Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve
3787 Klondike Road
Lithonia, GA 30038
(770) 484-3060 voice
(770) 484-3059 faxThe Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve in DeKalb County has grown recently from 537 acres to over 2000 acres of public land. The prominent feature of this unique preserve is a gigantic gneiss rock outcrop similar to that of Stone Mountain, its younger sibling by 100 million years. The Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Preserve also contains pine/oak thickets, an old abandoned rock quarry, and a lake. It is home to several endangered plants (including the endangered black-spored quill wort Isoetes melanospora, found in only seven other known places in the world). There is a healthy resident salamander population in two of the upper vernal pools. Hiking is especially beautiful in autumn due to the fall color of the preserve's large forested areas. In April and May the dainty white-blossomed Minuartia sandwort & brilliant red Diamorpha stonewort create stunning "dish gardens" with the mosses and lichens in the depressions in the rock. Brilliant blue spiderwort, yellow jessamine, sunnybells and dainty bluetoad flax are also spectacular in the Spring. The rare Georgia oak can also be found on Arabia Mountain.
Directions: Take I-20 East to the Evans Mill Road exit. Turn right onto Evans Mill road. At the traffic light continue straight onto Woodrow Drive. Travel on Woodrow Drive for ~1.5 miles to Klondike Road. Turn right onto Klondike Road and travel ~2.5 miles. The Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Center is on your right.
Types of wetlands: vernal/ephemeral ponds, pine wetland with endangered plants
Hours: 7 AM-dusk everyday
Admission: free
Beautiful photos of Arabia Mountain can be found at: http://www.pbase.com/shadym/arabia_mtn_nature_preserve
For much more information, visit the Arabia Mountain Heritage Area Alliance. For more photos, see the Georgia Wilderness Society's Trip to Arabia Mountain.