Stand on the north boardwalk at Murphey Candler Park this week and you see open water from the boardwalk to the dam. A year ago the view was very different. The city was rehabilitating the dam's low-level drain and dredging the lake bed. By the Murphey Candler Park Conservancy's count, the lake was drained for more than 10 months. The water is back now, and this fall's events at the park are planned around it. The 5K course, the volunteer days and the November bird walk all lead toward the lake.
What the Lake Went Through to Get Here
The work started with the dam. In September 2025, a city departmental report described the dam repair as ongoing and said the lake level had to come down for it. The Conservancy calls the repair an emergency fix to the lake's water release valve. With the lake already low, Brookhaven took the chance to clean out the bottom. WSB-TV reported in October 2025 that the city had approved $1.5 million for dredging. The work focused on the southern end near West Nancy Creek Drive and the area around the low-level drain.
The city's monthly reports to the mayor and council track what happened next:
- January 2026: Dredging was finished and the lake was refilling. Crews also graded new parking for the youth fields on the old scout hut site, which had served as the staging yard for the dredging.
- February 2026: The Public Works report listed the low-water drain rehabilitation and the dredging as complete and said the lake had been refilled.
- August 2026: Public Works marked Murphey Candler Park "Completed" and said fish stocking would start in late October and run through 2027. Facility Services also reported repairs to the park's pedestrian bridge that month.
So this is the first fall in two years with a full lake at the center of the park, and the events below were planned with that in mind.
Duck Duck Goose Now Runs Over the Dam
The Murphey Candler Park Conservancy holds its 11th annual Duck Duck Goose 5K on Saturday, October 31. The 5K starts at 8 a.m. and the 1-mile fun run follows at 8:30. Both start and finish at County Corner, the park's open field where Candler Lake East meets West Nancy Creek Drive. The Conservancy lists the address as 1678 West Nancy Creek Drive.
The 2026 5K course makes a full lap around the water:
- Start on West Nancy Creek Drive, then run through the football and softball parking lots to the Nancy Creek trail.
- Loop around the baseball fields and return to West Nancy Creek Drive.
- Run out and back on Candler Lake West, then enter the park trail just below Navajo Trail.
- Cross the north boardwalk overlooking the lake.
- Follow the forested trails on the east side, climb East Nancy Creek, then turn onto Nancy Creek Way and Candler Lake East.
- Finish on Candler Lake East and end in the open field.
The fun run was also changed for this year. The Conservancy's course notes put it plainly:
"The fun run will cross over the dam this year so that runners will enjoy wooded trails, a lake view and the North Boardwalk."
A route over the dam with a lake view only works when the lake is full, and this year it is.
The weekend starts the night before. The Duck Duck Goose Food Trucks social runs Friday, October 30, from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Horseshoe Road inside the park. Early packet pickup is at the social from 5 to 7 p.m. Online registration closed at midnight on Monday, October 26. Both events go on rain or shine, and the race supports the Conservancy's work in the park.
Saturday parking is mostly inside the race course, so timing matters. The Conservancy asks drivers to park by 7:45 a.m. Anyone running only the fun run, or leaving before 9 a.m., should use the Atlanta Colts Football and Murphey Candler Softball lots on West Nancy Creek. The lots on Candler Lake West may close for a while after 7:45. There is also gravel shoulder parking along Candler Lake East near the playground and at the sharp curve where it meets East Nancy Creek Drive.
The Trail Across Nancy Creek Is Barely a Year Old
On September 6, 2025, Brookhaven's Parks and Recreation Department held a ribbon cutting for the Murphey Candler Park II Trail. It mixes concrete path and boardwalk and includes a bridge over Nancy Creek. At the time, the city called it one of the last remaining Parks Bond projects, with only the Murphey Candler Park West Sidewalk Project still to come.
The trail opened while the lake was still drawn down, so it first served a park with an empty basin at its center. The main route is still the Conservancy's 2-mile loop around the lake, past woods, bridges, wetlands and picnic pavilions, and you can pick it up from any of the parking areas. On an ordinary weekday, that loop runs beside a full lake again. Elsewhere in the park, the Conservancy notes that the playground on the east side was renovated through the Park Bond. The two tennis courts on Candler Lake East, near Nancy Creek Way, are first come, first served and alternate between tennis and pickleball.
November Brings Fish, Waterfowl and Volunteer Days
Restocking is the slowest part of the recovery. The city's August report sets late October as the start and says stocking will continue through 2027. On its park page, the Conservancy says Georgia DNR's Gateway to Fishing program has already started restocking with bass and bream. Either way, the fish population will take more than a season to rebuild. Before the drawdown, the Conservancy listed largemouth bass, bluegill, redear sunfish and channel catfish in the lake. It also notes that fishing here requires a valid Georgia fishing license. Georgia's Wildlife Resources Division has the details in its license guide. This is general information, not legal advice, so check the state's rules for your own situation before you go fishing.
Birds tend to return faster than fish. Birds Georgia runs a monthly field trip at the park, and the next one is Saturday, November 21, from 8 to about 10:30 a.m. Kevin O'Toole leads it. The Conservancy describes fall at Murphey Candler as a good time for seasonal migrants such as warblers, early winter birds and waterfowl. Some practical details:
- Registration: Required, through the Birds Georgia field trips page. Trips are free unless noted. Registration opens one month ahead, and the group asks you to check the page the night before for changes.
- Who it suits: Adults and teens 14 and older. No dogs. The leader asks that you text ahead if you'd like to borrow binoculars.
- Where to meet: The first large lot at the southwest corner of the lake, near Candler Lake West and West Nancy Creek Drive, at approximately 1636 West Nancy Creek Drive. Leave the first two rows of the baseball lot open, since some Saturday mornings they are held for Challenger Baseball.
- Footing: Mostly beginner-friendly, with some steep sections and exposed roots that get slick after rain. Restrooms are at the southeast and southwest corners near the baseball fields.
One week earlier, Saturday, November 14, is the Conservancy's quarterly volunteer day at Murphey Candler. The same afternoon, an Eco-Stewards work day starts at 1:30 p.m. at Osborne Park. The Eco-Stewards program pairs Master Naturalist Kathryn Kolb with restoration specialist Dajawn Williams. Its 2026 class series wraps up in December, and the 2027 series starts in January. Volunteers who would rather work on the water should know the Conservancy keeps three canoes and a kayak for picking up trash on the lake. Lake cleanup only became possible again once the lake refilled. Steve Peters is the Conservancy's contact for work days and park volunteering.
The park is open dawn to dusk every day. With sunset coming earlier after the time change, an after-work loop or a run on the north boardwalk gets shorter each week through November.
If the park is part of your weekly routine, or you'd like to live near the lake loop and Nancy Creek trails, I'm glad to talk through that part of Brookhaven with you. Brennan Ballard can share what living near a park like this looks like day to day. Let's Connect.
