Victoria Bryant State Park

Note: This column was published in the Barrow Journal on September 11, 2013.

My family found another treasure. Victoria Bryant State Park is located in Franklin County, and what captured my heart was the stream that flows through the park. Though it’s called a “stream” on the park’s pamphlet, Rice Creek looked like an easy-going river to me.

There’s nothing I love more than running water, especially when my bare feet are in it. Imagine the crystal clear water pouring over large stones with green branches arching overhead. Unidentified wildflowers bloomed in the crevices along its bank. A scene like this is the reason I moved to Georgia in the first place.

There are four different hiking trails of varying lengths in the park. Since we had the little ones, we picked the short ½-mile trail named “Victoria’s Path.” It looped around a section of Rice Creek. The trail was pretty with thick foliage that threatened to smother the trail, and it showed signs of being flooded during our summer rains. We were surprised to find a thick grove of native bamboo trees. We also spied mushrooms, Christmas fern, and wild ginger.

According to their website, the park is 502 acres and offers 27 tent, trailer, and RV campsites. There are 8 platform, walk-in tent sites, and 2 pioneer group campgrounds. There are 8 miles of hiking and bicycling trails, 2 ponds for fishing (private boats allowed; electric motors only; no boat ramp), an 18-hole golf course, a swimming pool, three playgrounds, archery range, nature center and more.

We saw a group of people who were having a party in a picnic shelter, and nearby the children were tubing down some rocks in the river. We need to check that out next time.

We only saw a small section of the park, but that’s because we were satisfied with the first place we came to at the stream. There was no big drop off from the shore, so I wasn’t worried about my boys falling in. While they gathered stones to throw, I took my shoes off and waded into a stream for the first time in years. My husband soon followed.

After that we drove a short distance to find Victoria’s Path, and the boys were thrilled that the paved road went through the stream. (I guess someone didn’t see the need to build a bridge.) After our hike we had a picnic at some tables overlooking the river, and we watched as other cars drove through the river. If you like taking pictures of your car, it makes a nice photo op.

While we were eating, we enjoyed watching a family of deer graze on a hill overlooking us, and we also took advantage of the large porch-like swing by the river. I could have sat there all day.

We went on a Saturday, and the park was quiet with few other people around. If you go, you might like to pack a lunch, but it’s not necessary. There are plenty of restaurants in nearby Royston, and there’s a McDonald’s one mile from the park’s entrance.