Mason Mill Park
Park
106 acres5.5 mi of trail
Ira B Melton Southwest11 switchbacks11 Switchbacks to Privet UndergroundWatershed Loop+1
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Decatur Waterworks · Photo: Aurelius787 · Public domainA−Outdoors
Outdoors in North Decatur
North Decatur has 9.5 miles of mapped trails, 1.9 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: Mason Mill Park (5.5 mi), Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve (1.5 mi), Medlock Park (0.7 mi). 87% of residents live within a half mile of a park. 4% of North Decatur’s land is conserved, about 136 acres.
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns · #19 of 264 in Georgia. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
136 acres · of 4.9 sq mi of land
Trails
9.5 mi
1.9 per sq mi of land
Park land
207 ac
11 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
87%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
1.9 mi
1.9 mi paths
Highest peak
984 ft
Druid Hill
Lakes & rivers
3
What kind of outdoors town is North Decatur?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does North Decatur have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Decatur is ahead of 78% of U.S. towns, #19 of 264 in Georgia. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
A−
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of North Decatur’s overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical GA town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.9 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (10 mi) · GA 0.2 · U.S. 0.4APark land11 acres of park per 1,000 residents (207 acres) · GA 9 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home87% of residents within a half mile of a park · GA 56% · U.S. 72%B+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 78%
LessMore
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (264)Ahead of 93%
Few Georgia towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so North Decatur’s 4% is ahead of 76% of Georgia towns, while its trails per square mile lead 97% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A−. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Mason Mill Park, with 5.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve
Nature preserve
28 acres1.5 mi of trail
Sheep Ridge Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Medlock Park
Park
25 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Shamrock Forest
Park
14 acres0.7 mi of trail
Dogs on leash
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
Mason Mill Park106 acres · 5.5 mi of trail
DirectionsClyde Shepherd Nature Preserve28 acres · 1.5 mi of trail
DirectionsMedlock Park25 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
Shamrock Forest14 acres · 0.7 mi of trail
Leafmore Park4 acres
Who protects it
136 conserved acres
4% of North Decatur’s land. Who manages North Decatur’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County136 ac
Local Park · 91 acLocal Recreation Area · 26 acLocal Other or Unknown · 20 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mason Mill Park Local Park | County | 90 | Open |
| Medlock Park Local Recreation Area | County | 25 | Open |
| Mason Mill Park-Melton Local Other or Unknown | County | 20 | Unknown |
| South Fork Peachtree Creek Trail Local Recreation Area | County | 1 | Open |
| Greenspace Program Acquisition Local Recreation Area | County | 1 | Open |
Things to do
14 places to go in North Decatur
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Public pools in North Decatur
Medlock PoolIn Medlock Park
DirectionsPlaygrounds in North Decatur
8 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in North Decatur
1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in North Decatur
2 scenic views without a name on the map.
Peaks in North Decatur
Druid Hill984 ft elevation
DirectionsCommunity gardens in North Decatur
North DeKalb Community Garden
DirectionsTrails & water
11 named trails and 3 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 5.0 mi
Ira B Melton Southwest0.5 mi
11 switchbacks0.5 mi
11 Switchbacks to Privet Underground0.5 mi
Watershed Loop0.4 mi
Privet Underground0.4 mi
Mason Mill Central0.3 mi
Three Creeks Trail0.3 mi
Woodland Cove Loop0.3 mi
Sheep Ridge Trail0.1 mi
Toco Hill Library StoryWalk0.1 mi
1 more trails
Native Plant Habitat Trail
0.1 miLakes & rivers tap for directions
Biking & sports
1.9 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
1.9 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
21Tennis
9Baseball
6Pickleball
1Soccer
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →2 places on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 6 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in North Decatur: April to June
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 10.1 | 10.9 | 11.9 | 13.0 | 13.9 | 14.4 | 14.2 | 13.4 | 12.3 | 11.3 | 10.4 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 53 | 57 | 65 | 73 | 80 | 86 | 89 | 88 | 83 | 73 | 63 | 55 |
| Rain (in) | 4.9 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.6 | 5.0 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 3.5 | 4.1 | 4.7 |
October is the driest month (3.5 in) and July the warmest (highs of 89 °F). 5.0 inches fall in March, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in North Decatur →
Next door
North Decatur and its neighbors
North Decatur has the second most mapped trails of the 5 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| North Decatur | 4% | 1.9 | 11 | 87% | A− |
| Decatur | 6% | 2.3 | 8 | 99%+ | A− |
| Scottdale | 3% | 0.1 | 7 | 88% | C+ |
| North Druid Hills | 3% | 1.0 | 3 | 91% | B |
| Druid Hills | 8% | 1.4 | 20 | 99% | A |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in North Decatur
Where can I hike in North Decatur?
The longest trail networks: Mason Mill Park, 5.5 miles; Clyde Shepherd Nature Preserve, 1.5 miles; Medlock Park, 0.7 miles; Shamrock Forest, 0.7 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of North Decatur is conserved land?
4% of its land, against a typical 2% for a Georgia town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on North Decatur’s trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at Shamrock Forest (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in North Decatur?
1.9 miles of bike routes are on the map: 1.9 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near North Decatur?
13,136 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Decatur or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 207 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does North Decatur have?
Ahead of 78% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #19 of 264 in Georgia. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from North Decatur neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →