Tucked away on the edge of Atlanta and DeKalb County is a scenic wetlands park that offers a quick city escape.
Constitution Lakes Park “was once the site of a brickyard, the lakes were created when water filled the clay excavation pits. The brick operation was shut down nearly 50 years ago, and now the property has been restored by nature to a wetland habitat capable of sustaining birds, fish, wildlife, and a wide range of plant species,” the Friends of Constitution Lakes Facebook page says.
HOURS: 7 a.m. to sunset
ADMISSION: FREE
PHONE: 404-285-3756
ADDRESS: 1305 S River Industrial Blvd SE, Atlanta, GA 30315
DeKalb County bought the property in 2003 and “added a parking lot, a paved walkway down to the lakes and a boardwalk around one end of the lakes. It’s a good spot for birding, with water and shore birds as well as forest birds in the woods around the lakes.”
The park is also home to one of the weirdest, and some may say creepiest, trails in the metro Atlanta area, the Dolls Head Trail.
The first 58 seconds of this video take you on a calming hike through Constitution Lakes Park which includes a paved pathway to a lake overlook. After that, the slightly spookier and art-inspired journey to Dolls Head Trail loop begins…
Signs along the Dolls Head Trail ask visitors NOT to bring items from outside the park including dolls, modern trash, etc.
Doing so is A: Littering and B: creating more work for volunteers and C: TOTALLY MISSING THE POINT. – Park signage
Key Park Rules:
- ATVs Motorcycles and other motorized vehicles prohibited in DeKalb County Parks.
- State of Georgia fishing license required to fish in county lakes.
- All dogs must be on leash and under handler’s control while visiting the park and all waste must be removed.
- No glass containers.
- No paint or marking devices without permission.
- No amplified sound except by permit.
- No hoofed animals.
- No alcoholic beverages without permit.
- Smoking prohibited.
