Don White Memorial Park
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The Vickery Creek Unit—also known as Big Creek—is a component of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area located in Roswell, Georgia. Unlike other units, it is bound by a Chattahoochee River tributary (Vickery Creek), rather than the river itself. This unit is designed solely for hiking and does not provide boat ramps or direct river access.
The unit contains approximately 7 miles of hiking trails, including a popular 3.8-mile loop that alternates between creek-level paths and ridge-top sections rising up to 100 feet above the water. A notable feature is the Vickery Creek Dam, where water cascades into a waterfall—originally built in the 1830s to power the wool textile mill (Roswell Mill). Trail maps and markers (e.g., VC1, VC2…) are placed at intersections to assist navigation. Access points include a parking lot off Riverside Road and a pedestrian entrance through Roswell’s Old Mill Park via a covered bridge.
Some trail segments have been closed due to erosion, particularly along creekside areas where stormwater runoff and slope instability have impacted trail safety and accessibility. The National Park Service posts updates about these closures and restoration efforts on their website and at trailheads.
The Vickery Creek Unit preserves historic landmarks such as the ruins of Ivy Mill, a 19th-century wool mill that supplied Confederate uniforms and was destroyed during the Civil War. The site is also linked to Roswell Mill, a prominent local textile operation that began in the 1830s and ceased production in the 1970s. In 2005, Roswell constructed a covered footbridge to connect Old Mill Park to the trails across Vickery Creek as part of the CRNRA Gateway Project. The National Parks Conservancy later funded the addition of a staircase to connect the bridge to the recreation area and the historic mill’s dam.
Parks & Recreation
Parks & Recreation
Parks & Recreation