W.D. Thomson Park
Managed by DeKalb County
31 acres1.8 mi of trail
Eastside PathWestside PathCreekside PathCentral Ridge Path+1
Dogs on leash
Directionsto the parking lot
BOutdoors
Outdoors in North Druid Hills
North Druid Hills has 56 acres of parks, 3.1 for every 1,000 residents
4.0 miles of mapped trail cross North Druid Hills, 1.0 per square mile of land. 91% of residents live within a half mile of a park. The biggest trail networks: W.D. Thomson Park (1.8 mi).
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns · #56 of 264 in Georgia. What drives it
Conserved land
3%
71 acres · of 3.9 sq mi of land
Trails
4.0 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
56 ac
3.1 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
91%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
0.7 mi
0.3 mi lanes · 0.5 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is North Druid Hills?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does North Druid Hills have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, North Druid Hills is ahead of 59% of U.S. towns, #56 of 264 in Georgia. Trail miles hold the grade up; park acres per resident pull it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of North Druid Hills’ overall grade.
Conserved land3% of the land · typical GA town 2% · U.S. 4%B−Trails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (4 mi) · GA 0.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land3.1 acres of park per 1,000 residents (56 acres) · GA 9 · U.S. 13C−Parks close to home91% of residents within a half mile of a park · GA 56% · U.S. 72%A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 59%
LessMore
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (264)Ahead of 79%
Few Georgia towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so North Druid Hills’ 3% is ahead of 60% of Georgia towns, while its trails per square mile lead 91% of them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ 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 W.D. Thomson Park, with 1.8 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Marcus Autism Park
Park
6 acres0.2 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
Lullwater Preserve
Managed by Emory University
2 acres0.1 mi of trail
Lulwater spur
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet
All 5 parks & preserves
W.D. Thomson Park31 acres · 1.8 mi of trail · DeKalb County
DirectionsMarcus Autism Park6 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Lullwater Preserve2 acres · 0.1 mi of trail · Emory University
Mason Mill Park4 acres
DirectionsHerbert Taylor/ Daniel Johnson Park2 acres
Who protects it
71 conserved acres
3% of North Druid Hills’ land. Who manages North Druid Hills’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
County67 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits49 ac
Local Park · 28 acLocal Recreation Area · 27 acUnknown Easement · 25 acPrivate Conservation · 25 acLocal Conservation Area · 12 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 2 of 6 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| W. D. Thompson Park Local Park | County | 28 | Open |
| Greenspace Program Acquisition Local Recreation Area | County | 25 | Open |
| Johns Sanctuary Private Conservation | Land trusts & nonprofits | 25 | Unknown |
| Zonolite Park Local Conservation Area | County | 12 | Closed |
| Kittredge Park Local Recreation Area | County | 3 | Open |
Things to do
2 places to go in North Druid Hills
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in North Druid Hills
2 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
7 named trails
Named trails
Unpaved · 3.0 mi
Eastside Path0.5 mi
Westside Path0.4 mi
Creekside Path0.3 mi
Central Ridge Path0.2 mi
Lulwater spur0.2 mi
Secret Valley Path0.1 mi
High Point Path0.1 mi
Biking & sports
0.7 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
0.3 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
0.5 mi
off-road bike paths
Courts & fields
14Tennis
4Baseball
1Football
1Basketball
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
When to get out
The best walking months in North Druid Hills: April and May
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 | 74 | 63 | 55 |
| Rain (in) | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.9 | 4.0 | 3.8 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 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). 4.9 inches fall in March, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 89 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in North Druid Hills →
Next door
North Druid Hills and its neighbors
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 Druid Hills | 3% | 1.0 | 3 | 91% | B |
| Atlanta | 6% | 0.8 | 10 | 94% | A− |
| Brookhaven | 4% | 0.9 | 6 | 90% | B+ |
| North Decatur | 4% | 1.9 | 11 | 87% | A− |
| 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 Druid Hills
Where can I hike in North Druid Hills?
The longest trail networks: W.D. Thomson Park, 1.8 miles; Marcus Autism Park, 0.2 miles; Lullwater Preserve, 0.1 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of North Druid Hills is conserved land?
3% 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 Druid Hills’ trails?
OpenStreetMap records dogs as welcome at W.D. Thomson Park (on leash). For the rest, check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in North Druid Hills?
0.7 miles of bike routes are on the map: 0.3 of painted or protected lanes and 0.5 of off-road paths.
Is there public land near North Druid Hills?
13,531 acres of parks and open public land lie inside North Druid Hills or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 56 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does North Druid Hills have?
Ahead of 59% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #56 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 Druid Hills 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 →