Chehaw Park in Albany, GA (Blog Hike #834)

Trail: Chehaw Bike Trail
Hike Location: Chehaw Park
Geographic Location: north side of Albany, GA (31.62378, -84.13736)
Length: 3.3 miles
Difficulty: 3/10 (Easy/Moderate)
Date Hiked: December 2020
Overview: A loop hike on mountain bike trails featuring views of Muckalee Creek.
Park Information: https://chehaw.org/
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=850946
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video: 

Directions to the trailhead: From the intersection of SR 91 and US 19 on the north side of Albany, take SR 91 north 1.2 miles to the signed entrance for Chehaw Park on the left.  Turn left to enter the park, pay the park entrance fee, and drive the main park loop road to the mountain bike trailhead on the right.

The hike: Located on the north side of Albany but not beside Chehaw Lake, Chehaw Park protects 800 acres of pinelands and wetlands along Muckalee Creek.  The park is named for a tribe of the Creek people who lived throughout this property for several hundred years and befriended white settlers.  Creek artifacts including arrowheads, tools, and clay pipes have been found on this land.

            Although the park is owned by the City of Albany, the park feels more like a state park than a city park, and there is good reason for that.  The park was originally developed in 1937 as Chehaw State Park.  After operating the park as a state park for several decades, in 1974 the State of Georgia leased 100 acres of unused park land to the City of Albany for the purpose of developing a zoo.  The zoo opened in 1977, and in 1979 the Chehaw Park Authority was created.  The Chehaw Park Authority and the City of Albany jointly maintain the park today.

            In addition to the zoo, Chehaw Park features a 44-site developed campground, an 18-site primitive campground, an education center, a BMX track, a remote-controlled car track, a miniature train, some picnic pavilions, and nearly 8 miles of trails open to hikers and mountain bikes.  The trails were built by mountain bikers for mountain bikers, as evidenced by the serpentine route they take.  The route described here explores the eastern half of the trail system, and it takes you through a mixture of pineland and creekside habitats.

Main mountain bike trailhead

            The main mountain bike trailhead is located at the edge of the woods behind and to the left of the picnic area restroom building but to the right of the BMX track.  Only a small yellow sign marks this trailhead, and a power line also enters the woods here.  The trail curves left away from the powerline, and soon the trail's winding and curving back on itself begins.  Mountain bike trails are designed to pack maximum distance into minimum surface area, and the persistent winding helps accomplish this goal.  While it may be frustrating to look 10 feet to your right and see where you walked 10 minutes ago, the terrain is dead flat, and the pineywoods make for a nice setting.  If you really want to avoid the winding, you can walk along the power line corridor, which takes a more direct route.

Hiking through pineywoods

            Just shy of 1 mile, you cross first the power line corridor and then the miniature train tracks before reaching a trail intersection with arrows pointing left and right.  If you want to do more winding, you can turn right and hike a longer loop behind the park's front office.  For a more direct route, turn left, and then turn left again to begin heading northeast with noisy and busy SR 91 on your right.

Trail intersection

            The next segment of the hike passes through a sunny grove of pine trees near SR 91, and the highway noise makes this part of the hike less than ideal.  At the next trail intersection with arrows again pointing left and right, angle right to hike another serpentine before continuing a general northeast course.  At 1.7 miles, the trail curves left to begin following a dirt park maintenance road that appears on the right.  Do not cross the road, but parallel the dirt road to reach the park's campground at 2 miles into the hike.  Some picnic tables at the campground's rear fringe make nice places to sit and rest near the midpoint of this hike.

Zoo entrance

            After brushing the fringe of the campground, the dirt trail heads north to cross the miniature railroad track, another dirt maintenance road, and then the paved entrance and exit roads for the park's zoo.  Next the trail begins following a chain link fence that marks the zoo boundary on the right, and the park's disc golf course comes close on the left.  At 2.7 miles, the trail curves left as Muckalee Creek comes into view downhill to the right.

Hiking along the fence

            The next 0.4 miles tread through a narrow woods corridor with the paved park road on the left and Muckalee Creek on the right.  3.1 miles into the hike, you reach a creek overlook platform located behind the Creekside Education Center.  The creek was wide and murky on my visit, but I enjoyed watching for birds along the calm waters.

Muckalee Creek

            The trail continues to the west, and if you are up for more winding through more pineywoods you can extend your hike into the western part of the trail system.  I needed to start my long drive home, so I hiked around the Creekside Education Center and along the park road to return to my car and complete my hike.  If I had more time here, the zoo and disc golf course are among the park's other attractions, and they would be at the top of my list to check out.