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Running trails in Sandy Springs, GA
Sandy Springs has 13 trails in the directory — 6 on crushed gravel or dirt, 3 boardwalk, 5 loops that return to the trailhead, 1 with a stated distance, and 2 shaded. 9 of them post opening hours, so you can check the gate before an early start. They're ranked here by rating weighted by review volume, across 8,138 Google reviews. Filter by surface, loop, distance, shade or lighting to get to the run you're actually planning — no made-up difficulty score, just the facts you'd check before driving out.
Morgan Falls Overlook Park
4.7 ★★★★★ 3,833 reviews
Family-oriented park featuring expansive playgrounds, walking trails, picnic areas & river views.
Island Ford Unit, Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
4.8 ★★★★★ 1,351 reviews
Peaceful riverside park offering a range of trails plus rafting, fishing & other activities.
Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
4.7 ★★★★★ 800 reviews
Large, forested park popular for river rafting, trout fishing & its variety of hiking/biking trails.
East Palisades Unit - Indian Trail
4.7 ★★★★★ 764 reviews
Popular hiking area with a scenic, 3.4-mile trail through a dense woodland, plus a bamboo forest.
Big Trees Forest Preserve
4.7 ★★★★★ 586 reviews
This 30-acre nature preserve has a network of signed trails in a scenic streamside setting.
Lost Corner Preserve
4.8 ★★★★★ 231 reviews
Relaxed park with a historic home, plus a garden for veggies, picnics and educational events.
Bamboo Forest
4.6 ★★★★★ 137 reviews
Hiking spot with woods featuring dense groves of bamboo and scenic river views.
Powers Island Trail
4.6 ★★★★★ 116 reviews
Kid-friendly spot for hiking and tubing trails, with kayaking rentals.
Marsh Creek Rain Garden Park
4.6 ★★★★★ 81 reviews
Small park featuring a fountain and a rain garden designed to help prevent flooding.
Abernathy Greenway South Trail Park
4.8 ★★★★★ 4 reviews
No trails match those filters.
How to pick a trail in Sandy Springs
- Match the surface to your legs. Sandy Springs gives you a choice: 6 natural surface, 3 boardwalk, and 1 mixed. Asphalt and concrete are fast, predictable and runnable year-round but the least forgiving; crushed limestone and dirt take the sting out of high mileage; boardwalk is flat and scenic but slick in the wet. If your shins or knees are complaining, the fix that actually works is varying the surface you run on rather than chasing one "best" one. More natural surface trails →
- Loop or out-and-back? 5 trails here are loops, so you finish back at the car with no backtracking — the easiest way to run a set distance without thinking about it. On an out-and-back you turn round at half your target distance, which makes any trail fit any run. The longest stated distance in Sandy Springs is Bamboo Forest at 5 mi. 1 trail is long enough for a 5-mile-plus run without repeating yourself.
- Check the hours before a 6am run. Plenty of trails sit inside parks that gate at dusk and don't unlock until well after sunrise, so a trail that's perfect at lunchtime can be locked at 6am. 9 of the 13 listings carry posted opening hours — worth a look before you set an alarm.
- Long run? Check water and restrooms first. 8 have trailhead parking and 5 have restrooms in Sandy Springs. Anything over an hour and those stop being nice-to-haves — and in summer, shade counts double.
- The small things that decide it. 2 shaded, 3 with mile markers, 7 that runners describe as quiet, 11 dog-friendly, and 4 smooth and wide enough for a stroller or a wheelchair. Busy or quiet isn't a good-or-bad thing here: a busy path is the safer choice for a solo run at dawn, a quiet one is better for intervals.
More on all of this in the trail-running guides.
Browse Sandy Springs trails by type
Running trails near Sandy Springs
Worth the short drive — the closest towns with trails in the directory.