ATLANTA PARKS GUIDE

COVER STORY

Our guide to the city’s lush lawns, wooded trails, cool playgrounds, and more

Edited by Jennifer Rainey Marquez
Written by Layla Bellows, Mary Logan Bikoff, Josh Green, Tess Malone, Jennifer Rainey Marquez, Tony Rehagen, and Susan Soper

WELCOME TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD

Fourth Ward

Six Atlanta community parks to discover

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Discover the greener side of Atlanta by exploring these six community parks.
home of the goats

Atlanta park trivia

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Impress your friends with these fun facts about Piedmont Park, Oakland Cemetery, Grant Park, and Woodruff Park
Esther Peachy Lefevre Park

3 tiny but treasured Atlanta parks

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Esther Peachy Lefevre Park, Charlie Loudermilk Park, and Hardy Ivy Park are all less than an acre, respectively

WHO KNEW?

Chastain Park
Uncategorized

Secrets of Chastain Park, Grant Park, and Piedmont Park

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Fun facts about three of Atlanta's favorite Parks—did you know Chastain Park has a buried "Witches Cave"?
Lullwater Preserve

Whose park is it anyway? 3 beloved parks not run by City of Atlanta

EXPLORE

ON THE HORIZON

Atlanta BeltLine
Uncategorized

A greener future for Atlanta’s parks

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“If you live near Piedmont Park or the Eastside Trail of the Atlanta BeltLine, you might feel, ‘Oh, this is fantastic, why would we want more?’” says Amy Phuong. Yet just 6 percent of our land is dedicated to park space.

ATLANTA PARK CHAMPIONS

Atlanta Park Champion

Atlanta Park Champion: Kit Sutherland

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In 2001 Kit Sutherland and her husband bought a condo on Glen Iris Drive, then a quiet street known for, well, not much. Today it’s at the epicenter of three projects that have permanently changed the entire city: the Atlanta BeltLine, Historic Fourth Ward Park, and Ponce City Market.
Na'Taki Osborne Jelks

Atlanta Park Champion: Na’Taki Osborne Jelks

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When Na’Taki Osborne Jelks was 19, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer after five years spent living in an area in Louisiana known as Cancer Alley.
Melanie Furr

Atlanta Park Champion: Melanie Furr

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Five years ago, when Melanie Furr found a neighbor’s cat toying with a chipmunk, she rescued the injured creature and brought it to the Atlanta Wild Animal Rescue Effort.
Ray Mock

Atlanta Park Champion: Ray Mock

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As director of operations for Chastain Park’s conservancy, Ray Mock, 63, is technically responsible for maintaining about 60 acres of the park. But that doesn’t stop the third-generation Atlantan from traversing the full 268-acre expanse in his golf cart, checking up on the ballfields, horse park, and other facilities.
Gregory Burson Sr.

Atlanta Park Champion: Gregory Burson Sr.

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As a boy, Gregory Burson Sr., 62, remembers catching tadpoles in a swamp behind his grandmother’s backyard in Peoplestown.

READERS SURVEY

We surveyed nearly 100 readers to find out how you feel about Atlanta's city parks.

Favorite inside-the-park attraction? 
27% said Atlanta Botanical Garden

Most common reason you go?
Walking the dog

When will the Atlanta BeltLine be finished?
43% say on time (in 2030). A quarter think it will be done in 2040. And another quarter think it will never be completed.

Top three things that Atlatna's city parks need more of?
1. Access to public transit
2. Food carts/trucks
3. Parking

Top three park pet peeves?
1. Owners who don't pick up dog poop
2. Littering
3. Owners who don't leash their dogs

Atlanta Magazine
Since 1961, Atlanta magazine, the city’s premier general interest publication, has served as the authority on Atlanta, providing its readers with a mix of long-form nonfiction, lively lifestyle coverage, in-depth service journalism, and literary essays, columns, and profiles.

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