Blue Heron Nature Preserve
Overall Rating: 🍑🍑🍑🍑 🥚
Distance: 1.5 mi
Hilliness: Mild (with a few sets of stairs)
Crowdedness: Peaceful
Surface Type: Hard-packed soil, boardwalk, and gravel
Root Rating: Not bad! Gravel is a bit slippery in places
Dog-Friendliness: Wagging tails all around
Cost: Free!
Parking: Multiple access points; MARTA bus stop on route 5
Hours: Sunup to Sundown
Directions
There are many entrances to the Preserve, so you can park at any point along the trail. We like to park at the farthest end on Land o Lakes Rd, but there is a designated parking area off of Roswell Rd, and other neighborhood parking along the route.
Review
This is a fun trail if you're looking for a unique, short run! Weave your way through three different areas of the preserve, running on boardwalks, gravel paths, and dirt paths. There are some great offshoots with benches if you want to take a relaxing break. You can bring your dog for a run and a dip in the creek or run by yourself and enjoy the beautiful scenery and wildlife. If you do a cool down loop, you can read the signs to learn more about the research/restoration projects going on in the preserve. I really enjoyed this calming trail run, especially because I LOVE boardwalks. There is a short part of the run that goes along Roswell Rd, so hold your dog tight! If 1.5 miles isn't enough for your run, you can exit the preserve on Roswell Rd and run down Interlochen to connect to the Chastain trails. You could also exit at the Land o Lakes exit and take Old Ivy to PATH 400.
