Was staying in the area for a few days. But didn't have use of our car. Husband had to take it for work. It was a beautiful day and appeared to be safe area so i set off to take a walk. My phone direction indicated a different way but i saw stairs near the coutyard Marriott. It was paved trail by a stream. Lovely walk. read more

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In my opinion as someone who travels all around the southern United States to visit hiking trails & waterfalls, Ivy Creek Greenway is a lovely local opportunity to get out into nature without driving a great distance. FIRST, the trail is peaceful. On most of my visits there have been a minimal amount of walkers, riders, and/or hikers on the trail. It's a great place to walk by yourself, with a friend or even as a family. SECOND, the trail offers multiple experiences. The section that starts beneath the southbound exit on I-85 traveling west towards the Gwinnett Heritage Center is fully paved. But from the same point traveling east is a wooded hiking trail with dirt/gravel paths. Along this eastern section are also many spur trails leading into the large marsh area sandwiched between Mall of Georgia Blvd & I-85. THIRD, while it is very close to civilization it feels like its own world. I love that you can get away right in the heart of a populated area and feel very much like you've been on an adventure. [ THE EXPERIENCE ] There are several access points, but we chose to park at the Mill Creek Nature Center on the backside of the Mall between Bird Watcher Supply Company & Wendy's. There is only space for about 10 cars in the little gravel parking area, but don't worry. If it is full there is plenty of paved parking available just across the Boulevard. Once parked you walk out to the sidewalk parallel to the street for a short distance until you come upon a set of wooden stairs leading down to the trail. When you reach the main trail you can go left where the trail will lead you 1 mile to Gravel Springs Road or go right towards Hwy 20. We decided to go right, but along the way discovered a wooden foot bridge leading through the swamp. This is not actually on the official trail map and will add approx. 1.25 miles to your hike. *WARNING - it can be a bit confusing to follow because it breaks off into so many side trails, but if you are capable of remembering the way you came, it won't be a problem. The marsh trail contains MANY old wooden footbridges to keep your feet dry as well as a watch tower that overlooks a wide open area of the marsh. I would imagine this would be a fun area for young ones to pretend they were trespassing on SHREKS land. Along the way there are also several markers indicating different species of trees, plants & wildlife from opossums to birds. Great educational tool for both young and older children. Near the lookout tower is a loop trail we did not follow. Instead, we returned the same way we came to the main trail. *** NOTE: We ventured across a HUGE snapping turtle on the main trail. It looked like a boulder at first. While snapping turtles can't run fast, their bite is lightening quick and their neck are longer than you think. DO NOT try to handle them. Continuing West we soon passed below the exit loop of I-85. Just before this point you will encounter a spur trail leading to the parking lot behind Mattress Firm, which also serves as another trail access point. Next you will cross under Hwy 20 before coming to an old concrete bridge leading across Ivy Creek. To your right is yet another parking area and access point, but I would advise you to only use this one if you have a high clearance vehicle. Ruts in the gravel have made it rather rough for low clearance cars. It's also tricky to get here since you'd have to cross into the parking area about where the southbound ramp is merging with Hwy 20. Once across the concrete bridge the waterfall is only a little over 200 feet away. If the water flow is good, you should easily hear it! It's not a natural waterfall, but the remains of historic Woodward Grist Mill. The metal wheel is still on site. The banks of the creek are sandy, making it a great spot to hang out a while with the kids or a date! Continuing west you will pass The Preserve @ Mill Creek Apartments. Near their picnic deck is another sandy area for relaxing right where the creek cascades for about 100 feet. Beyond that is a wooden boardwalk leading to a split. Either go towards the Gwinnett Environmental Center (right) or continue on Ivy Creek Trail (left). We walked the trail left all the way to the suspension bridge and then returned the way we came. [ FINAL THOUGHTS ] Overall we clocked about 5.25 miles from the Mill Creek Nature Center parking area to the suspension bridge and back with a tour of the swamp trail to the lookout tower. It is a very easy trail, but does get a little hilly as you get closer to the suspension bridge. Overall it took us a leisurely 1.5 hours on a GORGEOUS 80 degree Sunday afternoon with perfect breezes. I know what some of the other reviews say, but I can't see how anyone wouldn't enjoy spending a little time on this trail. Afterwards we ate @ nearby Burger 21, home to one of my favorite burgers (The OMG) and one of the ONLY black bean burgers my particular wife enjoys. HAVE FUN! 2022 / 62 read more

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I keep hearing about this waterfall close by Mall of Georgia so I had to check it out. I didn't have to travel an hour away either. Why aren't the photos on IG more? I figured why not? Now, I know. The "waterfall" is more like a sewage to me. I was told to park close to Costco and then walk the down to see the waterfall. It is not a pretty site. I mean, it is okay. The mini waterfall is only pretty if you are close up by it and trick viewers. We saw deer in the way. They just stared at us. I'm not too impressed with what I saw. Now, if I wanted to just go walking, I think I would've been okay but because I was told there's a waterfall, that's where my mind was going. I read about it being hilly and a bit of challenge. Maybe I'll come back. As of right now, at least I know. 131/2019 read more

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Tucked away right in the middle of Buford by the Mall.. this is a great place to go for a walk or a bike.. we went on a weekday and it was not crowded.. the scenery is great.. wooden walk paths.. dinosaurs, rest benches, restrooms are present on this path and well maintained... read more

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Great getaway into nature without going driving so far. Very nice nature trails with something for everyone. Playground for kids, dog park, ponds for catch and release fishing, bike trail and hiking. read more

Beautiful trail to walk. The trail is not too long and has a great canopy of trees that provide nice shade on really hot days.

This greenway has a lot of potential but the lack of information and signage about where to access the trailheads and lack of detailed maps as you are walking is a big deterrent from the experience. I've enjoyed walks from the Gwinnett Environment and Heritage Center, but I tried this leg of the greenway after hearing there was an entrance at the Mall of Georgia. The frustration started as I was driving behind businesses trying to find the trail entrance. I could see the trail, but not figure out how to access it. There were torn up, faded paper signs directing visitors to the trailheads, but in their condition, they were not helpful. The wetlands and the streams were neat to walk around, but I didn't feel like I was in nature at many times because of the proximity to I-85. I would also suggest adding some additional trash cans for dog waste and trash. I think it has a lot of potential and the county has obviously worked hard to get the trail made, but the lack of signage blows my mind, but explains why I barely saw a soul. read more

Before I even get started with my review, do yourself a BIG favor, and head to the Environmental & Heritage center and get one of their trail maps. Trust me, you NEED this map, because tons of trails are either poorly marked or not marked at all. At the very least, print out the copy I uploaded. Now on to the review: When a buddy of mine suggested a hike of the Ivy Creek Greenway, a place i'd never heard of, I thought yea! Let's do this. We ended up getting started near the Courtyard hotel near Mall of Georgia, which is a nice and easy place to park...just head down the stairs towards Woodward Mill Road, and you're greeted immediately by a "You are here" sign. Excellent! Ivy Creek kinda meanders all over the place. The main Ivy Creek Greenway, which has been planned to be connected to the Suwanee Greenway for a few years, is 2.7 miles of paved trail, that's in a mostly populated area, that's great for walking, running, dogs and biking. Ivy Creek is marked off well along the paved portions. Sadly, Ivy Creek is not the only trail. If you do like we did, and stumbled across the Environmental & Heritage center, you'll also find yourself stumbling past the Treetop ziplining quest (which they were nice enough to let us walk through...very cool guys!), which looks like a lot of fun! Many of the trails here have trail markers at the start, at the end, and if there's any crossing/splitting of trails. One such trail we struggled with was the sweet gum trail, which cut through the festival parking lot (not marked) and cut through what looked like an industrial park, complete with gravel, exposed sewage pipes, and lots of "are we reading this map right?" moments. If you brave the Sweetgum, near the start of the Holly trail, east of the sweetgum trail you'll find nice flowing water, which flirts with being water fall like, although you have to literally hop a creek to get to it (it's worth it) The sweetgum ultimately takes you back to the N. Ivy Creek trail, which i'd encourage you to continue down until you get to the observation deck. The observation deck overlooks a pretty big metal bridge, with a see through floor mesh, that dogs don't like (more than one person said they had to carry their dog across the bridge because of how their paws sink into the mesh). The bridge looks as if it dead ends into nothing, but continue on the natural path to the left, and you'll eventually hear traffic from I-85. Continue a little further and you'll come to the wildlife observation trail loop, and some trail markers here. There are benches throughout all of the trail, save for maybe the sweetgum, but generally I thought the trail was fairly flat, but if for some reason you have concerns with walking or maintaining strength, i'd suggest doing just the 2.7 miles of Ivy Creek, and not the near 8.5 miles once you stumbled across all of the trails like we did. I hate giving outdoor areas 3 stars, because there are some very beautiful areas here. I just can't get behind a trail with this many smaller trails that have such poor trail markings. I hope they address this and soon, because you can easily get lost here. If you're in the area, and want a nice, scenic trail, I think the Ivy Creek trail will be great for you. Please print off a map first before you go if you're not familiar with the area. It saves a lot of trouble! read more

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Where to begin? We generally enjoy greenways in our area. The Fulton and Forsyth versions of Big Creek Greenway as well as the Suwanee Creek Greenway are all nice. We discovered Ivy Creek Greenway several years ago but it has not developed much popularity with my family. The first main issue is that it is almost a stealth project. It is apparently funded by Gwinnett County, but trying to find web-info on it seems overly difficult. Maps aren't easy to come by; publicity is minimal; and good descriptions of trailhead parking? No way. I noted that a new section of Ivy Creek Greenway had just opened, so we went to check it out. We started at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center, which is likely the best place to park / access it. However, there is fairly minimal signage there. After wandering up a service road for a hundred yards or so and giving up, we went back to where we had accessed the older section of the trail several years ago. After following that into the woods a bit, we eventually found a sign-board with a decent map. After that, it was easy. In contrast to most of the other greenways, this one is much hillier. This may be great for a workout, but if you have young kids or gearless bikes along, it can be challenging. The new section seems especially hilly, though it winds through some nice forested areas. It currently terminates at a sizable suspension bridge over Ivy Creek. I believe the county has plans to extend it, but i have no idea when. If they ever do connect this to the greenway in George Pierce Park, it will be really nice. IIRC, the other end of the trail is over near the Mall of Georgia (sort of behind the peripheral strip malls, between I-85, Hwy 20, and the mall itself). It wasn't obvious a few years ago that you could access the trail from there, but they may have added signs. Cruise around behind the strip malls and look sharp. read more

5* because of access, the greenway curves around our apartment complex. The main trail is paved so it's great for those who want to get out but maybe a trail with roots and rocks all over might be too much for their feet or ankles read more

Great walk for a quick break. We don't live far. The mill is nice. You can enter or exit from a few different places.

Beautiful scenery! There are multiple bike, and walking trails on the greenway! Ivy Creek that flows along the trail is breathtaking! Check out our videos on it using the following YouTube links! Episode 1 https://youtu.be/hoELeCaPc4c. Episode 2 https://youtu.be/2mePoN9P6VM. Episode 3 https://youtu.be/tApATVF4A20 read more