This network of trails is the best way to see Atlanta

In a city known for its congested traffic, a growing network of paths is changing how travelers experience Atlanta, the South's largest metro area. The city has embarked on a major initiative to connect more than 45 of its neighborhoods, and in June, the Atlanta Beltline, a paved multipurpose network of trails and parks, will add two more miles, bringing the total to almost 16.4 miles. Over 6,000 businesses, including restaurants, retail, pubs, and breweries line the revitalized corridor, adorned with more than 90 public artworks, according to the Atlanta Beltline Inc. A ring of once-forgotten railroad tracks has been transformed into the city’s most dynamic culinary and artistic corridor.

By 2030, the northern section of the Beltline is scheduled for completion, finally creating a walkable 22-mile loop around the city. With the eastern, western, and newly completed southern segments open to the public, travelers can rent an e-bike from The BELT Hub or walk the trail to experience Atlanta at street level.

New sections of the Beltline open 

For visitors interested in exploring Atlanta’s Southside neighborhoods by bike or on foot, the Beltline’s expansion offers new opportunities. A recently opened 1.2-mile segment (from Boulevard to Glenwood Avenue) of the Southside Trail—now called the Southeast Trail—provides nearby students with a safe route to school. Building on this, the Southeast Trail extends for 2.5 miles, linking the Eastside Trail at Krog Street Tunnel and winding through Reynoldstown and Glenwood Park to Boulevard Southeast. The city hopes to complete the entire Southside Trail by June, further enhancing connectivity. 

The City of Atlanta paid $26 million to acquire the Southside Trail corridor from CSX to secure more than four miles for the rail-to-trail project. At the moment, although the newly opened segments serve more of a purpose for locals than for visitors, other sections of the Beltline have a more commercial appeal for those who want to explore the city’s parks, restaurants, flora, and more. 

(How to spend a weekend eating your way around Atlanta.)

Explore the trendy Eastside Trail

Few Atlantians know the Beltline better than Akila McConnell, a lawyer-cum-entrepreneur who owns Unexpected Atlanta, a tour company that helps visitors uncover the city’s diverse historical and culinary attractions, which remain cloaked beneath the canopy of the city’s thick oak trees. 

“What the Beltline has done is it has built a patio culture in this city that is phenomenal," McConnell says. She recommends the restaurant Yeppa as the perfect example, known for serving Emilia-Romagna specialties like tagliatelle, cacio e pepe, and a favorite, fagiolini (Italian green beans). 

Though she points to the West End’s Whiskey Exchange as another great patio option, McConnell suggests starting with the Eastside Trail to experience the city’s trendy eateries if that’s a priority for you. Ponce City Market is the area’s de facto marketplace and cultural center, home to 56 locally owned businesses, from designer fashions and artist studios to some of Atlanta’s most diverse restaurant concepts. Stop by Citizen Supply, which sells jewelry, apparel, home décor, candles, leather goods, and more, made by local artisans. 

Locals and visitors alike gather at longtime restaurateur Tal Baum’s elevated American eatery Atrium, known for its center-cut filet and fresh-caught seafood, or head to Boom Boom Bao in the market’s Central Food Hall for dim sum, such as shrimp dumplings and baked BBQ pork buns. Explorers and digital nomads can stay at the flexible-stay hotel, Scout, with its apartment-style, tech-forward units and direct access to the Beltline. 

Walk (or bike) the world’s longest linear arboretum

Atlanta is known for having the most diverse flora in Georgia. In March 2026, Atlanta Beltline, Inc. and Trees Atlanta, a non-profit that planted thousands of trees and plants along the corridor, announced the trail as the “World’s Longest Linear Arboretum,” featuring more than 300 tree species. 

“What used to be a kudzu patch, a place that divided neighborhoods and other sides of the tracks, is now where people come together and really connect,” says Greg Levine, executive director of Trees Atlanta. He notes that the arboretum and Beltline bring nature into urban areas.

Levine recommends the 2.5-mile Eastside Trail between Piedmont Park and Krog Street that can be completed on foot in an hour or by bike in 20 minutes. Art lovers should head to mile marker 10, also known as “Three Tree Hill,” to see the grove of Scarlet Oaks, and nearby, the 33 Oaks sculptures that represent each oak species native to Georgia. Pignut Hickory, a cluster of American Beech, and 17 variations of Magnolia are other types of trees spotted along this section of the Beltline. Summit the elevated hill for the perfect vantage point to watch the sun set over the city. 

Art unveils Atlanta’s Indigenous roots

Long before railroads and highways crossed modern-day Georgia, the Muscogee (Creek) and Cherokee peoples developed extensive trail networks linking settlements, trade routes, and seasonal hunting grounds. 

When railroads expanded in the 19th century, engineers often followed those same corridors that now form the foundation of the Beltline. McConnell notes two particular murals for those seeking to pay honor to local history: a 10-foot-tall, six-foot-wide sculpture, “Naw’-tsi?: Bear Effigy Vessel,” created by Chase Kahwinhut Earles, a citizen of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma and artist dedicated to reviving traditional Caddo pottery. The large-scale sculpture represents a bear as a guardian figure, and the fish represents knowledge—designed to educate the public on Southeastern Indigenous traditions. 

"The very first piece of public art on the Beltline is known as the Caddo Bear Effigy, right near Ponce City Market," she says. “It's the first major sculpture by an Indigenous artist in Atlanta since the Indian Removal Act of the 1820s.”

The second mural, “West End Remembers,” by Malaika Farorite, is on the Westside Trail and highlights the history of the historically Black West End neighborhood in Atlanta. 

To gain a greater appreciation of the Beltline’s artistic layers, visitors can join Unexpected Atlanta’s Art and Mural Tour. It covers iconic spots like the Krog Street Tunnel and invites guests not only to stroll past the living art installations but also to create a piece of art themselves during an art salon-style happy hour. 

(The revolutionary idea behind America’s urban trails.)

Don’t skip visiting Atlanta's Westside

Clyde Higgs, president and CEO of Atlanta Beltline Inc., encourages travelers leave the crowded eastern stretches and explore the Westside Trail, which he says is the best place to see how the linear greenway is transforming the city. The non-profit operates four distinct Atlanta locations where travelers can support local businesses: Marketplace at Pittsburgh Yards, Marketplace at Freedom Parkway, Marketplace at Krog, and Marketplace at Allene, which features businesses like Good As Burgers. “The burgers are amazing, even for someone who isn’t vegan, and a testament of how the food scene here has evolved,” Higgs says. 

On the West End, an easy exit leads onto the patio of Monday Night Brewing’s Garage patio, dubbed the Garage. The 404 Lager there honors the city’s original area code. Dine next door at Boxcar, where the menu includes local favorites like Southern gold chicken sandwich and buffalo mac and cheese. Nearly a dozen other restaurants, a large park, and the African Diaspora Art Museum of Atlanta are within a short walk away. 

How to reach the Beltline

The Beltline is accessible via Atlanta’s MARTA transit system. The Park/Reynoldstown and Midtown stations provide access to the Eastside Trail. The Ashby and West End stations are within a short walk of the Westside Trail. Common rideshare drop-off points include Ponce City Market, where you can rent a bike from The BELT Hub. Other drop-off locations are Krog Street Market and the Westside’s Lee + White food hall.

Wherever you start, the Beltline offers travelers access to a thriving city via an evolving  interconnected system of trails and parks steeped in history.