I walked the Atlanta Beltline.
And lived to tell about it.
It wasn't a safety issue (although I was almost run over by a 4-year-old at the Beltline skate park one day).
It was more like an endurance challenge. I'm geographically challenged. Throw in the fact that the Beltline's still a work in progress, and my goal of really getting to know its four current "trails" took some research and walking. A lot of walking, as I occasionally got lost or forgot where, exactly, I'd hopped on a trail. And I made numerous return visits to get answers to the things everyone wants to know about using the Beltline, but is afraid to ask.
Where can you park? Find eats? Go to the bathroom (officially and unofficially)?
Though it eventually will comprise 33 miles of connecting multiuse trails, the Beltline currently has four very distinct trails, where you can run, walk, bike, sit and read on a bench, enjoy art alfresco, even shop or dine at businesses that sit right alongside.
So, get going! But first, check out our insider’s guide to doing the Beltline right.
TALE OF THE TRAILS
Four trails totaling some 7 miles are now open. All feature at least one continuous mile of wide (12 to 14 feet), paved path of secure, scenic footing, where no cars or motorized vehicles are allowed (wheelchairs are OK).
Each feels as unique as its setting.
Connecting three parks in the Piedmont Hospital area, the Northside Trail is a winding walk through nature, with footbridges, historical markers devoted to the Battle of Peachtree Creek — and Bobby Jones Golf Course at one end.
The West End Trail is a fascinating stroll through the historic African-American residential and business area — with Westview Cemetery, where Asa Candler, Joel Chandler Harris and Robert Woodruff all lie, at one end.
Phase 1 of the Southwest Connector Trail nestles in remarkably peaceful old forest about a mile from bustling Cascade Road, seamlessly joining the PATH Foundation’s Lionel Hampton Trail.
The Eastside Trail is as colorful and action-packed as the neighborhoods it passes through — Virginia-Highland, Midtown, Old Fourth Ward and Inman Park — with bocce courts, big-name eateries and a bike rental shop mere steps away.
Another 4 miles of “interim hiking” trails further extend Eastside and West End (that one’s dubbed the Westside Trail). They’ll eventually be paved, but now are dirt paths with occasional rough terrain — tougher going, but less crowded. There’s no additional lighting and limited access points, and they can feel deserted at times, so use at your own risk.
ALL ACCESS
Ultimately, the Beltline will be a continuous loop, but it technically starts at the “Mile 0” marker on the West End Trail behind Brown Middle School on Peeples Street. Beltline newbies might want to start trails at either end to get acclimated. The completed Eastside portion runs between Irwin Street and Monroe Drive (across from Piedmont Park); the West End Trail between Westview Cemetery and Rose Circle Park; the Northside Trail between Ardmore Park and Bobby Jones Golf Course; and the Southwest Connector Trail between Westwood Avenue and the Lionel Hampton Trail.
Trail maps can be found on beltline.org and in holders along trails (they run out quickly). Not every street appears on these maps, so you're better off using them to get an overall sense of the route and looking up more specific directions elsewhere.
An even better idea: Go to beltline.org’s Interactive Map and click “Access Points” to find where you can officially jump on three trails (the Southwest Connector spur still needs to be added). There are directions complete with street names and landmarks, and some even link to videos.
Most access points have signs laying out the do's and don'ts of being on the Beltline. You'll also notice lots of unofficial access points — freshly worn footpaths courtesy of folks apparently all deciding this is yet another good place to get on and off trails.
“Whenever people don’t use an official access point, they’re proceeding at their own risk,” Atlanta Beltline Inc. communications director Ethan Davidson said. “At the same time, it gives us a good idea where people want to go.”
Case in point: Currently there’s no access point for the Eastside Trail from Greenwood Avenue to Angier Springs Road, a lengthy stretch over Ponce de Leon and North avenues. So many people have worn a footpath up from the Ponce Kroger’s parking lot that the store will build a ramp there that “follows our typology and maintains the standards of the Beltline,” said Davidson, hinting other businesses may soon follow suit.
The terrific interactive map isn’t limited to access points; you can also use it to pinpoint neighborhoods, completed parks, “Art on the Beltline” installations, master plans, photos and more.
And coming a little later this year: a Beltline app.
“We’re trying to build off the interactive map,” ABI’s Jenny Odom said about the app, which will be available on iPhone and Android devices.
PARK IT, PART ONE
About 1,300 acres of parks are to be included in the Beltline; so far, six parks have been built from scratch or significantly expanded or improved.
Gordon White Park, a former empty lot near Ralph David Abernathy Boulevard on the West End Trail, is the first official Beltline park, while hands down the hippest is Historic Fourth Ward Skate Park on the Eastside Trail (skateboard god Tony Hawk donated funds to help build it). It’s really for skateboarding. You can’t ride bikes on its bowls and ramps. It’s not the same thing as Historic Fourth Ward Park, a sprawling expanse of lawns, a lake, playgrounds and an amphitheater that opened in 2011 below the Beltline near North Avenue and Ralph McGill Boulevard.
Right now, there’s no direct way to get from it up to the Eastside Trail — but that’s about to change. Construction’s begun on a connecting ramp that should be finished this summer, Davidson said.
“The Beltline is about 35 feet higher than the park, so it will be a big curve that drops you off at Dallas Street,” said Davidson, adding it will be ADA-accessible. “I think it will be popular with everyone with wheels.”
Boulevard Crossing and D.H. Stanton in southeast Atlanta are two other Beltline parks already open in areas where future trails will go. (The sixth park, Perkerson, is in the Capitol View neighborhood just south of where the Westside interim trail ends.)
On the Eastside Trail, both the skate park and Historic Fourth Ward Park have clean, well-lighted public restrooms (to be safe, bring your own form of toilet paper), and there are bathrooms in Piedmont Park, which the interim trail runs along, and in Stanton.
“The (trail) corridor itself is such precious real estate we don’t anticipate building bathroom structures on there,” Davidson said. “Most facilities that do get built will be in parks.”
PARK IT, PART TWO
There’s no official Beltline parking, but there are plenty of options. The parking deck at Piedmont Park is a short walk to the Eastside interim hiking trail, and there are smaller pay lots behind the Park Tavern and on Krog Street at either end of the paved trail. (There’s a limited number of free spaces at the skate park.)
On-street parking exists near all the trails. It’s free, but may be a tougher find on nice weekend days.
You can park on Ardmore Road at one end of the Northside Trail (but not in the private lot on Goodson Lane, another nearby access point) and on neighborhood streets by Colonial Hills Drive and Bobby Jones Golf Course at the other end (check for "no parking" signs). There's also a small lot at the entrance to Tanyard Creek Park.
The West End Trail runs through neighborhoods along White Street where you pretty much have your pick of where to park and hop on. (You can also park near the interim hiking trail’s start on Lena Street.)
The Southwest Connector Trail has at least three access points in quiet residential neighborhoods that offer ample street parking: Westwood Avenue, Bollingbrook Drive near Beecher Hills Elementary School and Flamingo Road (where the Lionel Hampton Trail begins, about a three-minute walk from the Beltline).
There's already a lot of free commercial parking near the Beltline. While I'm not officially encouraging anyone to take advantage of it, I am saying I parked my car in the CitiCenter lot, where Ralph David Abernathy and Cascade meet, and spent several hours exploring the West End Trail in either direction. Peachtree Road with its many shopping plazas is a long couple of blocks from either end of the Northside Trail, and the Eastside Trail offers similar options in the Ponce de Leon/North Avenue and Inman Park business districts.
You can salve your guilty conscience by shopping at these places and using their bathrooms, as I did at the CitiCenter Kroger and nearby Popeye's. That's easiest to do right now on the Eastside Trail, where restaurants (Parish, Two Urban Licks, Kevin Rathbun Steak) and stores (Paris on Ponce) have rear entrances right alongside the Beltline. Otherwise, you'll have to tote your own eats or hop off the trails because selling food's not allowed on the Beltline itself.
“You will never see a hot dog cart on the Beltline,” Davidson said.
WHAT WOULD MISS MANNERS DO?
A charm offensive’s coming to the Beltline this month — a “fun” etiquette campaign will reinforce the official rules already posted at access points and along trails.
Such as: Pedestrians always have the right of way. Keep right and pass on the left and travel at “safe speeds” on bikes. Pick up after your pets and keep them on a short leash. No alcohol, drugs or glass bottles.
Unofficial suggestions, from the cops who patrol the Beltline and nearby parks full time:
“If it’s a crowded Sunday, don’t stand there and talk in the middle of the trail and create a traffic jam,” said Lt. Jeff Baxter, head of the Atlanta Police Department’s Path Force Unit. “Step off to the side to have your conversation or reunion.”
“Don’t walk three or four (people) wide,” added Sgt. Corey Andry, “or leave children unattended.”
To take care of yourself on the Beltline, the Path Force suggests: Carry a charged cellphone, water or other hydrating drink. Wear comfortable shoes, remain alert and call 911 to report problems or request help.
And make sure you can go home again.
“People should really make sure they know where they come on the Beltline,” Baxter grinned. “Like at the mall, maybe write down where you left your car.”
