Chattahoochee RiverLands

Georgia

What We’re Doing

Creating 100 miles of new trails and parks, connecting 19 cities across 7 counties, and building 42 water access points and 8 campsites.

Our Goal

Ensure every person in the metro Atlanta region has access to the benefits and joys of the outdoors.

Support Our Work in Georgia

A map of a river and the surrounding area.

Chattahoochee Riverlands by the Numbers

100

miles of trails and green spaces along the river

people connected to the outdoors

tributary trails connecting neighborhoods to the river trail

miles of camp and paddle trails

A Big, Bold Vision for Metro Atlanta

The Chattahoochee RiverLands is on track to become Georgia’s defining public space for generations to come, connecting millions of people with a vital natural resource.

Visit the Chattahoochee RiverLands website

For more than 30 years, Trust for Public Land has led the effort to create a continuous, multiuse path along the Chattahoochee, where residents and visitors alike can fish, hike, paddle, and enjoy Georgia’s most famous river. Through these efforts, we have already helped preserve more than 18,000 acres of land and 80 miles of riverfront for public use.

Now, we’re working to add to those achievements with the Chattahoochee RiverLands. From Buford Dam to Chattahoochee Bend State Park, this ambitious project will span 100-miles of uninterrupted public trails across 19 cities and seven counties, and encompass a network of greenways, a blueway, tributary trails, parks, and campsites—all working together to connect people to the outdoors.

Our plan was developed over two years of research, public engagement, community workshops, and collaboration with partners and local government. Ultimately, TPL’s vision for the Chattahoochee will bring people to the water’s edge, promote stewardship and conservation of the river, and reveal the subtle magic of the Chattahoochee to all.

Here are just a few ways we are making our vision for the Chattahoochee come to life:

Developing 48 miles of camp and paddle trails.
Adding 42 water access points.
Creating a bike/pedestrian bridge connecting Duluth and Johns Creek at Rogers Bridge.
Beginning construction of Cauley Creek Park in Johns Creek.
Building 11 miles of Chattahoochee Hill Country Greenway in Douglas County.
Creating as many as 44 tributary trails that would connect neighborhoods and cities to the river via 25 trailheads.

This is a multigenerational project; it will take decades to become reality. Read more on how this epic project will reshape Atlanta’s physical landscape—and its cultural landscape too.

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About This Project

Transforming a River from Endangered to Extraordinary

What does it take to transform a river corridor from endangered to exemplary? Spanning 100 miles from Buford Dam north of Atlanta to Chattahoochee Bend State Park, the Chattahoochee RiverLands is a network of greenways, a blueway (the river itself), tributary trails, and parks—all working together to connect people to the outdoors. When completed, it will link 19 cities and seven counties and include 42 water access points and eight campsites. No wonder it’s on track to be Atlanta’s—and Georgia’s—defining public space for generations to come.

But this project isn’t special just because it is massive and transformative.

This stretch of river is profoundly important as an everyday joy to those who helped shape it—and those who will enjoy it for years to come. It is through their eyes and experiences that the project’s scope and impact are best conveyed. These are a few of their stories and the outcomes they illustrate.

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The River You See; The Divides You Don’t

Two families with opposing politics but one shared conservation ethic—to protect a river and transform the future—prove that, sometimes, red and blue make green.

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A Buck Doesn’t Go as Far as It Used To. Except At TPL...Where It Goes Further.

These days, everywhere you look, the value of a dollar seems to be going down. So when it comes to charitable donations, it’s more important than ever that your contributions make a meaningful impact. That’s why starting this week, we’re matching every dollar you donate to ensure critical projects, just like the ones below, get the funding they need.

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The Chattahoochee RiverLands Greenway Study was managed by a joint Project Management Team (PMT) consisting of the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC), Trust for Public Land (TPL), Cobb County, and the City of Atlanta. The project was designed in collaboration with the Chattahoochee Working Group (CWG), a collection of stakeholders, residents, and political officials working within the study area.

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