CRNRA - Island Ford Unit
Managed by National Park Service
348 acres6.5 mi of trail
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lotWebsite ↗
Photo: Maksim Sundukov · CC BY-SA 3.0BOutdoors
Outdoors in Sandy Springs
Sandy Springs has 38 miles of mapped trails, 1.0 for every square mile of land
The biggest trail networks: CRNRA - Island Ford Unit (6.5 mi), CRNRA - Palisades Unit (5.3 mi), CRNRA - Powers Island Unit (1.6 mi). 4% of Sandy Springs’ land is conserved, about 998 acres. 54% of residents live within a half mile of a park.
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns · #51 of 264 in Georgia. What drives it
Conserved land
4%
998 acres · of 37.7 sq mi of land
Trails
38 mi
1.0 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,109 ac
10 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
54%
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
21 mi
17 mi lanes · 1.2 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
6
1 beach · 3 boat launches
What kind of outdoors town is Sandy Springs?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Sandy Springs have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Sandy Springs is ahead of 60% of U.S. towns, #51 of 264 in Georgia. Trail miles hold the grade up; the share of residents near a park pulls it down.
B
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Sandy Springs’ overall grade.
Conserved land4% of the land · typical GA town 2% · U.S. 4%BTrails1.0 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (38 mi) · GA 0.2 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land10 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,109 acres) · GA 9 · U.S. 13B−Parks close to home54% of residents within a half mile of a park · GA 56% · U.S. 72%C+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 60%
LessMore
Georgia towns of 2,500+ (264)Ahead of 81%
Among the 400 U.S. cities of 100,000 or more, Sandy Springs ranks #322 on Outdoors.
Few Georgia towns conserve much land (a typical one, 2%; the U.S., 4%), so Sandy Springs’ 4% is ahead of 75% 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 B− to B+. 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 CRNRA - Island Ford Unit, with 6.5 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
CRNRA - Palisades Unit
Managed by National Park Service
352 acres5.3 mi of trail
East Palisades
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto the parking lot
CRNRA - Powers Island Unit
Managed by National Park Service
95 acres1.6 mi of trail
Dogs usually limited
Directionsto Cochran Shoals Unit - Powers Island Parking Lot
CRNRA - Holcomb Bridge Unit
Managed by National Park Service
35 acres0.6 mi of trail
Dogs usually limited
No trailhead mapped yet
All 15 parks & preserves
CRNRA - Island Ford Unit348 acres · 6.5 mi of trail · National Park Service
DirectionsCRNRA - Palisades Unit352 acres · 5.3 mi of trail · National Park Service
DirectionsCRNRA - Powers Island Unit95 acres · 1.6 mi of trail · National Park Service
DirectionsCRNRA - Holcomb Bridge Unit35 acres · 0.6 mi of trail · National Park Service
Croocked Creek Park9 acres · 0.3 mi of trail
DirectionsHammond Park8 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
DirectionsTibby Dejulio Park4 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · City of Sandy Springs
DirectionsCity Green at City Springs2 acres · 0.2 mi of trail
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area446 acres · National Park Service
Lost Corner Preserve24 acres
DirectionsAbernathy Greenway6 acres
DirectionsAbernathy Park4 acres
Allen Road Park4 acres
DirectionsMarsh Creek Rain Garden Park2 acres
Veterans Park1 acres
Who protects it
998 conserved acres
4% of Sandy Springs’ land. Who manages Sandy Springs’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
National Park Service772 ac
County120 ac
Town or city85 ac
State natural resources22 ac
Land trusts & nonprofits10 ac
National Recreation Area · 760 acLocal Park · 138 acLocal Recreation Area · 63 acUnknown Easement · 21 acRecreation or Education Easement · 12 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. 22 acres are conservation easements, usually private land. Public access isn’t recorded for 1 of 19 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area National Recreation Area | National Park Service | 760 | Open |
| Morgan Falls Overlook Park Local Park | Town or city | 34 | Open |
| Unknown Park Local Recreation Area | County | 31 | Open |
| North Fulton Tennis Center Local Recreation Area | County | 28 | Open |
| Riverside Park Local Park | County | 24 | Open |
| Lost Corner Preserve Local Park | Town or city | 22 | Open |
| Abarnathy Greenway Local Park | Town or city | 18 | Open |
| Hammond Park Local Park | County | 12 | Open |
| Ridgeview Park Local Park | County | 12 | Open |
| Big Trees Nature Preserve State Conservation Area | State natural resources | 11 | Open |
5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.
Things to do
16 places to go in Sandy Springs
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Beaches in Sandy Springs
Aarlington Beach
DirectionsPlaygrounds in Sandy Springs
Abernathy GreenwayIn Abernathy Greenway
DirectionsHammond Park Playgroung
DirectionsPlus 5 playgrounds without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Dog parks in Sandy Springs
Bark Park
DirectionsPlus 1 dog park without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Boat launches in Sandy Springs
Morgan Falls Public Boat Ramp
DirectionsPlus 2 boat launches without a name on the map.
Waterfalls in Sandy Springs
1 waterfall without a name on the map.
Scenic views in Sandy Springs
1 scenic view without a name on the map.
Community gardens in Sandy Springs
1 community garden without a name on the map.
Trails & water
7 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers
Named trails
Unpaved · 10.4 mi
East Palisades4.6 mi
Backcountry Loop0.8 mi
Overlook Park Hiking Trail0.7 mi
Powers Branch0.3 mi
Big Trees Loop0.2 mi
Bluff Flats Trail0.1 mi
Back 20 Connector0.1 mi
Biking & sports
21 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
17 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
1.2 mi
off-road bike paths
2.8 mi
shoulders & shared lanes
Courts & fields
196Tennis
20Baseball
18Soccer
10Basketball
9Pickleball
6Equestrian
3Football
2Running tracks
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 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
When to get out
The best walking months in Sandy Springs: 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 | 10.3 | 9.9 |
| High (°F) | 52 | 56 | 65 | 73 | 80 | 86 | 89 | 88 | 83 | 73 | 63 | 54 |
| Rain (in) | 4.8 | 4.8 | 5.0 | 4.1 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4.9 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 4.8 |
October is the driest month (3.6 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 Sandy Springs →
Next door
Sandy Springs 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sandy Springs | 4% | 1.0 | 10 | 54% | B |
| Atlanta | 6% | 0.8 | 10 | 94% | A− |
| Roswell | 5% | 1.0 | 15 | 67% | B+ |
| Dunwoody | 2% | under 0.1 | 4 | 53% | C− |
| Peachtree Corners | 4% | 0.4 | 10 | 42% | B− |
| Brookhaven | 4% | 0.9 | 6 | 90% | B+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Sandy Springs
Where can I hike in Sandy Springs?
The longest trail networks: CRNRA - Island Ford Unit, 6.5 miles; CRNRA - Palisades Unit, 5.3 miles; CRNRA - Powers Island Unit, 1.6 miles; CRNRA - Holcomb Bridge Unit, 0.6 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Sandy Springs 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 Sandy Springs’ trails?
CRNRA - Island Ford Unit and CRNRA - Palisades Unit don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Sandy Springs?
21 miles of bike routes are on the map: 17 of painted or protected lanes, 1.2 of off-road paths and 2.8 of shoulders and shared lanes.
Is there public land near Sandy Springs?
16,017 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Sandy Springs or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,109 of them inside the city line.
How much outdoors does Sandy Springs have?
Ahead of 60% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #51 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 Sandy Springs 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 →