Running trails outside Atlanta

Suwanee Greenway might suit you.  Starts at George Pierce Park and goes about 6-7 miles (some trails, some asphalt, some concrete and some wood decking)  nice run through the woods.  If you add some of the area in GP Park you can actually get over 10  miles without repeating much of anything.  Some restrooms and water are available.

It is accessed off exit 111 of I-85 (between Discover Mills and Mall of Ga.)

Steve

Northeast metro area there is Ft Yargo state park in Winder has a good 18 miles of trails. There is a half marathon there in Feb or March. I like to do what i call multi-bricks there with my son... two runners and one mountain bike,  each switch back and forth running and biking every few miles. 

 Little Mulberry park has around 7 miles of hilly trails, also Tribble Mill park has 4 - 5 miles of trails.   

Of course, there's always Stone Mountain.  The Cherokee Trail there is about 6 miles.

 (I think I need to check out Ft. Yargo though.  I'm getting bored with Stone Mountain.)

Sope Creek trails off Paper mill. If you are in Atlanta this might be the closest for you since you would hop off 285 to Riverside to JohnsonFerry. You can park at Columns and hit the trails off the river loop. Or you can drive around and park in the lot off Paper mill. A lot of mountain bikers use the trails so you do have to watch out for them. Running out the main trail and around the loop at the river I get about 7 miles. There are other off shot little trails that will loop back so you can add on mileage.

Parking is $3

To get to this trail from the river loop do you take the first dirt trail to the right coming from Columns Dr parking lot and head up the hill?

I have heard folks talk about another trail that goes to Paper Mill but didn't know where you accessed from the river loop.

Thanks

Steve

If you like beer and running in the woods, try Hashing. www.atlantahash.com. I wish I lived closer to Atlanta because most of their hashes are pretty far for me.

I vote for Fort Yargo too. I was going to mention it before but it's pretty far from Atlanta. But if you need a long trail run, it definitely an awesome place to run. If you follow the outer loop of the mountain bike trails, it's about a 12 mile loop. (I ride there all the time and used to run there too) The trails are fairly non-techinical, singletrack that is almost all in the woods. But watch out for mountain bikers on the weekends, it gets pretty crowded if the weather is nice.  

Check out Blankets Creek in Woodstock.  Takes about 25 -30 minutes to get there from Midtown.  Some of the best intown mountain biking and great place for a trail run.  total of 15 -18 miles of trails.  May have to dodge a few mountain bikers, though. 

Big Creek in Roswell is mtb trails that can also be used for trail runs.  Its connected to the Big Creek Greenway which is a couple miles of paved trail, and I think the Big Creek Greenway is now connected to the Alpharetta Greenway - or will be soon.

I want to put in a plug for Douglasville's Boundary Waters Aquatic Center Park.  There is a 5 mile trail loop and a 3 mile loop you can combine.  In addition, its all located at the Aquatic Center where you can do a swim in the competition length pool.  The center is perfect for bricks since you can A) run the trails B) swim and run or C) bike to the silk sheets area, run the trails and swim all at once.  Cost of using the facility is $4 bucks...Personally I thinks its mecca for triathletes...How to get there?  Its about 23 minutes from atlanta...

Yes, I think. That sounds right. There should be a sign of some sort there, maybe a number or a sign with a bike on it, I can't remember. I usually access it from Paper Mill but seems like there is a marker of some sort. There are many trails back there that criss cross but all pretty much lead back to the one they call "main street" which runs between paper mill and the river trail. I think it would be impossible to get lost.