December 8, 2022
Trails of Victoria Bryant State Park
near Royston, GA
We lucked up with a break in the week-long rain spell with mostly cloudy skies and warm temperatures of 60-70 degrees. The trails were in very good condition, but covered with wet leaves requiring some caution. The blazes on the trails have been renewed which was helpful. The best views today were the surprisingly attractive rapids along Rice Creek from Victoria's Path. Taking that path was not the plan, but the bridge across Rice Creek to the south portion of the Orange Perimeter Trail was closed forcing us to take Victoria's Path. The Beaver Pond Loop still seems to have no beavers or dams since the observation tower area was mostly dry, despite recent rains. All-in-all, a very nice and mostly easy hike with just few short hills to climb.
The route
5.8 mi · 702 ft climbing · 3h 23m out, 2h 52m walking · 2.0 mph moving
Elevation
Hover over the profile to see the elevation and steepness. Your position will be shown on the map.
- Steepness
- Gentle under 5%
- Moderate 5–10%
- Steep 10–15%
- Very steep over 15%
Photos (21)
One of the nicer views today was along Rice Creek which feeds into the North Fork of the Broad River. Today's hikers (L-R) Trushna, Jenny, Ray, Mike & Gary Getting ready. Now if you hold it just the right way, it will work fine. Season greetings from the canoe-stranded Snowman? Nice trailhead greeting though. Nice trails overall. A little desperate for photos today . . . Yucca, frost-bitten cane and Ground Cedar Free-range chicken? One of several colorful ones roaming from a home along the trail. The recent rains brought out this beautiful example of a "Resurrection Fern" growing on a branch of a large cedar. We were intriqued by this Sugar Maple not dropping its leaves. Check me out Heather, but probably not true "marcescence," but the warmer fall & early winter. Break time along the North Fork of the Broad River. The Broad River was quite muddy from the recent rains. Not a lot of mushrooms today despite the recent rains. No beavers, beaver dams or even wet conditions found in this favorable habitat. Nice bridge heading out of the beaver dam area. Trail detour, but to a nicer view of Rice Creek along Victoria's Path. Trushna enjoying a brief stop along Rice Creek. Another group photo along Rice Creek. Another trail view of some of our hikers. Trushna and Jenny at the trailhead and the pond. A nice trail along Victoria's Path on the way back to the trailhead. A final view of the Fish Pond at the end of our hike.