Georgia’s Cricket Frog Trail
Trail of the Month: April 2024
Every second Tuesday, members of the First Baptist Academy Bike Club meet in the classroom of Jan Hudson, a 66-year-old social studies and science teacher. The group of 10 students, ranging from fifth to eighth grade, grab snacks, fill up their water bottles, unlock their bikes, don their helmets and head outside for a ride along Covington’s Cricket Frog Trail, about 30 miles southeast of Atlanta.
For some students, the trail, named after a tiny brown frog with a stripe of green down its back like a blade of grass, is their first experience riding a bike.
“Students throughout the year are able to build up their stamina and learn how to take care of their bike,” said Hudson, who has organized the club for two years. At the start, kids only take on a few miles at a time, navigating bumping into each other’s tires and fixing slipped chains. They learn trail etiquette like riding single file and signaling to other riders and pedestrians. By the end of the school year, their training culminates in a 14-mile out-and-back ride to a park.
“It’s not uncommon for people to say that the trail is the best thing going for Convington.”
—Greg Richardson, Newton Trails board member
Bridging the Gap
The students’ final ride is a fundraiser for Newton Trails Inc., a volunteer-run nonprofit formed in 1997 to promote development of trails and greenways in Newton County, Georgia. In 2016, the nonprofit was granted a lease from Norfolk Southern Corporation for 14.9 miles of Central of Georgia’s abandoned rail line. The rail used to be an active passenger line from Porterdale to Covington, then on to Macon and Savannah. But over time, as personal vehicles increased, the volume of passengers shrank, and the trains turned to commerce. The last route carried wood chips to a pulp plant.
In an effort to recreate the once-vibrant line, Newton Trails launched plans for their boldest project yet: the Cricket Frog Trail.
Beginning near downtown Covington on Washington Street, the trail passes north of Covington Square. It then bends south and twists through miles of woods, scenic pastures and farmland before reaching the small town of Mansfield over a dozen miles later. Right now, the trail is cut in half by a scenic trestle bridge over the Alcovy River that has fallen into disrepair. But with a nearly $1 million investment by Newton Trails and Newton County, the 310-foot bridge will be fixed by November, offering a continuous ride for locals and visitors alike. Last year, Hudson’s bike club students even raised over $2,000, funds that went directly toward building the bridge.
“I’ve seen a lot of improvement in kids’ riding ability and their enjoyment in being outside. It’s always fun to hear which parts of the trail are their favorite,” said Hudson. Examples include Turner Lake, a bumpy wooden bridge and a tunnel under the road.
“It’s going to be really exciting once we’re able to ride across that bridge,” she added.
Turning the Tide
While Hudson is a big booster for the trail, initially the community didn’t support it. Sara Vinson, former Newton Trails board chair, said this is a pretty typical reaction to new trails, where “people are just afraid of something new.” But Newton Trails began hosting town activities a few times a week to increase access and trail education. Trail maintenance sessions occur every Thursday morning. Organized hikes of 4 to 6 miles leave every Wednesday morning. And on the first Sunday of the month, group-led bicycle rides begin at 3 p.m. off Elm Street in Covington. By 2018, the nonprofit had garnered enough support to pave a short section of the trail.
“That’s when we saw the tide start to turn politically,” said Vinson. At the first walk they hosted, 75 people showed up. By the ribbon cutting, almost 100 residents came out to support the trail. Folks who lived along the rail corridor made pathways and installed gates in their back fences for easier access.
Duane Ford, board chair of Newton Trails, first became involved in the group after he retired to Covington from Wisconsin in 2016. A neighbor invited him out to their Wednesday morning hikes and Thursday morning maintenance. His experience as an avid hiker and cyclist in Wisconsin made him miss the same level of trail development in Georgia. The biggest benefits of the trail, he said, are health and recreation, along with economic development and providing safe paths for alternative forms of transportation. Ford recently met a woman who used the trail on a weekly basis to walk to and from her job at Wendy’s. They also work to make the trail accessible, allowing for e-bikes and motorized wheelchairs.
“I can’t tell you how many people have told me that the trail is the most significant development in the community in years, if not ever,” said Ford. “Trail users are biased, but there’s a whole lot of community support for the trail and a whole lot of people using it.”
A Community-Built Trail
According to Ford, the revitalized bridge will improve access to the small Newton County towns connected along the trail. This includes Portersdale as well as Covington and Mansfield, the latter of which has a popular coffee shop and downtown center—plus Beaver Park, a county green space with a nine-hole disk golf course and walking trails. The trail will also lead visitors through even smaller communities like Starrsville, a rural village featuring bygone barns and an old store at the trailhead.
The trail experience itself is also shaped by residents. Community members have donated 20 benches, eight special stations in memory of deceased pets and four trash cans. A local welder added sculptures along the route, and in downtown Covington, a mural near the main trailhead was painted by local high school students.
And some of the sites along the trail could be familiar to film and television fans. Newton County has long been a hub for the entertainment industry, said Greg Richardson, an avid outdoors person and a Newton Trails board member.
“We’re pretty famous for that,” affirmed Richardson. The Cricket Frog Trail is only two blocks from Covington Square, a downtown used for sets like The Vampire Diaries, along with movies like Sweet Magnolias, In the Heat of the Night and The Dukes of Hazzard. People come from all over the world to see the sites from their favorite movies or take a bus tour of settings from the eight-season arc of The Vampire Diaries. In 2023, the city estimates such fandom helped bring 750,000 tourists to their community.
Along with film tourism, Richardson noted Covington’s vibrant and bustling downtown, with half a dozen restaurants and an eclectic mix of shops. The route—which runs very close to historical buildings—also includes interpretive signage describing the community’s Black heritage.
Once the bridge is complete, the trail’s managers anticipate a lot more weekend traffic from the Atlanta metro area, and they’re planning for an even larger pathway, said Richardson. This year, Newton Trails is working with consultants to build an even bigger trail network that could span hundreds of miles. It would connect the Cricket Frog Trail with neighboring county greenways like the Yellow River Trail and eventually stretch all the way up to the state capital and west to Alabama.
But even with such a booming economic scene, Richardson affirmed, “It’s not uncommon for people to say that the trail is the best thing going for Convington.”
Related Links
Trail Facts
Name: Cricket Frog Trail
Used railroad corridor: Norfolk Southern; Central of Georgia Railroad
Trail website: Newton Trails Inc.
Length: 13.6 miles
County: Newton
Start point/end point: The trail is currently open in two segments, with a bridge over the Alcovy River in the middle needed to connect the two halves. The northern segment runs from Turner Lake Road, just south of Turner Lake Cir. SW (Covington), to the north bank of the Alcovy River, 0.6 mile southeast of East End Road (Covington). The southern segment runs from the south bank of the Alcovy River (Covington) to Zeigler Road, 0.1 mile south of CR 213 (Mansfield).
Surface type: Asphalt, Concrete
Grade: The route has a low grade with no noticeable turns or hills.
Uses: Walking, bicycling and inline skating; wheelchair accessible
Difficulty: With a paved, relatively flat surface and amenities available in the communities that the trail connects, the route is considered easy.
Getting there: Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (6000 North Terminal Parkway) is located just over 40 miles west of Covington.
Access and parking: In Covington, public parking is available in the parking deck at 1166 Elm St. NE. Additional options in the city include Legion Field–Fairgrounds (3173 Mill St. NE) and Academy Springs Park (3120 Conyers St. SE).
In Mansfield, public parking is available at Beaver Park (on County Road 213, 0.4 mile east of Sewell Road) and at City Hall (3146 GA 11).
To navigate the area with an interactive GIS map, and to see more photos, user reviews and ratings, plus loads of other trip-planning information, visit TrailLink.com™, RTC’s free trail-finder website.
Rentals: While there are no bicycle rentals available in Covington, rentals are available at C-Town Bikes (902 Center St. NE) in Conyers, about 11 miles away, as well as in Atlanta at AC Clutch Bicycle Shop (1384 Ralph David Abernathy Blvd.) and Atlanta Pro Bikes (1039 N. Highland Ave.).
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