Wave at Gold Branch from Morgan Falls !

Ok so while hiking at Gold Branch and looking out over Bull Sluice Lake, I always wondered if there were any hiking trails on the other side.  I assumed it was all private land, but then TL Joyce introduced me to Morgan Falls Overlook Park.  This is a city park (Sandy Springs) and has some trails that run right along the lake.  It isn’t miles and miles worth, but you can definitely get a good little hike in with some nice views.

But it occurred to me that would be fun to be out there hiking with a group and another over at Gold Branch… and each could see the other across the lake.  I'm not sure why this idea interests me, but just seems fun and something different to do on a hike.   Joyce understood the appeal as well (or is just nice enough to indulge me), so she will lead a hike over at GB and I will lead one at Morgan Falls and we will try to time it so the groups see and wave to each other across the lake and hopefully get some pics.

For this hike, we will start out on the mile of trails up on a hill above the lake.  These are a little hilly but nothing major.   Then we will get to the best part of the hike, and walk down along the lake side itself and look for Joyce's group over at Gold Branch.   After exchanging waves and , wishing our fellow AOCers well on their journey, we will proceed on our trail.   There are some rock formations here that we can explore a bit if anyone wants to climb up to them, but mostly we will enjoy the route along the edge of the lake.  It actually goes back pretty far and has a couple of sweet overlooks.

From here, it is back to the parking lot. Then we can walk down to where the actual Morgan Falls dam is and check it out.  Actually, if you’ve ever been on any of Richard Zalik’s hikes at Johnson Ferry, you have been on the other side of the river at this point.  Then back to the parking lot and if anyone would like to walk back down the lake trail and see if we can get a good view of the sunset, you are welcome to join me.  But of course that will depend on the weather and how much cloud cover there is, etc.  However, I think it would make a great sunset spot on the right day.

The total distance should be about 3 ½ to 4 miles.  Elevation gain of maybe 200'. I will also be leading a D1 hike at the nearby Big Trees Preserve before this one if anyone would like to get in some extra mileage beforehand.

This park is just 1/10 of a mile down the road from Big Tree Preserve on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs.  If you have a GPS, you can put in the coordinates provided (N 33.58.208; W 094.22.802) or use the following address:

200 Morgan Falls Rd
Sandy Springs, GA 30350

From 285
- Go NORTH on GA-400 1 1/2 miles to exit 5B (Sandy Springs).
- Go west 1.3 miles on Abernathy Rd. to Roswell Rd.
- Turn right onto Roswell Rd. and go north 2.2 miles.
- Turn left at the traffic light (Morgan Falls Road - - past the North Fulton County Government Service Center Building) and drive down the pitted, narrow road to the parking lot on the right. 

Going SOUTH on GA-400 
- Take Exit 5 onto Abernathy Rd.
- Turn right onto Abernathy and follow from above.

Parking is free and a bathroom at the trailhead.