# Cochran Mill: waterfall circuit for Saturday, September 5

**Recommended for tomorrow's heat: about 2.6 miles. Optional woodland loop: about 3 miles.** Use the numbered trail markers and the matching GPX together. This is a proposed route assembled from the park's published map and GPS geometry; it has not been field-scouted.

## Start and access

Park at **Cochran Mill Park, 6875 Cochran Mill Road, Chattahoochee Hills, GA 30268**. Use the main parking lot and map kiosk. The Orange trail entrance, **OR41**, is across Cochran Mill Road. The downloadable GPS track starts at **OR41**, follows the marked Orange approach to **OR42**, and returns to OR41 at the finish. Walk back across the road to the main parking lot.

**Map coverage:** Both downloads include the OR41-to-OR42 entrance approach from the park's published Little Bear Creek Trail geometry. The walk from the parking lot across the road to OR41 is outside the track; parking is included as a waypoint. Small source gaps at trail junctions remain separate track segments; use signs and the official map there. Do not ask a navigation app to replace the track with a newly calculated route.

## Follow this path

| Step | Follow these markers | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | OR41 → OR42 → OR43 → OR46 → OR47 | Stay on the Orange Old Cochran Mill Road path to the Green bridge junction. Owen Mill's waterfall is near the beginning of the circuit. |
| 2 | OR47 → bridge → G56 → G57 → G58 | Cross the bridge onto Green and follow the creek/cascades route. |
| 3 | G58 → G60 → G61 | Take the creek-side Green route and the Green Outcrop segment to the Berry Mill viewing area. Stay on the established path around rock outcrops. |
| 4 | G61 → G60 → G58 → G57 | Retrace the same Green path. Do not cross the creek or dam to reach Orange. |
| 5 | G57 → G66 → G56 → bridge → OR47 | **Optional woodland loop.** At G57 take the northern Green ridge loop to G66, then follow Green back to G56 and cross the same bridge to Orange. Stay east of Cochran Mill Road at G66. |
| 6 | OR47 → OR48 → OR49 → OR50 → OR45 | Follow the Orange outer loop through the Berry Mill shoals/dam area and back through the woods. Stay on Orange at its shortcuts. |
| 7 | OR45 → OR44 → OR43 → OR42 → OR41 | Finish the Orange return; retrace the marked approach and cross the road back to the main parking lot. |

The park's digital data contain two points labeled OR43. On the initial approach, follow **Old Cochran Mill Road toward OR46/OR47** rather than diverting onto the short Owen Mill Ridge loop. The supplied track shows the selected branch.

## Shorten the hike

**Around 2.6 miles:** In step 5, skip the northern ridge. Retrace **G57 → G56 → bridge → OR47**, then continue steps 6–7. This removes approximately **0.43 mile** and preserves the planned waterfall stops.

**Earlier return:** At OR47, retrace **OR46 → OR43 → OR42 → OR41** when you need to head back promptly. If you skip Green entirely, the park's official Orange Loop 1 & 2 is **1.6 miles**.

For the forecast heat, keep the ridge optional and shorten the route if the group is getting hot or the walk is running late. Do not add distant Henry Mill Falls to this circuit.

## Distance and download notes

- Full GPX contains **2.973 miles of published trail geometry**, beginning and ending at OR41: approximately 3 miles, already including the entrance approach. Only the parking-to-OR41 walk is additional.
- Short GPX contains **2.546 miles of published trail geometry**, beginning and ending at OR41: approximately 2.6 miles, already including the entrance approach. Only the parking-to-OR41 walk is additional.
- Each GPX has 17 ordered source segments. The full file has 17 named waypoints; the short file has 16 and omits G66, which belongs only to the optional woodland route. Every trackpoint comes from park-published geometry. The largest gap between adjoining source segments is about 8.5 meters; no artificial connectors were added.
- Mileage is a planning estimate. GPS recording, access, viewpoints, closures and current trail conditions can change it.
- Load the GPX in a compatible hiking/navigation app before leaving and save the official park map offline. The colored track gives the route shape; this cue sheet supplies the visit order where the path retraces itself.

## Sources

- [Official park map and trail descriptions, September 2024](https://cms3.revize.com/revize/chattahoocheehillsga/CMP_TRAIL_MAP_TWO_SIDED_09-26-2024.pdf)
- [Park-published GPS map data](https://cochranmillpark.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/cochran-mill-park-v3.geojson)
- [Park information and current trail status](https://cochranmillpark.com/)
