Atlanta Georgia includes over 3,000 acres of parkland managed byParks and Recreation. The 343 Atlanta parks range in scope from formal gardens atAtlanta Botanical Garden to pocket parks in neighborhoods. Additionally, there are six miles of paved pedestrian and bike trails in theAtlanta Beltline as well as thePATH Foundation network of 150 miles of off road trails.
Piedmont Park, site of the 1895Cotton States Expo, is Atlanta's iconic green space. TheMidtown park, which underwent a major renovation and expansion in 2010, attracts visitors from across the region and hosts various cultural events throughout the year.[1] Piedmont Park also features a large 3-acre dog park[2] with sections for large and small dogs.
Centennial Olympic Park forms a centerpoint for downtown visitors in and around which key visitor attractions are located; nearbyWoodruff Park,Georgia International Plaza, andHurt Park cater to the downtown lunch crowd.[3]
Grant Park, located on the east side, is home to the city zoo,Chastain Park, the primary recreational center for the northernBuckhead district, contains an amphitheater for live music concerts. Atlanta's largest park,Southside Park, is remote and nearly undeveloped, and the plannedWestside Park in northwest Atlanta, which will be constructed on the site of a former gravel quarry, will eclipse Southside as the city's largest. Also,Perkerson Park in Southwest Atlanta is home to the city's only permanentDisc Golf course.[3] Atlanta's neighborhoods are dotted with hundreds of neighborhood parks such asJohn Howell Park inVirginia-Highland andPerkerson Park in theCapitol View/Sylvan Hills area.Freedom Park is Atlanta's largest passive park, with over 200 acres of linear greenspace going through Atlanta's historic east side neighborhoods. It was designated as Atlanta's Public Art Park by the Atlanta City Council in 2007.[4]
Several nature preserves line the south fork ofPeachtree Creek in theMorningside neighborhood, including theMorningside Nature Preserve, while part of theChattahoochee River National Recreation Area lies in the city's northwest corner.[3]
TheAtlanta Botanical Garden is home to theCanopy Walk, a 600-foot elevated walkway ambling 40 feet from the ground through a 15-acre forest of mature hardwoods, and the only canopy-level pathway of its kind in the United States.[5]
TheBeltLine, a former rail corridor that forms a 22-mile loop around Atlanta's central neighborhoods, has been acquired and transformed into public space. Most of the corridor opened in the late-2000s as a walking path, with plans for development ofmulti-use trails and, eventually, public transit. A trail has already been constructed near theWest End neighborhood, while another one, under construction as of 2012, will connectPiedmont Park toInman Park.BeltLine projects will increase Atlanta's park space by 40%,[6] including two new parks:Historic Fourth Ward Park, now open, and Westside Park.
In addition to BeltLine trails,PATH maintains a network of biking and walking trails in Metro Atlanta, including one that traverses Atlanta's east side, traveling past theCarter Center and throughFreedom Park.[citation needed]
PATH400 will be a major addition to the PATH network throughBuckhead.[citation needed]
TheCheshire Farm Trail lines the South Fork ofPeachtree Creek from Lindbergh Ave. toCheshire Bridge Road, andMaiden Trail parallelsPonce de Leon Avenue inVirginia-Highland.[citation needed]
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