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Karina Miller Preserve Loop Trail, Gwinnett County, Georgia

Located in Little Mulberry Park in Dacula, this multi-purpose 2.2-mile trail circles a beautiful lake and provides multiple access points to the lake including two fishing pier.

The Karina Miller Preserve Loop Trail is a shared-use 2.2-mile asphalt trail located within Little Mulberry Park's 890 acres, at 3900 Hog Mountain Road, in Dacula, GA. The loop trail circles Miller Lake and abuts open pastures and mature hardwood forests providing opportunities for viewing birds and a variety of wildlife species in their natural habitats.

The trail has multiple access points to the 46 acre lake including two designated fishing piers. Picnic facilities and benches are scattered nearby along the trail corridor.

The Karina Miller Preserve Loop Trail is one of many trails in the Little Mulberry Park trail system which walkers, bicyclists, and hikers enjoy on a daily basis. The trail is also used during special event programs for race competitions, hayrides, and our annual “Trail Mix” event. The “Trail Mix” event introduces and promotes trail use to people with a variety of interests and uses in the community.

The trail also provides an access point to a National Register of Historic Places site, which feature prehistoric stone mounds with a period of significance of 100 BC – 500 AD Middle Woodland. Portions of the stone mounds appear to be patterned to represent a stylized serpent figure which demonstrates careful and consistent techniques of early construction. This trail offers a variety of recreational and educational opportunities and is one of Gwinnett County's treasures.

The portion of Little Mulberry Park, which contains the Karina Miller Preserve, was acquired in 2001 and master planned in 2002. The trail was constructed in 2004-2005 along with other park elements through a general construction project.

The design was focused on providing the optimum lake viewing, pastoral landscapes, and the woodlands. Constructed of asphalt, the 12' wide trail is easy to maintain and is included in the park maintenance and operation asset management program. This program projects the life expectancy of certain assets/materials and schedules for major repairs or replacement.

This trail is inspected quarterly by a Park Inspection Team. Maintenance issues are then routed through the department Safety Committee to record, review, and recommend for resolution if applicable. Gwinnett County's Risk Management unit randomly inspects all facilities including the Karina Miller Preserve Loop Trail for safety.

The trail has signage which states the rules and safety tips for users. The Gwinnett County Parks & Recreation Department has many volunteer resources. These resources include Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, the local mountain bike organization, corporate groups, and special organized volunteer service work days to assist in keeping our facilities great.

The 200-acre Karina Miller Preserve is named in honor of a family with a long history in the region. The Miller family sold 404 acres to Gwinnett County to create Little Mulberry Park and the 200 acre preserve is a memorial to the Miller family. Within the preserve, development is limited to the trail and the fishing piers. Everything else, including the pastures and woodlands, will remain undisturbed for future generations.

The State of Georgia supported the nomination of Karina Miller Nature Preserve Loop for designation as a National Recreation Trail because it:

• Promotes active living by providing an attractive place to exercise while enjoying the land's natural beauty
• Promotes the discovery of nature by young people by involving Boy Scout and Girl Scout clubs to assist in the maintenance of the site
• Promotes public-private partnerships by highlighting the contribution of privately held land to the inventory of conserved and protected land
• Promotes education about the natural world by being situated adjacent both to open pastures and mature hardwood forests, and features good opportunities for wildlife viewing
• Invites tourism by featuring Woodlands period stone mounds that are on the National Registry of Historic Places

Directions

From Atlanta, take I-85 north to exit 120, Hamilton Mill Road. Turn right off of the exit ramp onto Hamilton Mill Road. Turn left onto Braselton Highway/ GA-124. Travel one mile and turn right onto Pine Road. Pine Road ends at Hog Mountain Road. The park entrance is across from Pine Road.

For more information

Gwinnett County Parks 75 Langley Drive Lawrenceville, GA 30046 (770) 822-8835 www.gwinnettparks.com