Chattahoochee Bend State Park: Riverside Trail (Blog Hike #931)

Trail: Riverside Trail
Hike Location: Chattahoochee Bend State Park
Geographic Location: northwest of Newnan, GA (33.42961, -85.01134)
Length: 4.6 miles
Difficulty: 5/10 (Moderate)
Date Hiked: February 2023
Overview: An out-and-back, first along the Chattahoochee River and then to a ridgetop.
Park Information: https://gastateparks.org/ChattahoocheeBend
Hike Route Map: https://www.mappedometer.com/?maproute=931004
Photo Highlight:

Hike Video:

Directions to the trailhead: Getting to Chattahoochee Bend State Park requires driving a maze of curvy two lane county roads, so follow these directions carefully.  Southwest of Atlanta, take I-85 to SR 34 (exit 47).  Exit and go west on SR 34.  Drive SR 34 By-Pass around the north side of Newnan, then continue west on SR 34.  Drive a total of 15 miles from I-85 to Thomas Power Road and turn right on Thomas Power Rd.  Continue straight onto Hewlette South Road, then continue straight again onto Bud Davis Road.  5.5 miles from SR 34, turn right onto Flat Rock Road, which deadends at the park in another 1.3 miles.  Pay the park entrance fee and follow the main park road to its end at the park's boat launch.  Park in the boat launch parking lot.

The hike: Established only in 2011, Chattahoochee Bend State Park is the second newest state park in Georgia behind only Don Carter State Park, which dates to 2013.  Before it became a park, the land was heavily logged, and you pass several active logging operations while driving into the park.  True to its name, the park protects 2910 acres of land along the south/east bank of the Chattahoochee River, and the park is named for a wide horseshoe-shaped bend in the river located in the eastern part of the park.

            Despite its young age, the park has some nice (and new!) amenities including a 37-site developed campground, a 12-site primitive campground, 3 cottages, paddling, fishing, and boating on the Chattahoochee River, and several picnic areas.  In terms of trails, the park offers over 16 miles of well-maintained trails, most of which are open to hikers and mountain bikers.  While loop options are possible, the route described here is the simplest and most obvious one: an out-and-back on the Riverside Trail that follows the Chattahoochee River for most of its distance.

Trailhead near boat launch

            From the boat launch parking area, the main trailhead is located a few feet out the entrance road on the left; a restroom building sits on the right here.  Almost immediately you reach a trail intersection.  The Wild Turkey Trail goes right, and it could be used to form a short loop.  This hike turns left to remain on the Riverside Trail; follow the white rectangular metal markers to stay on the correct trail.

Approaching the river

            The trail crosses a wooden bridge and soon reaches the bank of the Chattahoochee River, which it will follow for the next 2 miles.  The area along the river features the usual Piedmont mix of sweetgum and pine trees with some clusters of bamboo.  At 0.5 miles, you cross another creek on another wooden bridge, and another connector to the Wild Turkey Trail exits right.  Wooden distance markers appear at 0.5 mile increments, although some of these distance markers are misplaced according to my calculations.

Observation tower

            0.8 miles into the hike, you reach the wooden riverside observation tower.  The tower stands about 20 feet above the ground, and wooden steps take you up to the observation deck, which offers a nice view out to the river.  Some picnic tables sit at the base of the tower, but it may be too early for a rest or trail snack.

View from observation tower

            Just past the tower, the signed Tower Trail exits right.  The Tower Trail gives you another option to form a loop, but this hike continues upriver on the Riverside Trail.  The river makes this park an above average birding destination, and I saw many common woodland songbirds here.  A few muddy spots had to be negotiated, but the Riverside Trail was remarkably dry on my visit in late February.

View up to the Chattahoochee Bend

            After crossing a small creek without the aid of a bridge, you reach an area the park map calls "overlook" near 2 miles into the hike.  While I did not find anything here that I would consider an overlook, there is a nice partially obstructed view up the Chattahoochee River's U-shaped bend that gives this park its name.  You can also see a picnic table across a steep-banked creek to the northeast, but it takes nearly a mile of hiking on official trails to reach that picnic table.

End of Riverside Trail

            Next the trail curves right and begins heading uphill away from the river.  Part of this climb appears to use an old logging road, and in total the trail gains about 100 feet of elevation over 0.2 miles.  At 2.3 miles, you reach the end of the Riverside Trail and the start of the Bend Trail, which is also marked with white metal rectangles.  The Bend Trail would add another 3 miles to this hike; it takes you to the picnic table you saw before, but it does not form a loop.  Thus, this intersection is a good place to turn around.  Retracing your steps 2.3 miles mostly along the Chattahoochee River returns you to the boat launch parking area to complete the hike.