Reasons to Visit Piedmont Park This Spring

At Rick Hendrick Chevrolet of Buford, we love springtime in the Atlanta area. There’s nothing quite like putting the top down (or at least the windows) on your vehicle to let in the fresh, warm breeze as you cruise around town. Before the weather gets too hot in Atlanta, we encourage you to take advantage of the lovely springtime weather and spend some quality time outdoors. Take a break from the hustle and bustle of the city and enjoy a change of pace at a local park.

Along with our great nightlife, food, culture, and activities, there are several awe-inspiring outdoor spaces that are well worth your time around the Atlanta area. Pack a picnic, fly a kite, take a stroll, or stretch out on a blanket with a pair of sunglasses and a good book. Scheduling opportunities to get out of the daily grind and connect with the natural world can give you a fresh perspective and a renewed sense of energy.

Whether you’re looking for a fun family outing or searching for a quiet, solitary afternoon under a clear blue sky, Piedmont Park has just about everything you could possibly hope for in the great outdoors. This 185-acre park is home to several amenities that are available for the public to enjoy. Here are a few ways to take advantage of everything that this wonderful site has to offer.

Atlanta Botanical Garden

The Atlanta Botanical Garden offers a range of classes and events in their ever-changing exhibits. For 2020, Orchid Gaze runs from February 1st through April 12th. See the world-renowned orchid collection and learn more about the beautiful species being featured. Other events include tai chi, frog feeding, container gardening, and pruning classes. You can also check out the website for children’s story times and art classes. Artistic workshops for adults, including painting and photography classes, are run year-round in this serene setting as well. Take a walking tour through the garden to get a close-up view of all their current blooms.

Customize your visit from the recommendations on their website. Using the Garden Guide, you can choose from options, including a family adventure, flying solo, budding romance, floral expectations, fresh art & music, and lose yourself. Next, select when you plan to visit and see what the Botanical Garden has in store for you. The Atlanta Botanical Garden is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesdays through Sundays. Find it on 1345 Piedmont Avenue Northeast.

Piedmont Park Green Market

From March 28th through November 28th, vendors line the streets at the Green Market. Every Saturday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., you can shop for local goods, rain or shine. You’ll find an assortment of jams, baked goods, crafts, and local produce. For ideas on how to use your fresh fruits and vegetables, see recipe cards on their website. Grab prepared food for breakfast or lunch as you enjoy live music, chef demonstrations, and wellness exhibits. There’s even a kid-friendly activity center to keep the little ones busy. Atlanta is home to numerous bountiful farmer’s markets, and Green Market is one of the top five according to Access Atlanta. You don’t want to miss it. It’s located on 12th street and Piedmont Avenue Gate.

Kids and Dogs

For parents looking for fun opportunities to get children or pets out of the house, Piedmont Park is a wonderful place to visit in the springtime. Outdoor playgrounds, scavenger hunts, and structured activities are available for children of all ages. You can download worksheets on the website before you go to find coloring pages, paper crafts, iSpy, and an animal tracks guide that you can bring along to the park.

The two playgrounds at Piedmont Park are Mayor’s Grove and the Noguchi Playscape. Mayor’s Grove is an interactive playscape with sensory activities, picnic tables, accessible surfaces, swings, and bouncers. Conveniently, the bathrooms are located nearby on this “Boundless” playground. It’s also surrounded by gorgeous trees to provide shade on a hot day. The Noguchi Playscape is situated closer to the 12th Street Gate. Isamu Noguchi (a famous sculptor) designed it in 1976, and it continues to enrich the lives of families today with an artistic display of textures, colors, and shapes.

Two summer camp options are also offered at Piedmont Park. For children ages 5-10, the Enviroventures Summer Camp is a great way to engage with nature through outdoor sports and exploration, stewardship, and arts and crafts. Full-day campers also go swimming daily in the aquatics center. Older kids can stick around for a few more years with the Counselor in Training program designed for 11-13 year-olds. If your kids aren’t signed up for camp, you can also visit the Splash Pad at the aquatics center to let your little ones run around and cool off on a hot spring day.

Dogs are welcome at Piedmont Park with some stipulations. They must be leashed at all times (aside from designated, fenced-in areas). Dogs are not allowed in the lake, on the playgrounds, on the Active Oval and ball fields, or on the tennis courts. Pet owners are responsible for cleaning up after their pets.

Nonetheless, the park is overall very friendly to dog owners and offers dog-level water fountains throughout the park to help keep pets hydrated. Piedmont Park is one of the few places in Atlanta that allows dogs to roam leash-free, making it a popular spot for pet owners since 2002. Features of the dog park include three acres of off-leash running space, designated areas for large versus small dogs, shaded sections, landscaping, benches, and restrooms for owners. Stop by on the weekends to get a dog popsicle for your pet.

Fitness in Nature

Along with sightseeing and walking trails, Piedmont Park provides lots of options for adults to get active. The aquatics and pool area reopens on Memorial Day in 2020. Originally built in 1911, the Piedmont Park bathhouse has grown into a 9,000 square foot event space called the Greystone. It includes a public pool with four lap lanes, beach entry with a current channel for floating, a landscaped deck, concession stands, and locker rooms. The pool is open through Labor Day. Adult swim begins 15 minutes before every hour and lasts for 15 minutes. It’s open five days per week until 5 p.m.

With over 200 acres of green space at Piedmont Park, there’s no shortage of exercise opportunities. Love You Healthy Fitness is lead by Saidah Jones, CSCS. She offers various classes throughout the year that can be purchased at a discount if you’re a member of the Piedmont Park Conservancy. Free yoga is offered every fourth Monday of the month at 7 p.m. during the spring.

Finally, BC4C Outdoor Fitness provides outdoor classes at Piedmont Park on most days of the week. They start early (5:45 a.m.), but working out with a group helps keep participants accountable for showing up. In the effort to create “muscle confusion,” each workout is different. Muscle confusion challenges participants by not allowing their bodies to adapt to the routine. BC4C Outdoor Fitness donates all of its profits back to the Piedmont Park Conservancy.

Whatever your age or interests, Piedmont Park has a little something for everyone. Get out of your cubicle, car, and comfort zone this spring with a refreshing embrace of nature in Atlanta.