Blue Sky Beat-the-traffic midday Hike at Frazier-Rowe Park & Briarlake Forest

EVENT PLAN:   Gorgeous springlike weather is expected this Monday with a clear blue sky and warming quickly into the mid-50s.  Hope you can join us for this "after-rush-hour" outing at Frazier-Rowe Park and Briarlake Forest, just an easy 2-mile drive from one another here in NE metro Atlanta.  During the few years since these new parks' founding dozens of hard-working "friends" volunteers have continuously expanded and improved their networks of scenic trails. We'll explore most of the terrain in both parks, with only gentle climbs & descents via paths that meander along their shady creeks, hills and valleys.  After the first hike at Frazier-Rowe we'll caravan to Briarlake Forest, driving eastward together via LaVista Rd & Briarlake Rd.  (If there's enough interest after this 2nd hike we may also consider an optional visit to nearby Mary Scott Nature Park on Briarcliff Rd, a 1.5-mile drive northward from Briarlake Forest.)

WHERE & WHEN? We'll meet a few minutes before 10:30 AM at the Frazier-Rowe Park trailhead.  See easy Directions below and for a zoomable map or satellite view click the square blue & green "Event Location" icon above.  The shady trailhead and Park bulletin board are directly beside "Sprig" restaurant, on the wooded end of the free parking lot at Vista Grove Plaza shopping center.  We should have no problem finishing both hikes by 12:30 PM.  Feel free to "split early" if you need to for any reason, but if so be sure to let me know where & when you're doing so - we can easily direct you back to your car.

CANINE COMPANIONS OK:  Bring your well-behaved dog if you like, provided that he or she is leashed and under your control at all times.  In your registration notes please indicate your dog's name, size, breed, etc.

ABOUT the PARKS:
Frazier-Rowe:  Named for two neighboring families of different ethnicity who lived in harmony there in the mid-20th century, Frazier-Rowe Park occupies about 10 acres of forest. Founded in 2013, its trail network and floral gardens, bridges and other structures have been built, planted and maintained by hundreds of hard-working local citizens and Boy Scout troops, etc.  Our "Friends of Frazier-Rowe Park" group was awarded a $10,000 "prize grant" for its excellent use of volunteerism  - affirming that ordinary people of all ages can make a big difference when working together toward a common goal. Hikers can easily connect to other scenic trails in the same forest that adjoin Coralwood Elementary School.  For more Frazier-Rowe info & photos click: http://frazier-rowepark.weebly.com/
For a Frazier-Rowe Trail Map click: http://frazier-rowepark.weebly.com/uploads/3/1/5/6/31560939/frazierroweparkmap2018nov5-kaplan-page-001_orig.jpg

Briarlake Forest's 20+ acres of shady old homestead property boasts numerous gigantic Oaks and Beeches, some thought to be perhaps 200 years old. The park's extensive network of hiking trails have been built since 2012 by our neighborhood volunteers and continue to be maintained by our "Friends" group - click the links below for details.  We encourage interested AOC members to pitch in with us as your time permits on our scheduled monthly "work days."  We can easily arrange to have you added to our email roster. FOR more info & photos click:
http://briarlakefop .weebly.com/
http://briarlakecommunityforest.org/

FROM I-85 CLAIRMONT RD EXIT (Exit #91) in NE Atlanta to our FRAZIER-ROWE PARK Meetup Spot:   (For a zoomable color MAP and satellite view of this spot and its vicinity click the square blue & green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article.)

1. From I-85 Exit #91 (GA-23, "Clairmont Rd") take Clairmont Road toward Decatur (south & slightly east) about 1.6 miles to the traffic light at LaVista Road.

2. Turn Left onto LaVista and go eastward 0.9 mile (THROUGH the next traffic light at Oak Grove Rd) to the small "Vista Grove Plaza" shopping center on your Left (at 2868 LaVista Rd).  Look for Sprig  and Subway restaurants on the end of the shopping center by the woods and park in that vicinity of the big lot.

3. We'll gather at the "Frazier-Rowe Park" bulletin board and trailhead on the edge of the woods - just a few feet from the Sprig restaurant entrance.  Please be on time, allowing for traffic.

LAT/LON COORDINATES of the Frazier-Rowe Park trailhead where we'll meet: (GPS or Google.com/maps users may wish to enter these map coordinates as your Destination Address, being sure to include the comma & minus sign.)

  33.8256, -84.2893

Free Event with Free Parking