60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Atlanta: Including Marietta, Lawrenceville, and Peachtree City - Softcover

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Randy and Pam Golden have shared their life-long love of hiking since they met at college in Florida. After marrying in 1977, they began hiking across the United States and into Canada. Among their favorite distant destinations are Puerto Rico's El Yunque and Australia's Dandenong Mountains. Their dogs Bessie and Sugar join them on hikes that permit pets.

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ATLANTA RAMBLE

Key At-a-Glance Information

• LENGTH: 5.4 miles
• CONFIGURATION: Loop
• DIFFICULTY: Easy
• SCENERY: Urban scenes, including high-rise buildings
• EXPOSURE: Full sun
• TRAFFIC: Heavy
• TRAIL SURFACE: Concrete sidewalks
• WHEELCHAIR ACCESS: Yes
• HIKING TIME: 5 hours
• ACCESS: Daily, year-round, 24/7 (but see Special Comments); see Description for access to specific attractions.
• MAPS: Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau; Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce; USGS Northwest Atlanta, Southwest Atlanta
• MORE INFO: 404-521-6600; atlanta.net
• FACILITIES: Restrooms, water, and other facilities plentiful throughout the hike
• SPECIAL COMMENTS: We recommend walking this route during daylight hours.
• DISTANCE: 0.4 mile from the state capitol

GPS INFORMATION

N33° 44.227' W84° 23.441'

755 Hank Aaron Dr. SE

Atlanta, GA 30315

DIRECTIONS

Take I-75/I-85 South to Exit 246/Fulton Street. At the end of the ramp, turn left on Fulton Street SW. Drive 0.3 mile and turn right on Capitol Avenue SE. Drive 0.4 mile and turn right on Georgia Avenue SE. Enter the Green lot for Turner Field, on the right.

IN BRIEF

From Turner Field, this hike visits the Georgia State Capitol, Underground Atlanta, the Georgia Dome, Philips Arena, CNN Center, Centennial Park, the Georgia Aquarium, and the World of Coca-Cola.

DESCRIPTION

This hike begins in the parking lot opposite Turner Field, at the site of the original Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium. From the parking lot, you have a great view of downtown Atlanta and the Olympic flame. Turner Field was built to house the Olympics and then converted to a baseball field to replace the aging Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium. A bronze statue and a plaque commemorate the most historic moment that occurred at the original structure: Henry “Hank” Aaron’s 715th home run, which he hit on April 6, 1974, breaking Babe Ruth’s long-standing record.

Turn around, cross Georgia Avenue, and enter Turner Field at the black iron gates. Purchase tickets for the stadium tour at tinyurl.com/bravestours or at the box office, and view the Braves Museum and Hall of Fame before the tour. In addition to a World Series trophy, the museum has a railroad car that the Braves used in the 1950s and a display on the various fields in which the Braves have played. The tour visits the Braves dugout and bull pen before taking you to the ball field and then into the locker room. Off-season hours are Monday–Saturday, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Beginning April 1, tours take place Monday– Saturday, 9 a.m.–3 p.m. and Sunday, 1–3 p.m. Tours are not available on days when the Braves have an afternoon home game. Tours start on the hour, last about an hour, and are not offered on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Thanksgiving Day, or December 23–January 1.

When exiting Turner Field, turn right on Georgia Avenue SE and then turn left on Hank Aaron Drive SE, crossing under the Olympic rings and passing the flame on your left. At 0.9 mile, the Georgia State Capitol (206 Washington St. SW; 404-656-2846; libs.uga.edu/capitolmuseum) is on the left. Open Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. (closed state holidays), the building houses a large number of displays about the cultural and natural history of Georgia, including the state’s role in the civil-rights movement. On the grounds are statues of well-known Georgia politicians, including Jimmy Carter, Richard B. Russell, and John B. Gordon, among others. After looping around the grounds, return to Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW, cross the street, and turn left. At the corner of MLK and Washington Street SW, note the statue honoring the working dogs whose heroism saved many lives during the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. After crossing Central Avenue SW, you’ll see the old World of Coca-Cola building on the right, marking the start of Underground Atlanta.

As you leave the area, look across an open area for a mural of whales. Below that is the 1869 Georgia Railroad Freight Depot, now an upscale event facility. When this depot was completed, it was the tallest building in Atlanta, but a 1935 fire destroyed the second floor. Turn left just before the depot to enter Underground Atlanta.

A potpourri of shops, restaurants, and nightclubs, the three-level Underground Atlanta (404-523-2311; underground-atlanta.com) is a vast subterranean city within a city. Directly in front of you are an information kiosk and many restaurants. Underground was created at the start of the 20th century, by which time the population of Atlanta had soared to 200,000 people. Crossing the tracks through downtown had become a major traffic snarl, so the government added an iron bridge to speed up traffic. In 1929 the iron bridge was converted to a concrete viaduct, and businesses moved their storefronts to the second story of the buildings.

At the end of the food court, turn left and take the escalator to Kenny’s Alley. Turn left again and stroll down Upper Alabama Street SW to Peachtree Street SW, just south of Five Points. Turn left on Peachtree and then right on MLK Drive, and walk 0.4 mile to Centennial Olympic Park Drive NW. Directly in front of you is the white-roofed, red-sided Georgia Dome, home of the Atlanta Falcons (1 Georgia Dome Dr. NW; 404-223-9200; gadome.com). Turn right on Centennial Olympic Park Drive and continue past the MARTA station until you’re standing directly in front of Philips Arena (1 Philips Dr.; 404-878-3000; philipsarena.com). Home to the NBA Atlanta Hawks and the WNBA Atlanta Dream, Philips is also a popular concert venue. Note the word a t l a n t a spelled in white letters in the front of the building. Turn around and walk back to the first road on the right, and turn right.

At the end of this road is one of the three massive buildings that comprise the Georgia World Congress Center (285 Andrew Young International Blvd. NW; 404-223-4000; gwcc.com). Built on the site of Atlanta’s old railroad roundhouse, which was burned during the Civil War, the Congress Center is home to hundreds of industry shows a year. This area was heavily damaged in a 2008 tornado. Turn right and continue down Andrew Young International Boulevard NW, passing CNN Center on your right and the Omni Hotel and the Atlanta Chamber of Commerce on your left.

You’re now in the center of Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park (265 Park Ave. West NW; 404-222-7275; centennialpark.com). Designed by EDAW and built by Beers Construction and H. J. Russell & Company, the park features the Fountain of Rings, the Great Lawn, Water Gardens, and five unique “quilt plazas” telling the story of the Atlanta Olympics; the Quilt of Remembrance commemorates the 2 people who died and the 118 who were injured when the park was bombed during the 1996 Summer Games. After viewing the Fountain of Rings on the right, turn left and walk to the reflecting pool. With the pool on your immediate left, you’ll see a trail almost directly in front of you. This leads to the Water Gardens, our favorite part of the park. Follow the path 0.1 mile to reach the Georgia Agricultural Plaza on Baker Street NW. The Georgia Aquarium, the world’s largest, opened in November 2005 (225 Baker St. NW; hours and ticket info: 404-581-4000 or georgiaaquarium.org). Within the aquarium are nine areas: Cold Water Quest, Georgia Explorer, Ocean Voyager, River Scout, Tropical Diver, Dolphin Tales, Frogs―A Chorus of Colors, the 4D Theater, and Marineland. The World of Coca-Cola, next to the aquarium, is a multimedia presentation designed to both educate and fascinate (121 Baker St. NW; hours and ticket info: 800-676-2653 or 404-676-5151; worldofcoca-cola.com). Exhibiting early print ads, modern TV commercials, and everything in between, the displays take you through the development of Coca-Cola’s image and...