Originally published on SaportaReport.
By Hannah E. Jones, Park Pride’s Marketing & Communications Manager
Welcome to Park Pride’s Park Picks: 2025 Spring & Summer Edition! With the weather getting warmer and the days getting longer, this is a great time to head outside and enjoy all that our local parks have to offer! The City of Atlanta and DeKalb County are home to hundreds of incredible, high-quality parks and greenspaces that provide places to enjoy the outdoors, exercise, hang out with friends and family, walk your dog, get some respite from the bustle of the city and so much more – Let’s soak it up!
Park Pride’s team of staff and Board of Directors has curated a list of parks to check out this spring and summer. Continue reading for Park Pride’s 2025 Park Picks!
Brownwood Park: Hannah Jones’ Pick (Marketing & Communications Manager)
This neighborhood park is small but mighty! It features walking trails, tennis and pickleball courts, basketball courts, a community garden, a new playground and the East Atlanta Kids Club. Notably, the southern half of this park is a wooded paradise! It features several short trails that wind through a densely forested section and alongside Intrenchment Creek. With an area so green and the trees so big, you would never guess that you’re nestled right behind East Atlanta Village. In 2024, Park Pride awarded a grant to the Friends group to help build a new pavilion in the park and the project is currently underway.
Tip: During your visit, consider walking over to the nearby East Atlanta Village Farmers Market! The Market is open every Thursday from 4 to 8 p.m., rain or shine, from March through November.
Cascade Springs Nature Preserve: Jeff Ellman’s Pick (Board Member)
Cascade Springs Nature Preserve is a 135-acre forested haven in Southwest Atlanta, featuring hiking trails, streams and a great view of a waterfall. It’s a great place to get in nature without having to leave the city. Plus, parking is easy, and the trail is well maintained! The Cascade Springs Nature Conservancy originally began as a Friends of the Park group with Park Pride before establishing itself as a Conservancy, and the partnership has continued since.
Tip: Keep your eye out for remnants of an old stone spring house and Civil War earthworks.
Chastain Park: Suzanne Sackleh’s Pick (Board Member)
Chastain Park is Atlanta’s third-largest park, with an abundance of recreational offerings throughout the 268-acre park. The park is home to walking trails, playgrounds, tennis courts, soccer and baseball fields, a pool, the Chastain Horse Park, the Chastain Arts Center and an outdoor amphitheater hosting up to 45 concerts a year. The Chastain Park Conservancy was originally a Friends of the Park group with Park Pride.
Tip: Check out the new nature trail called the Northwoods Trail, featuring stonework from the 1930s and connecting various pockets of the park! This project was supported in part by a Park Pride grant.
Constitution Lakes Park AND Murphey Candler Park: Lauren King Lambert’s Picks (DeKalb County Community Services Associate)
With Constitution Lakes Park covering 200 acres and Murphey Candler Park spanning 135 acres, these parks have plenty to explore! Both parks have gorgeous new boardwalks overlooking scenic ponds and wetlands and are rich with wildlife. These parks are perfect for bird watching, and you can often spot turtles and evidence of beavers and other wildlife too. In 2020, the Friends of Murphey Candler Park received funding from Park Pride to plant over 100 native trees.
Tip: Go in the early morning or late afternoon to get the best chance at wildlife sightings.
Grant Park: Eden Godbee’s Pick (Board Member)
Grant Park is the perfect intersection of city life and the City in the Forest. The new Grant Park Gateway has become a central meeting point for many in the community – from yoga classes and roller skating, to stargazing and picnics – it’s truly where Southeast Atlanta comes together! Most of the park is ADA-accessible, making it easy for all generations to navigate. Grant Park’s new Loomis Plaza, which revamped the entrance by Sydney Street and Loomis Avenue, was funded in part by a Park Pride grant.
Tip: In need of a pool this summer? Check out the Grant Park Pool! Also, every Labor Day weekend, there’s a huge house music party called “House in the Park,” which is a great event for all ages.
Lake Charlotte Nature Preserve: Avery Evans’ Pick (Grantmaking Associate)
Lake Charlotte Nature Preserve is a hidden gem of the Southside! While Constitution Lakes gets a lot of much-deserved love, across Moreland, folks can discover the vast beauty that is Lake Charlotte. You can meander along the wide gravel trails or begin to explore the new dirt offshoot trails. In particular, the Chimney Trail offers some fun photo spots. There are also many, many birds, so bring your binoculars! Since 2020, 80% of the acreage acquired as City of Atlanta parkland has been forested or part of a nature preserve – with Lake Charlotte among that list. Park Pride and partners successfully advocated for an expanded natural areas team at the Department of Parks and Recreation, led by a Director of Natural Resources who was brought on earlier this year.
Tip: Currently, there’s street parking only. Be prepared to stay longer than you expected!
Lang-Carson Park: Ariane DeLong’s Pick (Chief Development & Marketing Officer)
Lang-Carson Park is a great community park that is always filled with kids playing on the playground, basketball and pickleball games, skateboarders and folks picnicking! In 2019, the Friends group worked with Park Pride to create a Vision Plan for the park. Since then, the Friends group has received several Park Pride grants to help bring this plan to fruition including, most recently, a new playground. If you have kids, this is the place to play!
Tip: The park is just a hop and a skip from the Eastside Beltline! Grab a snack at Breaker Breaker or visit the Sunday Farmers Market.
Lionel Hampton Park: Eli Dickerson’s Pick (Director of Education)
Lionel Hampton Park is a (huge) hidden gem in the City of Atlanta Parks system. There are parts of this section that look like the North Georgia mountains and have giant patches of native ferns with almost no invasive plant species present! This greenspace has it all – solitude, big trees, plant diversity and singletrack biking trails! The Friends of Lionel Hampton completed a Vision Plan with Park Pride in 2006, and, since then, the park has hosted several Park Pride events, including a Second Friday Walk in the Park and a Love Your Park volunteer day.
Tip: Be sure to explore the singletrack biking trails west of the PATH that bisect the park and north of Utoy Creek.
Morningside Nature Preserve: Susan Stainback’s Pick (Board Member)
Morningside Nature Preserve is a 75-acre natural oasis nestled in Midtown! It features a one-mile walking loop that winds through the Preserve across the South Fork of Peachtree Creek. The forest is home to a plethora of wildlife, including deer, beavers, turtles and many birds. The Preserve was the host of one of Park Pride’s Love Your Park volunteer days in February. This spot is especially popular among dog owners, so consider bringing your furry friend!
Tip: Be sure to check out the tall swinging bridge!
Mozley Park: Mironda Williams’ Pick (Board Member)
Mozley Park is a 28-acre park featuring a playground, swimming pool, tennis court, basketball court, pavilions and outdoor fitness equipment. This park holds a special place in Mironda’s heart, as this was her childhood park and is now her favorite park as an adult. The Friends of Mozley Park created a Vision Plan with Park Pride in 2019 and, as part of that plan, received a Park Pride grant that fully funded the opening of a new dog park in 2021 – the first on Atlanta’s Westside!
Tip: Check out the Lionel Hampton PATH Foundation Trail that winds through Mozley Park!
Phoenix Park II: Shannon Roudebush’s Pick (Sponsorship & Annual Fund Manager)
Phoenix Park II always feels alive! Whether it’s a cookout, a basketball game, a birthday party, or baseball practice, there is always something happening at Phoenix Park II. There’s a small hill that overlooks the baseball field, which offers a great view of the park during sunset. Last year, Park Pride gave a grant to the Friends group to install pickleball courts.
Tip: Watch out for game days! While Phoenix Park II has a dedicated parking lot, spots fill up quickly since there is a basketball court, tennis court, baseball diamond, and athletic field. But no need to fret – there is lots of street parking available in the surrounding neighborhoods!
W.D. Thomson Park: Nick Voravong’s Pick (Park Designer)
W.D. Thomson Park is a quiet, wooded park with nearly two miles of trails winding through old-growth forest – all within Atlanta’s perimeter! The tucked-away park also features a shaded playground, tennis courts and an open greenspace. Park Pride recently worked with the Friends group and surrounding community to complete the W.D. Thomson Vision Plan – a collaborative effort to craft a long-term vision for the park.
Tip: The park features a recently renovated playground and tennis courts.
Winn Park: Erik Brecheisen’s Pick (Board Member)
Looking for a greenspace in Midtown but want something calmer than Piedmont Park? Winn Park is the place for you! Just a few minutes from the hustle and bustle of Midtown awaits the peace and tranquility of Winn Park. The park features greenspaces, a wooded playground and a small pond. Be sure to also stop by the iris garden! The Friends group received a 2015 Park Pride grant to build a walkway from the street to the playground, making the space more accessible for visitors.
Tip: Winn Park can be either the start or end of a walk through a chain of parks, including Ansley and McClatchey Parks!
Happy exploring, Atlanta! See you in a park!