Cochran Mill Park: Day Hike to Waterfalls

Are you looking for a new place for a day hike in the Atlanta area?  Cochran Mill Park is a hidden gem just south of Atlanta in the city of Chattahoochee Hills.  A neighbor told me about this park and my family explored it right away.  We discovered two creeks with waterfalls, rock outcroppings to climb, trails to explore, plus a playground and picnic area!  The multi-use trails are available for hiking, trail runners, mountain bikers, and horseback riders.  If that is not enough, check out the adjacent Bear Creek Nature Center.

History of Cochran Mills

Henry Mill

Historically this property was the home of multiple mills.  Bear Creek and Little Bear Creek plus the hilly topography made it the perfect location to set up water-powered grist mills.  The Henry family operated a mill in on Bear Creek on the west side of Cochran Mill Road prior to the Civil War. Oral history tells us that Union soldiers burned Henry Mill. 

Cochran Mills

Cheadle Cochran owned a mill on the east side of Cochran Mill Road before the Civil War.  It is not clear if he purchased the mill or if he built it.  He passed the property onto his sons Owen and Berry.  Owen Cochran built his mill on Little Bear Creek in the late 1860s.  This grist mill operated for over 100 years into the 1960s. 

Berry Wynn Cochran erected his mill on Bear Creek in 1870.  The site didn’t require a dam because water flows over an exposed granite outcropping and down 30 feet.  Berry simply built a flume at the upper water level and guided it over his water wheel.  Many years later, Berry constructed a stone dam across the ledge. 

The Birth of Cochran Mill Park

Fulton County purchased this property in 1967.  In 2010, 400 local families provided donations allowing the new City of Chattahoochee Hills to buy this land.  The city won a Recreational Trails Program Grant in 2013 from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources that funded the transformation of this property into the amazing park that it is today.

NOTE: If you have the opportunity to visit Great Smoky Mountain National Park, check out Mingus Mill, where they do a great job showing how a historic mill – similar to the ones that occupied in Cochran Mill Park operated.

Cochran Mills Park Today

Today, the City of Chattahoochee Hills, Georgia preserves his incredible area as a public park.  The park’s 800-acres are open to the public to enjoy.  You will find roughly 18-miles of multi-use trails available for exercise and enjoyment.  Along the trails, you can enjoy waterfalls, fields, streams, boulders to climb, and wildflowers.  The park is open daily from 30-minutes before sunrise and 30-minutes following the sunset.

Although this park is not well-known in the northern suburbs or Atlanta proper, I discovered that it is quite popular.  When we arrived the first time on a beautiful January day, the parking lot was packed!  We had to wait a little bit to find a parking spot.

How to get to Cochran Mill Park

The park is in a rural area to the southwest of Atlanta.  It is roughly a 40-minute drive from downtown Atlanta.  This is a Chattahoochee Hills city park.  It is best to drive to Cochran Mill Park.  You must pay a small fee for parking at a kiosk once you arrive.  Credit cards are accepted.  Visit the park’s website for the address and GPS coordinates.

Although this park is not well-known in the northern suburbs or Atlanta proper, I discovered that it is quite popular.  When we arrived the first time on a beautiful January day, the parking lot was packed!  We had to wait a little bit to find a parking spot.

Cochran Mill Park Playground & Picnic Area

For lunch, we packed a picnic.  We were happy to find picnic tables, a covered pavilion with more picnic tables, a large playground, and restrooms with running water and flush toilets.  We ate our lunch at a picnic table near the playground.

Bear Creek Nature Center

Not too far from Cochran Mills Park, you will find the Bear Creek Nature Center.  The center features indoor nature exhibits, an outdoor bird of prey exhibit and a live bat exhibit.  A one-mile loop circles the 45-acre property.  Admission to the nature center and parking fees are separate from Cochran Mill Park, but the nature center’s trails connect to the park trails.

Primitive Camping

If you are looking for a local spot to spend some quality time camping outdoors, Cochran Mill Park offers primitive camping up to 3 consecutive days.  Check out the park’s website to make camping reservations. 

Multi-Use Trails

The crown jewel of Cochran Mill Park is its 18-miles of multi-use trails.  The trails are shared between hikers, trail runners, mountain bikers, and horseback riders.  Cochran Mill Road divides the park is divided into two sections. 

• Bikers yield to hikers and horses
• Hikers yield to horses
• If you encounter others on the trail, make your presence known with a friendly hello and let the other person know if you intend to pass

The East Park offers the orange and green trails.  This side of the park is perfect for shorter hikes – especially if you have children with you. The West Park offers the red and yellow trail systems.  This side of the park is better suited for mountain bikes, horses, and long hikes.

My family hiked the orange trail.  Although the parking lot was crowded, the trail was not crowded at all.  There is a great synopsis of the yellow trail on the Atlanta Trails website.  The green trail connects to the Bear Creek Nature Center’s trails.

Hiking the Orange Trail aka the Interpretative Trail

Beginning the Hike

After lunch, we were ready to check out a trail.  We selected the orange trail labeled easy.  At the beginning, we were not sure exactly where we were on the trail map or how to access the trails.  We realized that the starting point for the orange trail was across the street from the parking lot. 

We crossed over Little Bear Creek on the steel truss bridge built in the 1800s.  Today, the bridge is dedicated to pedestrians.  To our right we saw our first waterfall on Little Bear Creek and the remains of Owen Cochran’s mill dating from the 1860s.  The orange trail followed Old Cochran Mill Road, running along Little Bear Creek.

Through the Woods

The trail continued into the woods.  In April and May, you will find native azaleas and laurel blooming.  We came upon a boulder on the right side of the trail. My 10-year-old son quickly scrambled to the top.  We arrived at a fork in the trail.  We explored the bridge that spanned Bear Creek to access the green trail before continuing on along the orange trail to our right. 

The orange trail followed the path of Bear Creek.  We walked high above the creek.  As we approached the creek, the ground became muddy, however we managed to find paths around the muck. 

Bear Creek Dams

We came upon the ruins of a few dams.  We passed a dam built of stepped concrete.  In 1939 this dam was built to create a lake.  Once upon a time, a very private clubhouse overlooked the lake. 

At the site of the historic Berry Cochran Mill water rushed around the edge of the wall and cascaded down the smooth, large granite outcropping.  At the top of the water, we explored the ruins of a stone dam.  We walked across this one to explore it further.  We saw people hiking the green trail on the other side of the water. 

Returning Through the Woods

We hiked up the hill until the path leveled off.  We passed through a terraced area blanketed with ferns.  Filtered light passing through the trees gave this area a magical appearance.  The Cochran family grew crops here, which is why the soil is more fertile and accommodates different florae than other areas in the park.  Years ago, crops such as cotton, watermelon, corn, apples, peaches, wheat, barley, and rye covered these terraces. 

Little Bear Creek

We arrived at a poorly marked fork in the trail.  After following the “P” to the right, we realized this trail returned to the waterfall we had just seen.  We needed to follow the trail to the left.  The trail brought us alongside the water again – this time, Little Bear Creek. 

This creek contained the remains of an iron flume pipe that historically fed a water wheel.  I was delighted to discover that the trail brought us back to the waterfall near the ruins of the Owen Cochran Mill that we saw at the beginning of the hike.  My kids enjoyed climbing on the rocks and exploring near the end of the trail. 

Enjoying Cochran Mill Park

My family spent roughly 80 minutes exploring waterfalls, climbing boulders, and leisurely hiking.  Despite some elevation change, the hike was easy.  However, maneuvering around extremely muddy areas pushed it into the intermediate range in some spots. 

The trails are often closed following significant rainfall.  Check the website for the status of the trails.  While horseback riding is welcomed in the park, we did not see any horses while we were there. 

My family agreed that their favorite part of the hike was the end of the trail where we happened upon the waterfall and ruins of the mill along Little Bear Creek.  Have you been to Cochran Mill Park?  Are you planning to visit for the day?  Let me know in the comments!