Chicopee Woods Trail System Chicopee Woods Nature Preserve, GA
miles
LENGTH 1.7 MILES
DIFFICULTY 1.2 Easy
DURATION 1-2 hours
ELEVATION GAIN
150
feet
TRAIL TYPE
Trail
System
Chicopee Woods Trail System

The trails at Chicopee Woods offer an excellent variety of short and longer hikes that follow quiet forest creeks and provide some much needed solitude. The two longer 3-mile loops I've split out as separate hikes. See the Bridge Loop, the Lake Loop, and the two loop combo. This page describes the rest of the trails, which are much shorter but can be combined in a variety of ways with the other trails for a longer adventure.

As a trail system with several trailheads, there is no right or wrong way to approach this so I'm just going to describe each trail. There are also several side trails to the creeks and between the different trails. Some are marked in black on the map below. All other trails are shown as their blaze color. All intersections have trail markers with the blaze color and trail name and a maps showing the current intersection you're at. Getting lost will be a challenge here.

Of the small trails, the .6 mile red-blazed Dodd Loop is the most rugged, dropping down to Walnut Creek and back up again. Along the creek there are several side trails to explore around. Look for the trailheads to the left of the main entrance as well as at the end of the paved road on the right before the parking lot. The Dodd Loop trail is the one used for the elevation map and slope below.

At .4 miles long, the tan-blazed Geiger Trail is the only paved trail in the park. Heading from the paved road on the right before the parking lot to around the back of the Science Center. A small platform looks down toward Walnut Creek.

Following along smaller creeks, the .4 mile yellow-blazed Elachee Creek Loop begins and ends along the Geiger Trail near the beginning starting from the parking lot. It also connects with the Bridge Loop and Dodd Loop for short sections, so there are multiple ways to incorporate it into your hike.

The .3 mile blue-blazed Ridge Trail connects between the Dodd Loop and the Bridge Loop. Use this to make a longer loop or connect from other trailheads.

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Elevation Map Length (miles) by Elevation (feet)
Slope Breakdown
Elevation Gain
Elevation Range
Grade Range
Length
Elevation Gain
0 - 250 ft/mi
~ 0 - 5 %
408 ft
5 ft
250 - 500 ft/mi
~ 5 - 10 %
0.1 mi
39 ft
500 - 750 ft/mi
~ 10 - 15 %
433 ft
55 ft
750 - 1000 ft/mi
~ 15 - 20 %
175 ft
31 ft
1000+ ft/mi
~ 20+ %
120 ft
37 ft
Elevation Loss
Elevation Range
Grade Range
Length
Elevation Loss
0 - 250 ft/mi
~ 0 - 5 %
513 ft
10 ft
250 - 500 ft/mi
~ 5 - 10 %
247 ft
16 ft
500 - 750 ft/mi
~ 10 - 15 %
258 ft
28 ft
750 - 1000 ft/mi
~ 15 - 20 %
286 ft
45 ft
1000+ ft/mi
~ 20+ %
331 ft
75 ft
Terrain Map Click to control map
Details
length1.7 miles
difficulty1.2 Easy
duration1 - 2 hours
features Paved Path  River/Stream 
trail typeTrail System
blazeRed (Dodd), Yellow(Elachee Creek), Tan (Geiger), Blue (Ridge), Green (Bridge), Orange (Lake)
elevation gain150 ft.
state Georgia 
park/forestChicopee Woods Nature Preserve
visitor infoElachee Nature Science Center
2125 Elachee Drive
Gainesville, GA 30504
770-535-1976
hours7am-sunset (Hiking Trails)
10am-5pm, M-Sa (Science Center Mar-Nov)
10am-3pm M-F (Science Center Dec-Feb)
parking fee$5/Day
trailhead coordinates 34.246058, -83.832662 (Degree Decimal, DegDec)
N 34°14.76, W 83°49.96 (Degree Minutes, MinDec)
N 34°14'46'', N 34°14'46'' (Degree Minutes Seconds, DMS)
Trailhead Directions
34.246058, -83.832662 (Degree Decimal, DegDec)
N 34°14.76, W 83°49.96 most GPS units use this one
N 34°14'46'', N 34°14'46'' (Degree Minutes Seconds, DMS)
Google Map It
There are multiple trailheads at the Elachee Nature Science Center and the Bridge Loop parking lot. See the description and the map for more information about where to begin. If you walk around a bit you'll find one of the marked trailheads pretty quickly.
Parking Capacity
39 parking spots at the Science Center + 20 or so in the overflow lot. You can also parking at the Bridge Loop trailhead for another 30 spots.
Notes
Dogs are no longer allowed at the park.
Restrooms are only available at the Science Center during operating hours.
Nearby Hikes
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Reviews / Comments
Average Review Rating
4 (1)
hikethesouth-3 years ago
Easy Trails For Enjoying Nature
Really well marked and maintained trail system that's a great way to explore nature with young children. Dogs ok on weekends only. The Geiger trail is paved. The Science center wasn't open to the public when I was there.
Easy | Hiked Spring 2020
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