Briarwood is owned and operated by DeKalb County, and it is located off of Briarwood Road, near the intersection of Buford Highway. It's pretty tough to find- there is no main signage off of Briarwood, so keep a lookout for the brown directional signs. Briarwood has 18 acres, baseball fields, multi-use fields, tennis courts, a swimming pool, recreation center, playground (photo below), picnic area, and walking trails (all per DeKalb County website). At first glance- I probably wouldn't go near the recreation center and swimming pool... it looked a little dark and dismal (pool was closed). Overall, the park is pretty small, heavily wooded, and spread out (not always the best idea in park layout).
Overall, I was a little disappointed in this park- we could have picked a bad day to check it out (it is winter), but it was still pretty sunny and about 50 degrees on a Saturday afternoon, and the place just seemed a little quiet for a park. I have also heard that DeKalb County is considering closing the rec center and pool to help save money (approx. $500,000!). I know we will be back at this park to utilize the tennis courts, but we will probably stick with Lenox Park for the walking trails. Has anybody else had a better experience?
Great anonymous comment (I deleted it by accident and can't get it back, sorry!):
ReplyDeleteFYI - per a conversation I had with the county last week 12/20/2011 or so (and from the update in the Drew Valley neighborhood newsletter), the County has out for bid new work to relocate and install a new playground facility, with shelter, grills, etc., on the open space near corner of Briarwood Rd/Way. Hopefully, the new park equipment will bring some positive visibility and expanded use to the park from the many nearby neighborhoods. FYI, the walking trail is in the woods and is a short loop around the creek.
-Anonymous