  After descending briefly and crossing a small stream on a wooden footbridge, you come to the fork that forms the loop portion of this hike.  To get to the bridge quickly, I chose to take the rubberized surface trail which goes right and use the dirt trail to the left as the return route.

Rubberized surface trail

            For the next 0.2 miles the walking surface is made of recycled rubber tires as the trail meanders above the Van Creek Inlet of Lake Russell, which can be seen through the trees to your right.  These rubberized surface trails are popping up in many of Georgia’s state parks thanks to a state program that buys worn out tires from junkyards and recycles them.  Early trails of this type contained some soft spots that could through you off balance, but now the construction technique has been perfected, and the rubberized surface provides a sturdy and springy walking surface.

            At 0.3 miles, the rubberized trail curves left and heads uphill toward the group picnic shelter.  Instead of climbing to the shelter, leave the rubberized trail by turning right and heading for Blackwell Bridge.  Once a common sight, this rusty steel relic is one of the oldest and last remaining steel pin bridges in the area.  The trail crosses the bridge, so take some time to observe the bridge’s construction as you walk across on the wooden planks.

Blackwell Bridge

Lake Richard B. Russell near Blackwell Bridge

            On the other side of the bridge, the trail picks up an old road as it curves left and climbs away from the lake.  After only a couple hundred feet on this road, the trail turns abruptly left to leave the roadbed.  If not for a sign marking this turn, you could easily continue along the old road and end up at the 5^th hole on the golf course.  On my visit in late November, parts of the trail such as this one were a little hard to discern due to the recent leaf fall.  Fortunately, there are enough white paint blazes, bridges, signs, and other trail structures to keep you on the trail provided you are looking for them.

            For the next 0.5 miles the trail undulates in and out of ravines that feed into the small inlet you crossed earlier on Blackwell Bridge.  All of these streams are crossed via wooden bridges.  Along the way, you will walk beside some granite rock outcrops, a reminder of why Elberton is called the Granite City.

Granite outcrop along trail

            1 mile into the hike, the trail makes a sharp right turn on an old access road and begins heading uphill.  Unlike the earlier turns, there is no sign at this turn.  A white paint blaze just uphill reassures you that you are on the right path, but if you were hiking this loop in the opposite direction, this turn would be nearly impossible to hit the first time.  In another couple hundred feet, you will cross the paved road leading to the group picnic shelter.  Use the crosswalk to cross the road and reenter the forest on the other side, continuing along the trail.

            The remainder of the Blackwell Bridge Trail is better marked and worn than what you have hiked so far.  After passing through a small stand of pine trees, the trail descends moderately for a brief distance before closing the loop at an intersection with the rubberized surface trail.  Turn right, cross the wooden footbridge, and retrace your steps along the paved trail to return to the beach parking lot and complete the hike.