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Hiking the Wild Turkey Trail at Chattahoochee Bend State Park

ByPaige Watts

If you’re looking for a peaceful hike not far from Atlanta, the Wild Turkey Trail at Chattahoochee Bend State Park is a great place to start.

We hiked the Wild Turkey Trail on a chilly February day and enjoyed a quiet hike through this hidden gem of a state park. It takes you the length of the park right up to the banks of the Chattahoochee River. The trail is rated moderate to strenuous, mostly due to its length: the trail is 4.6 miles one-way, so more than a 9 mile round-trip hike.

The trail is definitely worth the mileage, though, and I’ll show you exactly what you can expect from your hike (and how to make it a little shorter if needed).

Quiet woodland on the Wild Turkey Trail at Chattahoochee Bend State Park in Newnan, Georgia, with a narrow stream winding through leaf covered ground and thin bare trees across the hillside. The small trickle of water and muted brown forest floor give the scene a calm, early season feel.

Wild Turkey Trail Hike

You can access the Wild Turkey Trail from a few different areas: Trailhead 1 near the park entrance, the Visitor Center, Trailhead 2, Campsites 1 or 2, or the Day-Use Area.

If you want a shorter hike, start from the Visitor Center, which cuts out about 3.2 miles of hike and makes your round-trip total 6 miles. This is what we decided to do since we weren’t really up for a 9.2 mile hike.

Starting from Trailhead 2 or the Campsites will make the hike even shorter. If you start from the Day-Use Area, you’ll be starting your hike at the Chattahoochee River and hiking back toward the front of the park.

The Wild Turkey Trail is well marked with bright blue rectangles that are easy to spot. You won’t likely lose your way on this trail!

When you start from Trailhead 1, you’ll quickly come across the intersection for the Brown Thrasher Trail; keep to the right to continue along the Wild Turkey Trail, or take the left on the Brown Thrasher Trail and you’ll meet back up with the Wild Turkey Trail in 0.7 miles.

From the Visitor Center, the trail starts to the left of the building.

Hiking the Wild Turkey Trail from the Visitor Center

The hike begins by dipping down to cross over a babbling stream before climbing slightly and crossing over Bobwhite Way. This is the first of a few times that the trail meets the road. Keep an eye out for cars when crossing.

The trail then follows along the forest for an easy hike, intersecting a couple times with the park’s Mountain Bike Trails. Be sure to keep your head up and watch out for mountain bikers as you cross these trails.

Rough stone path leads toward a quiet road, with a weathered wooden post painted blue standing in the grass at the right. Across the road, dry brush and tall pine trees line the edge of the woods under a gray sky. The path shows where the Wild Turkey Trail crosses the road at Chattahoochee Bend State Park in Newnan, Georgia.
Narrow dirt trail winding through a quiet pine forest with dry needles covering the ground and bare brush on both sides. A small wooden trail marker stands at the left edge of the path showing the mountain biking crossing at Chattahoochee Bend State Park in Newnan, Georgia, and a tree ahead is marked with blue paint marking the Wild Turkey Trail.

If you’re hiking the trail after some rain, as we were, you may come across a boggy area. We could see the blue blazes across the water where the trail continued straight ahead, but of course we didn’t really want to walk through the water.

Luckily, the park created a water bypass that we could take, following the blue markings just to the left of the boggy area. The rangers here are really good at keeping the trails maintained and providing clear alternate routes when needed.

Quiet forest path opens into a shallow muddy puddle among thin trees and dry pine needles covering the ground. Faint blue trail markers on a few trunks suggest a route through the sparse woods for the Wild Turkey Trail at Chattahoochee Bend State Park in Newnan, Georgia.
Pine trees and thin undergrowth fill a quiet forest floor covered in dry needles, with a narrow wet ditch winding through the right side of the scene. A blue trail marker painted on one trunk stands out against the muted browns and grays of the woods along the Wild Turkey Trail at Chattahoochee Bend State Park in Newnan, Georgia.

The trail then crosses a clearing under the powerlines before crossing Bobwhite Way again; we were about halfway to the river.

The trail continues behind the park’s cottages (these are really nice to stay in; I stayed here on a later visit to the state park) and ambles through the forest.

The path crosses with the Tower Trail, another great detour to take if you want to see the 2-story tower overlook right on the river; this is a 0.7 mile one-way trail.

The Wild Turkey Trail then comes out again at Bobwhite Way but does not cross the road. Instead, the trail follows along the road for a few feet, crossing the bridge, and turning back into the forest on the opposite side of Turkey Creek.

Uneven gravel and broken stone path leads up to a quiet road, with a weathered wooden post topped in blue standing on the right. Bare trees and winter grass line the opposite side of the road, giving the trail crossing a muted, overcast look along the Wild Turkey Trail at Chattahoochee Bend State Park in Newnan, Georgia.
Bobwhite Way, a quiet two lane road crossing a small bridge over Turkey Creek, runs through dense trees, with a yellow road sign showing a sharp right curve on the shoulder. The gray sky and empty roadway make the wooded roadside scene feel still and remote. The Wild Turkey Trail follows along this stretch of road at Chattahoochee Bend State Park in Newnan, Georgia.

The Wild Turkey Trail continues through the forest, continuing to intersect with the mountain biking trails, passing the access to Campsite 1, then following along Beaver Ponds, and passing Campsite 2 — you’ll take a sharp right after crossing the bridge here to follow back along the stream; going straight will just take you to the campsite.

The trail ends at the Chattahoochee River when it connects with the Riverside Trail. From here, you can take the Riverside Trail left to the Day-Use Area to picnic and sit by the river.

Narrow wooden footbridge crossing a shallow creek in a leaf covered forest, with a dirt path continuing through the trees beyond it. A blue trail marker on a trunk to the left helps show this as part of a marked woodland trail leading from the Wild Turkey Trail to the campsites at Chattahoochee Bend State Park in Newnan, Georgia.
Calm Chattahoochee River viewed from a sandy bank, with leafless trees lining the opposite shore beneath a heavy gray cloud filled sky at Chattahoochee Bend State Park in Newnan, Georgia. The still water and muted winter colors give the landscape a quiet, overcast mood.

When you’re ready to head back, simply take the Riverside Trail until it connects to the Wild Turkey Trail and retrace your steps back to the Visitor Center for about a 6 mile hike.

Hiking Essentials

Come prepared for your hike by making sure you pack the essentials. Check out this must-have hiking gear before you set off on the trails:

Wild Turkey Trail Info

Hike length: 9.2 miles out-and-back

Difficulty: Moderate to strenuous

Is it pet-friendly?: Yes.

Location: 425 Bobwhite Way, Newnan, GA 30263

Parking: Parking is available at Trailhead 1, the Visitor Center, Trailhead 2, and the Day-Use Area at Chattahoochee Bend State Park with a $10 parking fee.

Fees: $10 parking fee per vehicle at Chattahoochee Bend State Park.

Hours: 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily

Accessibility: The trail is unpaved dirt with a lot of roots and rocks. Sections of the trail can be muddy, boggy, and slippery when wet.

About Chattahoochee Bend State Park

Chattahoochee Bend State Park is 2,910 acres of wilderness in Newnan, Georgia just an hour southwest of Atlanta. The park was created to protect this section of the Chattahoochee River.

The park has 12 miles of hiking trails; access to the Chattahoochee River for fishing, paddling, and boating; mountain biking trails; and plenty of campsites and cottages.

More Georgia Hiking Trails

Where to Stay in Newnan

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Cheers!

Paige

Georgia Hikes: Wild Turkey Trail

Have you hiked the Wild Turkey Trail at Chattahoochee Bend State Park? Let me know in the comments!

Paige Watts is a travel expert and author of What's With Atlanta?, a guide to the quirks and charm of the ATL. A life-long traveler, Paige is dedicated to helping you discover the best things to do in the Southern USA and around the world. Her work has been featured in The Culture Trip, Matador, Newsbreak, MSN, NPR, and countless other interviews and podcasts.

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