Outings
2008 Hikes and Outings
Please join us on our exciting hikes and other outings, and don't forget to check our website frequently for our updated schedule, additional activities, and detailed information about each outing. Most activities are free!
Our special, Where the Water Goes series continues this year, featuring Georgia's Chattahoochee River. We will follow the waters of the Chattahoochee from it's North Georgia headwaters, thru Atlanta and West Georgia, where it becomes the Apalachicola River, and on to the sea along Florida's Gulf Coast.
Please note: Dates of some outings may change due to weather conditions. We also schedule other special events throughout the year, so check the Keeping it Wild website, www.keepingitwild.org/outings.html, for monthly updates on hikes and other activities, or call 404-872-9453 ext. 13. If you would like to volunteer your time or sponsor one of these events, please contact us. Click Here for descriptions of past outings.
To attend hikes, please RSVP to 404-872-9453 ext 13.
January
Desoto Falls Hike, Chattahoochee National Forest, with Bridgette Peterson.
February
Long Creek Falls Hike, Chattahoochee National Forest, with Georgia ForestWatch.
March
Where the Water Goes I - Headwaters of the Chattahoochee, with Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper. Moved to April because of the weather
Arabia Mountain Walk & Wonderland Gardens Tour, DeKalb County, with Sheldon Fleming.
April
Newman Wetlands Center Birding Tour, with Atlanta Audubon Society.
Where the Water Goes II -Atlanta's Chattahoochee Watershed, with West Atlanta Water Alliance.
May 3, 2008 - Where the Water Goes II - This hike through the Lionel Hampton Beecher Hills Nature Preserve, traverses one of Atlanta's largest tracts of greenspace. The 220 acre park adjacent to the 600 + acre Westview Cemetery is a significant wildlife habitat and riparian buffer of Utoy Creek, a tributary of the Chattahoochee River. The hike will follow the concrete (PATH), as well as gravel and natural surface (dirt) trails over rolling hills to stream side bluffs highlighting the challenges and successes of one of metro Atlanta's cleanest waterways. This hike is offered in partnership with Bruce Morton and the West Atlanta Watershed Alliance (WAWA). No trip fee.
May 17, 2008 - Sweetwater Creek State Park - Sweetwater Creek is a peaceful tract of wilderness only minutes from bustling downtown Atlanta. Hiking expert Angela Peterson leads a tour along the wooded trail following Sweetwater Creek, which is actually a river in this part of the park. We'll pass by the historic ruins of the New Manchester Manufacturing Company, a textile mill burned during the Civil War, and continue along the trail climbing short rocky bluffs to see impressive views of the beautiful shoals and falls of Sweetwater Creek below. This 3 mile hike is rated easy to moderate. No trip fee.
May 31, 2008 - Forest Ecology Walk & White Water Rafting -We have combined two great activities for this outing to the Ocoee River, on the border of Georgia and Tennessee - you may choose one or both!
From 10:00am - noon, renowned ecologist and historian Quentin Bass, with the US Forest Service, will show you how to read the clues to the dynamic, ever-changing story of the forest. From the heavily disturbed parking area at the Ocoee Whitewater Center, through the recovering forest along the river, to an ancient undisturbed cove with 400 year-old trees, Quentin shows how trees and forest plants interact with each other and cope with geological conditions and the impacts of man. Wildflowers likely in bloom along the trail include various species of Trillium, Bloodroot, Jack-in-the-pulpit and others. Colorful migratory songbirds will have just returned to claim good spring nesting sites. Bring binoculars. This hike is handicapped accessible and will take approx. 2 hrs. covering approx. 2 miles.
We will break for lunch, and those who have reserved spaces will go whitewater rafting on the Ocoee, site of 1996 Olympic white water events.
Trip fee applies for whitewater rafting activity only.
June 13 -15, 2008- Ossabaw Island Weekend - Spend the weekend learning about the natural and cultural history of one of Georgia' largest and most naturally preserved barrier islands! Jim Bitler, of The Ossabaw Island Foundation, will guide our group on educational tours of the island. Natural History topics include: Barrier island formation, tides, beach ecology, marsh ecology, forest ecology, birding, and sea turtles. Cultural History topics include: Native American history, Colonial and Antebellum Ossabaw 1700-1860, processing indigo, sweet grass basket making, The Gilded Age on Ossabaw 1926-1960, Ossabaw as a Heritage Preserve 1978-present.
Our group of up to 20 people will stay in the Clubhouse (originally a hunting lodge) in bunkhouse style accommodations. Trip fees apply for this weekend outing. FULL ( waiting list available)
July 12 - Where the Water Goes, III : Flint River Canoeing and Horace King Covered Bridge Tour
The Flint River runs though west-central Georgia, eventually joining the Chattahoochee River. The Flint is one of the most naturally flowing of Georgia's major Piedmont Rivers there is little industry and no dams along it's course. On this all -day trip we will first drive an hour south of Atlanta and visit one of the few remaining covered bridges in Georgia built over Red Oak Creek, a tributary of the Flint. Dan White, will educate us about its architect, Horace King, an African American builder who secured his freedom before the Civil War, went into the bridge-building business in partnership with his former master, and built many bridges throughout Georgia and Alabama. Built in the late 1800's, the Red Oak Creek Bridge has the longest span of any covered bridge in Georgia, is one of the last remaining examples of King's masterful lattice construction work -- and it's still in use today! We'll also visit President Franklin Delanor Roosevelt's favorite fishing spot along the Flint at nearby Flat Shoals.
We'll then drive to Spruill Bluff State Park on the Flint in time for lunch. After lunch those canoeing will embark from the park traveling several scenic river miles downstream to the take out point at the Flint River Outdoor Center. Those not canoeing may hike in the park or just sit by the river, swimming and enjoying afternoon. There is a rental fee for canoes, or bring your own.
TBA:
Where the Water Goes IV - Lower Chattahoochee River/Providence Canyon Overnight
August
Panthers Creek Hike, Chattahoochee National Forest
16th - Snorkeling in the Conasauga River
September
19th-21st - Where the Water Goes V - weekend at Cape San Blas, Gulf Coast
Ecology of the City Walk with Quentin Bass
October
Chattooga River Hike, Chattahoochee National Forest
Raven Cliffs Appalachian Trail Hike
November
Gorge at Tallulah Gorge, Fine Views and Fine Dining
December
Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center State Park
A special thanks to
for providing snacks and refreshments for these outings.
112 Krog St., Suite 23, Atlanta, GA 30307 - 404-872-9453 ext. 13 - keeping_it_wild@tws.org