I will be travelling for work and will be in Atlanta GA this weekend. Can any locals tell me if there are some good running routes in the downtown area. I’m staying at the Sheraton which is Courtland St @ International Blvd. (downtown)
Your best bet from that hotel is to get onto the Freedom Parkway path, which can take you a good distance or rolling terrain, heading roughly NE from downtown.
I run this route in various forms several times weekly.
Another option is to head towards Peidmont Park in Midtown, but that involves mostly sidewalk/street work until you get to the park, which isn’t big enough around inside to do any real distance there.
I’d be glad to suggest routes if your’e interested. How long were you looking for?
T
PEIDMONT PARK, Buckhead. You can’t go wrong, talented local wildlife included…
As an aside I will be relocating this summer to north atlanta area. My office will be in Alpharetta and my wife will be looking for work in the medical field (either a hospital micro dept or the CDC). We don’t want ot live North of Alpharetta due to her commute likely being to the south of alpharetta. Schools aren’t a concern. Would like good tri training (pool) and biking without driving. Also, would like a bit of country/small town atmosphere if possible. Thinking about Roswell but for no real reason. Any suggestions?
Thanks,
Shawn Tyrrell
i live in the ATL. pm me if you’ve got some questions. i’d recommend clarkston for the relocation. i also work w/ CDC if your wife has questions. for running, i run a loop (8 miles or so) which takes peachtree to decatur st to memorial drive to boulevard to ponce back to peachtree. good run, don’t do it at night though. the freedom park area and piedmont park are both great places to run as well.
questions for you before anyone can really answer yours. do you have a car? how long do you have to “dick around” driving somewhere nice to run? haow far do you want to run? do you “need” softer terrain? do you want hills or really want to avoid them? what time of day/night will you be running?
If you have a rental car an the time (maybe twenty minutes from downtown) I’d suggest driving over to Stone Mountain and running in the park. Tons of people biking and running. There’s about a six or seven mile loop there that’s great. Plus it’s pretty cool to check out the giant stone. This is where I usually go when I’m in the area.
The Chattahoochoo river trails are nice as is running up Kennesaw Mountain. You’ll need a car for both, so just PM me or someone here. We might just get a big group run together.
thanks for the responses everyone. I don’t want to drive anywhere to run. I’ll run hills if there there, I want to run ~8mi each time or around 1 hr. I prefer trails but if there tough to get to I’ll run road/sidewalk whatever. All will be done in the daylight hours as my nights are reserved for the buckhead region and early morning is recovery time from that. thx
i’d nix the buckhead bit and head to the highlands, buckhead has gone downhill the last several years…
PEIDMONT PARK, Buckhead. You can’t go wrong, talented local wildlife included…
Sure…if you “swing that way”.
not saying that there is anything wrong with that…
I didn’t know that about Buckhead. I’d rather stay away from that section of town… no tthat theres anything wrong with that, just a preference… I haven’t been to Atlanta in about 4-5 yrs. It was good last time, but I’ll definitly check out the other place too… Highlands
Your best bet from that hotel is to get onto the Freedom Parkway path, which can take you a good distance or rolling terrain, heading roughly NE from downtown.
So I can run to the Freedom Parkway Path from the hotel??
Yup, give me a minute and I’ll do a step by step for you, giving you an 8 mile loop/out and back route. Takes you close to the Highlands too.
Back in a minute…
OK, here’s the step-by-step, and then I’ve tried to save this google hack map as a URL for you to check out:
From your hotel
1 - Go south on Courtland for two blocks.
2 - Turn left on John Wesley Dobbs, going downhill, under the highway (75/85) and up a short, steep hill.
3 - Turn left onto Jackson St.
4 - At the top of the hill, turn right onto the pedestian path, aka the Freedom Parkway Path, before you cross over the bridge
5 - Stay straight on the path, which will take you over Boulevard, and alongside the Freedom Parkway road. The path will do some curving, and have some off-shoot paths, but stay on the main one, and you’ll cross over Moreland Ave., and enter a park or sorts, where the path gets really snake-like.
6 - Stay on the snake-like path, and you’ll cross over a couple of small streets with 4-way stops, and then follow the path downhill onto the North end of Candler Park Golf Course.
7 - When you get to the end of the Golf Course, (100 yards) the path will turn 90degrees to the left. Take that path to the left.
8 - The path will go ~ 100 yards between woods and a big red-brick church and end at a small street (S. Ponce DeLeon Ave.) Turn right onto that small street, and follow that for 1/2 mi or so. (this is where you get off the path and onto street/sidewalks)
9 - Turn right onto Clifton Rd. Stay on Clifton through a couple of curves.
10- Turn right onto McClendon (Right at the infamous Flying Bicuit Cafe)
11- Take McClendon until you go up the last hill and hit Moreland Ave. (this is the main intersection of Little 5 Points),
12 - Turn Right onto Moreland and go down the hill. (~1/4mi)
13- At the bottom of the hill you’ll take a left at the stop light back onto the path, heading back the way you originally came.
14 - Follow the path back along Freedom Parkway until you dead end (Path ends) at Jackson Street
15 - Turn Left onto Jackon Street, going downhill. (The big church ahead on your right is the new Ebeneezer Baptist, Dr. King’s church in Atlanta)
16 - At the 2nd light (100yds) turn right onto John Wesley Dobbs. Take this down the steep hill, then up the longer hill
17 - Turn right ont Courtland, and go 2 blocks up to International Blvd and your hotel.
Just over 8 miles. Rinse, Repeat. This takes you from downtown, through a bit of PonceyHighlands, through Candler Park, through Lake Claire and back.
OK, try this url: http://tinyurl.com/b2am4
If that works, print it out and you’ll have a map to haul along.
Enjoy your run.
T