Columns Drive Hike Map (click to enlarge)
Distance: approximately 2 miles
Time: 1 to 1.5 hours
Difficulty: Moderate, half hilly, half flat
Download the trail map: Columns Drive Map 2021 PDF
Hiking and biking trails crisscross the Columns Drive section of Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area’s Cochran Shoals Unit. You can form your own hikes, but I have a loop hike that stays within the Columns Drive section and utilizes the Hikers Only trails as much as possible (most of the trails are also open to mountain biking). You can easily combine this with my Interstate North hike and / or the Sope Creek hike for a longer trip that will fill the entire day.
This hike is in a clockwise manner, starting out on the Fitness Trail at the Columns Drive parking lot and heading towards the Chattahoochee River. This is a flat, gravel road that is exposed to the sun, so be sure to wear a hat and apply sunscreen if avoiding the sun is important to you.
Typical terrain of the Fitness Trail in the Columns Drive section of Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
If you want a little reprieve from the masses of hikers and bikers, only a few minutes down the Fitness Trail is a traditional hiking trail that branches off to the left and runs a little closer to the river yet remains parallel to the Fitness Trail. It is still in the open, so you will be enduring a 1-mile walk in the sunshine.
Traditional hiking trail branches off from the gravel Fitness Trail in the Columns Drive section of Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
The dirt trail rejoins the Fitness Trail farther down, just before coming to the CS 19 intersection. Turn right here and continue on to CS 17 (still a Hiker / Biker segment), then stay straight on the Hikers Only trail to CS 15. This used to be a bike trail as well, but the bike trail was moved a little to the east and is now accessed at CS 16. The terrain on this section of the hike is very rocky, and after a rain it can be very muddy.
Trail in the Columns Drive section the Cochran Shoals Unit from Intersection CS 17 to CS 15 is rocky and potentially muddy, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
One of the few scenic spots in the Cochran Shoals Unit is on this trail: a nice “babbling brook” known as Terrell Mill Creek.
Terrell Mill Creek in the Cochran Shoals Unit of Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
I had to step off the trail and onto some rocks to get my photos of the creek. I ended up being one step away from a snake nestled on the ground between some rocks. When I say “one step away,” I mean I was about to put my foot down just as I spotted it. I got a tree branch and gave it a poke, sending it slithering quickly down the rocks towards the water. I’m no snake expert, but after looking at photos on the Internet, I’m guessing this is a Northern Water Snake. No sooner did I step onto another rock when a fat, reddish snake about five feet from me jumped out of its hiding spot and scurried away. I saw nothing but its rear end as it fled.
Northern Water Snake (?)
At intersection CS 15, take the hiking trail marked with the “No Bikes” barriers. This is the longest Hikers Only trail in the Columns Drive section of the park. It starts off rocky and uphill, but by the time it reaches intersection CS 14, it has flattened out and is much smoother.
Start of the Hikers Only trail at Intersection CS 15 in the Columns Drive section of Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
Stay straight on the trail at CS 14 and continue to CS 8, then take a right towards CS 9, which is just a couple minutes down the trail. An old family burial ground is at this intersection. There is one tombstone for Mary Andrews, who died in 1882, and a memorial to four other family members, with each side of the monument inscribed with different names, all from either the Andrews or Scribner family. A couple of field stones mark unknown graves.
Scribner and Andrews family cemetery in the Columns Drive section of Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
Grave of Mary Andrews (1826-1882) in a cemetery located the Columns Drive section of Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
Memorial to Arthur Scribner, who died at 19 months old, in a cemetery located the Columns Drive section of Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
Fieldstone marks an unknown grave in a Andrews / Scribner Family cemetery located the Columns Drive section of Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
Once done at the cemetery, continue towards intersection CS12, which crosses a bike trail, and stay straight towards CS 11. At this point you are back on the Fitness Trail and just a few minutes from the parking lot, which is to the left.
A number of other trails are in the area, allowing you to piece together your own hike of a custom length. There is nothing much of scenic beauty in the area, so realize that hikes at Columns Drive are for exercise purposes only. You will get a much better workout by walking the multipurpose and hiking trails versus the Fitness Trail, if that’s what you are looking for.
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Last updated on May 9, 2024
