3 lakes. 1 park. Beavers. Otters. Bald Eagles. Wild Hogs. Quails.
Nope, it's not the zoo. It's rural Georgia, specifically the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center and it's surrounding trails.
Today we discovered one of Georgia's many best kept secrets. 45 minutes south of Atlanta, tucked back behind the tiny railroad town of Mansfield lies a land of sparkling water. This preserve was founded by Charles Elliot, a conservationist and the founder of Georgia's state park system. His ashes are buried at a white oak tree in the center of the preserve.
This 3 mile loop trail within the preserve follows creeks, watershed areas and circles 3 lakes. With the gorgeous weather today, it seemed as if the place sparkled. Warm sunlight streams through the tree tops and reflects off hundreds of surfaces, from wet rocks to tiny trickling streams. The park is completely secluded. You won't hear cars on the highway from here. And the park's location has made the foot traffic on the trails minimal. We passed a man and his son playing in the creek, but they were the only other adventurers we saw.
The 3 lakes within the park are pristine and reflect the trees on their shores creating a stunning mirror effect.
Towards the end of the trail we followed Murder Creek for quite awhile. The creek's water is perfectly clear and painfully cold. The creek also has multiple small cascades. We mused to each other about the creek's name, of course. My husband's theory is it's named after the large amount of crows that live in the park. My theory is the creek's reddish tint caused by Georgia red clay.
This preserve is known for it's amazing wildlife. There are countless species of birds, including bald eagles and wild turkey. This is a bird watcher's paradise. We kept our eyes open for turtles, otters, beavers and wild hogs to no avail. Perhaps we'll see some of these animals on our next trip to these trails, but today we only saw 2 blue herons, quails and birds of prey circling far off in the distance.
We left the park with our minds centered. I can only attribute this to the naturally spiritual ambiance this amazing preserve possesses. It's amazing in Winter so I can only imagine what it must be like in Spring. I will just have to wait (impatiently) and see!
Nope, it's not the zoo. It's rural Georgia, specifically the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center and it's surrounding trails.
Today we discovered one of Georgia's many best kept secrets. 45 minutes south of Atlanta, tucked back behind the tiny railroad town of Mansfield lies a land of sparkling water. This preserve was founded by Charles Elliot, a conservationist and the founder of Georgia's state park system. His ashes are buried at a white oak tree in the center of the preserve.
This 3 mile loop trail within the preserve follows creeks, watershed areas and circles 3 lakes. With the gorgeous weather today, it seemed as if the place sparkled. Warm sunlight streams through the tree tops and reflects off hundreds of surfaces, from wet rocks to tiny trickling streams. The park is completely secluded. You won't hear cars on the highway from here. And the park's location has made the foot traffic on the trails minimal. We passed a man and his son playing in the creek, but they were the only other adventurers we saw.
The 3 lakes within the park are pristine and reflect the trees on their shores creating a stunning mirror effect.
Towards the end of the trail we followed Murder Creek for quite awhile. The creek's water is perfectly clear and painfully cold. The creek also has multiple small cascades. We mused to each other about the creek's name, of course. My husband's theory is it's named after the large amount of crows that live in the park. My theory is the creek's reddish tint caused by Georgia red clay.
This preserve is known for it's amazing wildlife. There are countless species of birds, including bald eagles and wild turkey. This is a bird watcher's paradise. We kept our eyes open for turtles, otters, beavers and wild hogs to no avail. Perhaps we'll see some of these animals on our next trip to these trails, but today we only saw 2 blue herons, quails and birds of prey circling far off in the distance.
We left the park with our minds centered. I can only attribute this to the naturally spiritual ambiance this amazing preserve possesses. It's amazing in Winter so I can only imagine what it must be like in Spring. I will just have to wait (impatiently) and see!
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