Where are the parks in Atlanta (Sandy Springs, Roswell: neighborhood, living in, garden)

[k374]

This may sound like a crazy statement to make considering that ATL has been called a city in a forest etc. but looking at the map I just don't see any big parks other than some miniscule ones like Piedmont Park that is not even a mile across.

In both Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernadino counties we have a huge number of parks that are anywhere from 5 to 10 miles across offering a multitude of hiking and mountain biking opportunities.

For instance I live in the heart of Orange County and I have Peters Canyon park which offers 10 miles of trails, Crystal cove park right by the beach that offers in excess of 15 miles of mountain biking and hiking trails, Silverado Canyon, Limestone Canyon, Chino Hills State park, in LA there is the absolutely MASSIVE Griffith Park right in the center of LA with hundreds of acres of trails... those are the massive ones, then there are a multitude of smaller parks.. Talbert, Fairview etc. etc. I could just go on, literally hundreds.

I don't see such a thing in ATL at all, neither in the city nor in the suburbs... most of the offerings are little patches of green 1 square mile. Please tell me I am missing something here... perhaps I am not looking in the right places?

Any mountain biking and hiking enthusiasts here? Where are all the parks?

[alco89]

There just aren't very many, and in some basic aspects I think it's because we're a city in a forest.

[PKCorey]

Not again...

City of Atlanta has a lack of parks.

Gwinnett has a great park system.

[atlantamoi]

I can't compare to the California parks you mention, but I have to admit it sounds really cool. It would be very different topography which I'd love to experience. Anyway, there actually are trail systems all around the city. They probably won't blow your mind, but they are there.

Start here:

Atlanta Hiking & Running Trails, Georgia Hiking & Backpacking Trails

Biking: Georgia Bike Trails | TrailLink

[Atlanta_BD]

Atlanta doesn't have very many parks. I noticed that myself when I moved to Atlanta from Chicago, where pretty much every single neighborhood has it's own park and the city has a huge park district that manages and maintains them all, along with forest preserves (where we'd have picnics and other events and go sledding in the winter and of course the walking and biking paths along Lake Michigan. I found that there either weren't many or that I had to go out of my way to get to one in Atlanta, except when I lived in Virginia-Highland where there are few very small parks and close to Piedmont Park.

[elbow4419]

Originally Posted by k374

This may sound like a crazy statement to make considering that ATL has been called a city in a forest etc. but looking at the map I just don't see any big parks other than some miniscule ones like Piedmont Park that is not even a mile across.

In both Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernadino counties we have a huge number of parks that are anywhere from 5 to 10 miles across offering a multitude of hiking and mountain biking opportunities.

For instance I live in the heart of Orange County and I have Peters Canyon park which offers 10 miles of trails, Crystal cove park right by the beach that offers in excess of 15 miles of mountain biking and hiking trails, Silverado Canyon, Limestone Canyon, Chino Hills State park, in LA there is the absolutely MASSIVE Griffith Park right in the center of LA with hundreds of acres of trails... those are the massive ones, then there are a multitude of smaller parks.. Talbert, Fairview etc. etc. I could just go on, literally hundreds.

I don't see such a thing in ATL at all, neither in the city nor in the suburbs... most of the offerings are little patches of green 1 square mile. Please tell me I am missing something here... perhaps I am not looking in the right places?

Any mountain biking and hiking enthusiasts here? Where are all the parks?

Hi
I lived near Culver City /LA area
Atlanta's parks are much more scenic,& truly "the outdoors." While there are many "traditional parks"
(Peidmont, Centennial, Sandy Springs, Stone Mountain",etc).....
The true experience of biking, hiking, walking is found on Atlantas many trails(located in every county).
Visit Atlantatrails. Com

Enjoy the natural beauty & tranquility of the South.

[afdinatl]

Not sure how you will see parks when the majority of them can't be seen on a map because trees are covering them but Atlanta has enough parks and more acres are coming soon. The Beltline project will bring 1300 new acres of parks to the city of Atlanta. Living in certain sections of the city will give you access to more parks. For the city of Atlanta I recommend living east of Atlanta so you can be near Piedmont Park, Historic 4th Ward Park and Grant Park which are the best parks in the city of Atlanta. We also have Stone Mountain Park which is over 3200 acres east of the city, Kennesaw Mountain Park which is 3000 acres, Panola Mountain Park east of the city is 1300 acres, etc. The city is planning to open Westside Reservoir Park in the future which will be the largest park in the city with over 3000 acres of land. Gwinnett county probably has the best parks in the metro area. Plus we have Chastain Park, Chattahoochee Nature Center, Lenox Park, Lullwater Park, Candler Park, etc, etc. I hike and go to parks all the time. Metro Atlanta probably has some of the best collection of parks in the country if you include Piedmont, Stone Mountain, Kennesaw, Grant and Panola Mountain Parks. Most of the people responding to this thread have no idea what they are talking about and I'm sure they haven't been to the majority of the parks in the metro area. If you want to see a real list of parks go to Yelp and do a search for parks and you will see plenty of them. Don't forget Clayton County International Park, Sweetwater Creek Park which is over 2000 acres, Centennial Park, Morgan's Falls Overlook Park, Freedom Park, David-Arabia Park, etc, etc, etc. Don't take my word of it, do s search of these parks and many more for yourself

[George Chong]

Atlanta has many wonderful park.

https://www.google.com/maps/search/a...84.3732254,12z

And check out Woodlands Garden | In every season, a place of cultivated and natural beauty

[cqholt]

Parks Dept is the first to get budget cuts and with the green space expansion of the BeltLine and no increase in funding.

[sedimenjerry]

1. We don't have the mountains or canyons LA has
2. We don't have an ocean with miles and miles of beautiful beaches
3. We don't have well over 10 million people
So no you won't find the same thing here as in LA. You also will be paying much less for the same thing.

For anything beach related you'll have to go to the coast. The mountains are much closer but for anything comparable to LA canyon/mountain cycling you'll have to go north of the city. Most of the cycling here can easily take place on the side roads with bike lanes. Google maps should show the bike trails (not sure how accurate it is). Gwinnett County has over 40 parks for under 900,000 people. When you compare metro areas with parkland per capita Atlanta actually edges out LA. Stone Mountain is a decently large park in Dekalb. 10 bucks per car per day but that's not that bad. The Chattahoochee has recreation areas up and down. I see plenty of people on the river or on the banks in Roswell and Sandy Springs whenever I cross during lunch time.