Sandy Springs residents gained nearly 2.2 miles of new hiking trails on July 1, when the National Park Service reopened the Island Ford trail system along the Chattahoochee River after a months-long restoration.
The expansion pushed the Island Ford network from 4.8 miles to nearly 7 miles, adding new routes, rehabilitated tread, bridges, and signage at the park's Sandy Springs headquarters at 1978 Island Ford Parkway.
"This isn't just patchwork; it's 2.2 miles of new trail," Superintendent K. Lynn Berry said at the July 1 ribbon-cutting. "New routes, new experiences, plus the rehabilitated trail network, the bridges, the signage."
The project cost nearly $500,000, funded through a partnership between the National Park Service and the Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy. CNPC raised more than $400,000 through individual donors, including a $200,000 matching grant from the National Park Foundation and more than 160 private donations ranging from $10 to $30,000. Island Ford is the first project in CRNRA's Comprehensive Trails Management Plan, which calls for adding 33 miles of new trails across all 15 park units.
More trail miles coming
Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul, who attended the July 1 ceremony, announced progress on the Roberts Drive multi-use side path. The city council approved a roughly $900,000 contract with AtkinsRealis to design phase one of the 12-foot-wide path, which will run from Dunwoody Place over State Route 400 to Summer Crossing and eventually connect to Island Ford Parkway.
Design work also continues on Morgan Falls Trail Segment 2C, a planned 1.6-mile extension from Morgan Falls Overlook Park through mature forest, past rock outcroppings and waterfalls, to Roswell Road. The Sandy Springs Conservancy estimates the cost at more than $14 million. City Council is expected to consider funding before the end of 2026, according to the Conservancy's June newsletter.
The Path 400 Multiuse Trail Extension will push the existing 5.1-mile path north to the GA 400/I-285 interchange. Construction on Segment 2, backed by an $18 million Atlanta Regional Commission investment, is scheduled to begin in summer 2026 and take approximately three years, according to the city.
A fitness ranking that fits
Atlanta landed No. 8 among the nation's 100 largest cities in the 2026 American Fitness Index, published Tuesday, July 14, by the American College of Sports Medicine and the Elevance Health Foundation. The index evaluates cities on 35 indicators including parkland, recreational facilities, walking and bicycling conditions, and chronic disease rates.
Sandy Springs is not individually ranked because the study covers only the 100 largest U.S. cities. But the city's 22 miles of Chattahoochee River shoreline and more than 950 acres of parks and greenspace represent the kind of infrastructure the index measures.
"If we have greater access to parks and playgrounds, where we can maybe do pull-ups outside, or greater walkability in our cities, those things will resonate," Stella Volpe, chair of the Fitness Index Advisory Board, told USA Today when the rankings were released July 14.
Getting on the water and trails
Residents can access CRNRA units including Island Ford (nearly 7 miles of trails after the July expansion), East Palisades (bluffs and miles of wooded trails just inside I-285), and Powers Island (a 2.5-mile riverbank loop). Park passes cost $5 daily or $40 annually.
The Chattahoochee National Park Conservancy's guided "Paddle the Park" series includes a Morgan Falls to Powers Island trip on Friday, July 24, and a Powers Island to Paces Mill trip on Friday, July 31. All gear is provided through the Nantahala Outdoor Center.
Upcoming events
- Friday, July 24 — Paddle the Park: Morgan Falls to Powers Island (4 miles, beginner-friendly). Gear provided.
- Friday, July 31 — Paddle the Park: Powers Island to Paces Mill (3 miles, class I-II shoals).
- Saturday, Aug. 15 — Inaugural Sandy Springs SUP Showdown at Morgan Falls Overlook Park. Six-mile paddleboard race, 7 a.m. start. Registration $75; deadline Wednesday, Aug. 12.
