Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center (Blog Hike #223)

Trails: (various)

Hike Location: Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center

Geographic Location: south of Mansfield, GA (33.46298, -83.73458)

Length: 3.7 miles

Difficulty: 4/10 (Easy/Moderate)

Dates Hiked: September 2007, May 2013

Overview: An easy to moderate hike featuring a wide variety of scenery.

Center Information: https://georgiawildlife.com/charlie-elliott-wildlife-center

Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=721277
Photo Highlight:

Directions to the trailhead: East of Atlanta, take I-20 to SR 11 (exit 98).  Exit and go south on SR 11.  Take SR 11 into the town of Mansfield.  Continue south out of Mansfield on SR 11 3 miles to Marben Farms Road; the street sign here is askew, but a large sign for the Wildlife Center marks the turn.  Turn left on Marben Farms Road.  Take Marben Farms Road 0.8 miles to Elliott Trail and turn right on Elliott Trail.  Park in the Visitor Center parking lot 0.5 miles ahead on Elliott Trail.

The hike: Located in northwest Jasper and extreme southeast Newton Counties, Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center preserves 6400 acres of rolling Georgia Piedmont forest.  The center is named for the late Charles Newton Elliott, a resident of nearby Covington, and a giant in the history of conservation in Georgia.  Elliott was the first Director of Georgia State Parks and the first Director of the Game and Fish Commission. 

            The Center provides a wide variety of recreation opportunities for people living in eastern Atlanta and beyond.  The grounds contain four lakes all of which offer excellent fishing opportunities.  Several picnic shelters exist, hunting is allowed in much of the center in season, and many miles of bridal trails beckon those who prefer seeing the forest from a mounted perspective. The center of everything is the Visitor Center, which contains an interesting museum with numerous exhibits on birds commonly seen on the grounds.  The grounds are open from dawn to dusk daily, but you will have to plan a trip during the day on Tuesday through Saturday to enter the Visitor Center.

            For the hiker, numerous hiking only trails wind through the Wildlife Center.  The trails form a network with most trails beginning and ending at the Visitor Center, so numerous different routes are possible.  The route described here traces the perimeter of the hiking area at the Wildlife Center, passing all of the major points of interest in the preserve.

            From the front of the Visitor Center, head south into the forest on a dirt trail, following a sign directing you to the trailhead.  In only 100 feet, you reach the aforementioned trailhead from which all hiking trails in the center can be accessed.  Turn right to begin the blue-blazed Granite Outcrop Trail; the red-blazed Clubhouse Trail heads left and will be our return route.

Climbing on the Granite Outcrop Trail

            The Granite Outcrop Trail crosses the paved wildlife center road and begins a short but steep climb away from the Visitor Center.  Once atop the hill, the trail heads gently down the opposite side, and the trail quickly takes on a wilderness feel as the hill shields noise from the park road.   Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for the gunshots from the shooting range to the north, as they remind you of this land’s hunting usage throughout the hike.

            At 0.2 miles, the trail forks to form a loop.  To see the granite outcrop as part of a longer hike, you should bear right at this intersection.  The trail quickly drops 20 feet to begin paralleling a tributary to Murder Creek, heading upstream.  The trail follows the stream through dense hardwood forest for about 800 feet before curving left and crossing the stream on a pair of short but solid wooden bridges.

            Across the stream, the trail begins a moderate climb as the granite outcrop comes into view on the left.  The word outcrop is a little misleading, as the “outcrop” is actually just a large area where the granite bedrock beneath you has been exposed via erosion.  Still, the area features some unusual scenery and is well worth the special note.

Granite Outcrop

            At 0.6 miles, the trail turns left to join a wide two-track horse trail as it heads gently downhill.  Despite the bridal traffic, this section of the trail remains very pleasant for hiking.  After coinciding with the bridal trail for about 300 feet, the single track hiking trail exits into the woods on the left; this turn is marked by a blue arrow.  Just past this intersection, a wooden fence stands to the left of the trail separating the trail from the granite outcrop, which is now on the left.  This site offers the best opportunity for an unobstructed view of the outcrop.

            Past the outcrop, the trail heads moderately downhill, crosses Murder Creek on a small bridge, and then arrives at its intersection with the Murder Creek Trail.  A shorter loop of 1.1 could be made by continuing straight on the blue-blazed Granite Outcrop Trail, but visitors who wish to see all the hiking trails have to offer should turn right at this intersection and begin the yellow-blazed Murder Creek Trail.           

Murder Creek Trail

            The Murder Creek Trail follows its namesake downstream with the creek downhill to the right and the hillside rising to the left.  This trail is located well away from any roads, and this setting combined with some of the nicest forest in the Wildlife Center make this my favorite section of this hike.  When I hiked this trail on Labor Day during a drought, the creek had disappeared in the upper reaches of this ravine, but 1.1 miles into the hike the ravine became steeper, more rocky, and the creek could be heard bubbling along at the base of the ravine.

            At 1.3 miles, the creek begins to widen as you reach the backwaters of Margery Lake, one of the small man-made lakes in the Wildlife Center that provide for good fishing.  Soon you reach the beginning of the lake itself, and what was a pleasant creekside hike now turns into a pleasant lakeside hike.  At several points the trail comes close enough to the lake that you might be able to wave “hi” to people on a fishing boat some 30 feet away from you.

            After 0.5 miles of following the lakeshore, the Murder Creek Trail ends at a junction with the red-blazed Clubhouse Trail, which goes straight and right.  Since the Clubhouse Trail forms a loop, you could take either route.  This description will turn right at this intersection and follow the east arm of the Clubhouse Trail to stay further away from the Wildlife Center’s congested Conference Center and Lodge area.            

Clubhouse Lake

            The east arm of the Clubhouse Trail begins by crossing a dike with Margery Lake on the right and Clubhouse Lake, another small fishing lake, on the left.  Wooden piers allow canoes access to both lakes.  Across the dike, pass the Brooke Ager Discovery Building, used by school groups, on the right and angle left to pass through a small picnic area.  The picnic tables here make for a nice shady spot to rest half way through the hike.  Restrooms and drinking water are also available in season.

            The trail leaves the picnic area and reenters the forest at a large red blaze.  The forest around Clubhouse Lake is much younger than the forest you passed through earlier on the Murder Creek Trail.  For the next 0.5 miles, the trail maintains a fairly level elevation and offers only occasional views of Clubhouse Lake to your left.  2.4 miles into the hike, the lake has disappeared, replaced by one of two main tributaries that feed the lake. The trail drops into the steep ravine that contains the first of these tributaries using a pair of switchbacks, crosses the creek on a nice footbridge, then climbs steeply up the other side.  At the top of this climb, the west arm of the Clubhouse Trail enters from the left.  You should continue straight to leave the loop portion of the Clubhouse Trail.

            The trail drops moderately to enter the ravine of the second tributary that feeds Clubhouse Lake.  The trail crosses this tributary in two parts just above a fork in the creek.  In between these two parts, you should turn right to begin the white-blazed Greenhouse Lake Trail.  This turn is unsigned and very easy to miss, as I found out on my first attempt.  If you reach the back of the Visitor Center, turn around and backtrack about 200 feet.            

Greenhouse Lake Trail

            The Greenhouse Lake Trail heads gradually uphill with the small stream to the right.  This is the newest trail at the Wildlife Center and thus is not as well worn as the trails you have hiked heretofore.  To compensate, the white blazes are more frequent, so keep an eye on the blazes and you will be unlikely to get lost.

            After 0.3 miles of gradual uphill hiking, the trail comes out at a grassy area surrounding Pigeonhouse Lake, another small fishing lake, this one too small to support motorized boats.  Stay on the right side of Pigeonhouse Lake and look for a small white sign on the right that says "Greenhouse Lake" and points to a narrow trail that heads downhill and into the woods.  This is the start of the loop portion of the Greenhouse Lake Trail.

Tiny Pigeonhouse Lake

            Turn right and pass through a short section of young forest to arrive at Greenhouse Lake, which looks much like Pigeonhouse Lake but twice as big.  The remainder of the Greenhouse Lake Trail uses grassy Wildlife Center access roads as it passes through sunny meadows and makes a loop around Greenhouse Lake.

Greenhouse Lake

3.4 miles into the hike, Pigeonhouse Lake comes into view ahead and to the right and the loop is closed as you pass the small white sign mentioned above.  Retrace your steps back downhill to the Greenhouse Lake Trail’s junction with the Clubhouse Trail.  Turn right to continue along the Clubhouse Trail, which crosses another wooden bridge and heads uphill.  After only 200 feet, you arrive at the back of the Visitor Center.  Walk around the Visitor Center to the front parking lot to complete the hike.