• Sandy Beaches
• A Suspension Bridge
• Wooded Trails

— All on one hike in the heart of Atlanta.

With its 34 acres of land, Morningside Nature Preserve is a quick getaway from the city, without leaving it. It is perfect for families with children, older adults and dogs. The new wooden, suspension bridge crossing South Fork Peachtree Creek is a favorite for photographers while the sandy beaches of South Fork Peachtree Creek (a tributary of Peachtree Creek) are popular with dogs.

Arriving at the parking lot located next to a power plant substation, I wanted to leave. The trail looked dismal as it led under the power lines up a big hill. Thankfully, we didn’t turn back.

The scenery gets much better about a quarter-mile later when the trail leaves the power lines and descends 40-50 steps. Since our dog didn’t like the metal grating on the steps, we took him along the dirt hill path next to the stairs. At the bottom, the meadow with tall grass and dirt path made me forget the power substation.

We followed the dog walkers in front of us as they veered to the right on a side path. We came to the banks of South Fork Peachtree Creek. After letting the dog splash in the shallow water for a while, we went back to the main path, which led through the preserve to a newly built, wooden suspension bridge.

Crossing the bridge to the western side, trail options abounded with a medley of interconnected loops. We observed the mixture of hardwoods and pine trees while listening to the birds. I kept reminding myself we were in the heart of Atlanta – not a suburb.

As the path meandered, it had a few climbs and descents which were enough to keep it interesting. We met hikers of all ages along the way. At one split, we could take the path leading to the Wellborn Street entrance or another that hugged the creek. We chose the latter and soon ended back at the suspension bridge. After retracing our steps, the total we hiked was 2. 2 miles.

Parking is free and located at 2020 Lenox Road. For more information, click here.