Briarwood Park

While out and about on our usual weekend stroll, Malory and I decided to check out the "hidden" Briarwood Park. We stumbled upon this place a few months ago after noticing one of those brown road signs (that indicate landmarks, etc.) pointing to a 'Briarwood Park' down a very dark and lonely looking road. So we ventured there this past weeked, and walked pup the 1+ mile to go check out what this public park was all about. After visiting Lenox Park, we were interested to see what this one offered.

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).

We didn't notice any ball fields or multi-use designated fields- there was one large open area that they might consider as a field, but I'm not sure. There also really wasn't much of a walking trail- just a sidewalk next to the road through the park- maybe a half a mile long. The one thing that was hopping was the tennis courts (photo below). They are situated closer to Briarwood Road, and both courts were in use when we walked by. Note that they cannot be reserved, nor do they have lights, but there is an hour time limit when people are waiting.

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? 

Lenox Park

The snowmageddon in Atlanta kept us holed up in our house for almost all of this week. We kept busy most of the time working from home, but after 3 days indoors, we needed to stretch our legs a little. Cory and I walk a lot around our neighborhood and Brookhaven, and a few months ago we "found" a great little pocket park: Lenox Park. Located in between North Druid and Roxboro Road off of Lenox Park Boulevard, its about 1+ mile for us to get there.  So to get some exercise this week, we took an icy hike over there.

Sandwiched between the office buildings, apartment complexes, and residential neighborhoods, Lenox Park boasts over 22 acres of green space including 2 miles of running/walking trails with a creek feeding a decent sized lake (See Park Map). While we didn't see much green this time around, there is plenty of grassy areas for games or picnics and benches to relax on.  

We enjoyed our walk through the park- it's like our own little gem in the middle of the city.  We've always seen people around running, walking, and (now) sledding, but for the most part it's pretty quiet. All the park is really missing is a nice dog park. If you're visiting from further away, I'm not really sure where you would park as we have always just walked there.  The park is owned and maintained privately (not a City or County Park) by the Lenox Park Homeowner's Association. 

Make sure you go check it out!  We will definitely be around here more in the Spring and Summer when it's a little more green out.