Decatur to Clarkston on the Stone Mountain Trail
Distance: about 5.4 miles, depending on where you start
Cities: Decatur, Avondale Estates, Scottdale, Clarkston
Features: Food on either end of the route and in Avondale Estates, nice stretches of green.
Cities: Decatur, Avondale Estates, Scottdale, Clarkston
Features: Food on either end of the route and in Avondale Estates, nice stretches of green.
Here's where we discuss the fact that I am an idiot.
I used to hike and camp and paddle a bit when I was younger. However, over the past few years I've had some injuries and illnesses that limited my ability to do things and also punished me sharply for overdoing. Every time I'd start to feel a little better, I'd get all excited and push it too far and wind up on my ass. Again. This happened many times and I did not learn.
So I walked two miles on the Beltline with my husband and it seemed fine, so I thought I'd take a nice walk while he was in a meeting in Decatur and have him pick me up after he was done.
I used to hike and camp and paddle a bit when I was younger. However, over the past few years I've had some injuries and illnesses that limited my ability to do things and also punished me sharply for overdoing. Every time I'd start to feel a little better, I'd get all excited and push it too far and wind up on my ass. Again. This happened many times and I did not learn.
So I walked two miles on the Beltline with my husband and it seemed fine, so I thought I'd take a nice walk while he was in a meeting in Decatur and have him pick me up after he was done.
[SpongeBob voice] Two hours later... I am five miles away in Clarkston and bitterly regretting the last two miles of that at least.
In my defense, the last best place to stop going in that direction before you get to Clarkston is in Avondale Estates. And once I realized that, I was too stubborn to turn around.
Fortunately, I seem to have recovered enough that I suffered no ill effects so I will probably do it again. However, if you choose to walk this route and like to stop for snacks along the way, begin at the Clarkston end.
In my defense, the last best place to stop going in that direction before you get to Clarkston is in Avondale Estates. And once I realized that, I was too stubborn to turn around.
Fortunately, I seem to have recovered enough that I suffered no ill effects so I will probably do it again. However, if you choose to walk this route and like to stop for snacks along the way, begin at the Clarkston end.
I like this trail but there are places where you can get confused. There's a bit of path behind Kimball House along E. Howard Avenue, but make sure you turn left onto Sycamore Place, cross Commerce Drive, and keep going along Sycamore Place until there's a much more clearly marked sign telling you to turn right. There's another spot after you get to Avondale at Laredo Drive where it's not obvious where the trail continues; it's on the other side of the railroad tracks.
The Decatur end of the trail mostly goes through neighborhoods full of Craftsman cottages and a few older houses. There's a Greek Revival house (the kind with white columns that were popular in the mid-19th century and have all but disappeared from the Atlanta area) and some turn of the 20th century houses as well.
Avondale MARTA Station is just under a mile from the Decatur station and the path goes right by it. Kensington Station is about 1.4 mile from where the trail crosses N. Clarendon at Old Rockbridge Road.
There are fairly long stretches of this path with just greenery, considering you're in a major metropolitan area. It's also not a super frequented path during the week, so if you like solitude go then. If you'd prefer more people around for safety, go on the weekends when it is more well-used. I will say that I did not feel unsafe and I did see a bunny.
There are plenty of restaurants and shopping in Decatur, and there are frequently events on the square. Fellini's Pizza is at Commerce and Sycamore Place and so is the first restaurant you come to if you are coming that direction. Fellini's is an Atlanta pizza chain which started out in Little Five Points selling $1 a slice pizza and thus became central to the 80s music scene here.
Where the trail crosses Laredo Dr. in Avondale Estates you can go one direction towards Lost Druid Brewery, Savage Pizza, Arepa Mia, and Rising Son, and in the other direction there's a bunch of brick offices buildings that conceal Southern Sweets Bakery.
Clarkston has been described as the most diverse square mile in America. There's a Nepalese restaurant and more than one Ethiopian restaurant.
The Decatur end of the trail mostly goes through neighborhoods full of Craftsman cottages and a few older houses. There's a Greek Revival house (the kind with white columns that were popular in the mid-19th century and have all but disappeared from the Atlanta area) and some turn of the 20th century houses as well.
Avondale MARTA Station is just under a mile from the Decatur station and the path goes right by it. Kensington Station is about 1.4 mile from where the trail crosses N. Clarendon at Old Rockbridge Road.
There are fairly long stretches of this path with just greenery, considering you're in a major metropolitan area. It's also not a super frequented path during the week, so if you like solitude go then. If you'd prefer more people around for safety, go on the weekends when it is more well-used. I will say that I did not feel unsafe and I did see a bunny.
There are plenty of restaurants and shopping in Decatur, and there are frequently events on the square. Fellini's Pizza is at Commerce and Sycamore Place and so is the first restaurant you come to if you are coming that direction. Fellini's is an Atlanta pizza chain which started out in Little Five Points selling $1 a slice pizza and thus became central to the 80s music scene here.
Where the trail crosses Laredo Dr. in Avondale Estates you can go one direction towards Lost Druid Brewery, Savage Pizza, Arepa Mia, and Rising Son, and in the other direction there's a bunch of brick offices buildings that conceal Southern Sweets Bakery.
Clarkston has been described as the most diverse square mile in America. There's a Nepalese restaurant and more than one Ethiopian restaurant.
Refuge Coffee is a food truck more or less permanently installed at an old gas station and has beverages and pastries including sambusas. Refuge Coffee Co. provides employment and job training to refugees and is a great place to hang out for a while and people watch.
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