Beck Bluff - Love Mountain Loop (3.7 mi)
Total climbing: 679 ft
Total time: 07:23:12
From Ocmulgee Flats Camp, this loop provides some climbing and some flat river trail.
Start at Ocmulgee Flats Camp on FS 1099. From the east side of FS 1099, take the northern-most trail entrance (the steep one). The first few hundred feet are very steep up to the ridge, then it levels out until another good climb before Beck Bluff. After passing the logging loading dock area and first open grassy area (Beck Bluff), a seldom-used road will lead you to a smaller field, where you’ll take a sharp right and plummet into Beck Bottom. Near the creek in March/April you’ll see lots of lilies and other stuff blooming. The trail will lead up the next ridge, across a recently timbered area to FS Road 1099. Take the road left (north) around the curve and turn right onto the Love Mountain Approach Trail.
The Love Mountain Approach Trail is a short, maybe 1/4 mile, connector from USFS Road 1099 down to the Ocmulgee River Trail, which runs north-south along the Jasper County side of the Ocmulgee River. The trail follows a narrow ridge northward from 1099, gently sloping at first, with a little decline before reaching a beautiful bluff overlooking the river floodplain (Love Mountain). There’s a fantastic view of the Ocmulgee and the western horizon in the winter, with a 100′ drop to the floodplain below. In the summer there are too many leaves to see very much of the river. Turning east, the trail plummets to the Ocmulgee floodplain, intersecting the Ocmulgee River Trail, which goes both north and south, just south of Love Mountain Ford of Ocmulgee Tributary #6.
Turn left when arriving at the floodplain and take the Ocmulgee River Trail south along the river bank to the Ocmulgee Flats Campsite.