Piedmont Park Walking History Tour + optional Park Tavern gathering afterward!

Come help us explore Atlantans' #1 place for enjoying the great outdoors within our great city - Piedmont Park!  Its beautiful woodlands, meadows, lakes, trails, old bridges and other historic structures have made it an AOC favorite for club hikes, birding field trips, outdoor concerts and dozens of other memorable outings over the decades.  Late March is a perfect time to visit the park, when the native trees & flowers are popping with spring color and tropical songbirds migrating through in huge numbers.
Thanks to my friend Joe Girardot for co-leading this hike with me (Charlie) and esp. for hosting it as a special guided walking "History Tour."  An active AOCer since 2015, Joe also has long enjoyed serving as a Piedmont Park Conservancy docent for their walking tours and regularly leads outings such as this one that treat visitors to discussions of fascinating facts about the Park's more than 140-year history and its wonderful features, both natural and manmade.
Just after the hike please join us at the popular nearby Park Tavern for drinks and or dinner! (SE corner of Piedmont Park - at Monroe Dr & 10th St - just a few yards west of the Atlanta Beltline).

WHERE & WHEN?  We'll all gather a few minutes before 3:00 PM just inside the Park's Pedestrian Entrance Gate at the corner of 12th Street and Piedmont Ave  (There is NO Public Parking Here.) For a zoomable map/ satellite view of this pedestrian entrance area, click the square Blue & Green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article.  GPS and Google Maps users can enter this address of the adjoining "Willy's Mexican Restaurant" as your destination:  1071 Piedmont Ave, NE, Atlanta, GA 30309.)  After introductions we'd like to begin our History Tour hike by 3:00 if possible, and expect to be done with the outing no later than 5:00 - then re-gather at Park Tavern for all who wish to "refresh with us" there.

TRAVEL, PARKING & WALKING ALTERNATIVES to reach the above Entrance Gate:  (More details are given in "Directions" section below.)
1. MARTA: Taking MARTA is a great alternative to driving, esp. since parking can be difficult and a bit expensive in midtown Atlanta.  The Midtown MARTA rail station is conveniently located on 10th street, about a 15-minute walk from the 12th Street Park gate (taking the 10th St. sidewalk east ~4 blocks, then turning left onto the Piedmont Ave. sidewalk and walking 2 more blocks to the gate).
2.  Parking in neighborhood just east of the Park and walking as a group to the above Park Entrance Gate: In past years for numerous AOC Piedmont Park outings we who prefer driving have had good success finding convenient FREE street-side parallel parking along Elmwood Drive.  It's a quiet shady residential street that intersects with Monroe Drive a couple of blocks east of Piedmont Park. Please carefully follow my Directions below if you wish to try parking in that area as I (Charlie) intend to.  Any who succeed are urged to meet me at 2:30 PM on the sidewalk at the corner of Elmwood & Monroe.  We can walk together into the Park and reach the 12th Street Gate in about 15 minutes.
 3. Paid Parking Option (if you don't take MARTA or meet us to walk into the Park together as suggested above): The Conservancy recommends the "Sage Garage" as your best bet (inside the Park just E of the Atl. Botanical Garden). Its driveway entrance begins at 1320 Monroe Drive NE, Atlanta, GA 30306.  Ideally park on the lowest "Level One" and walk out through two park benches onto the Welcome Plaza. Then walk SW through the park (about 10 min.) to hook up with us at the 12th Street gate.

EXTRA INFO about PIEDMONT PARK:  More than 140 years old now, the 200-acre site became world famous in 1895 as Atlanta's "Cotton States & International Exposition."  Hundreds of member volunteers from the Piedmont Park Conservancy deserve much credit in recent years for the the Park's dramatic improvements, excellent maintenance - also for their helpful personal interactions with visitors of all ages. The thriving Atlanta Botanical Garden in the park's NW quadrant has become a big plus for the park's popularity & reputation since it opened the late 1970s.   For an excellent interactive Color Map of the park click here:  https://www.piedmontpark.org/maps/  and for more info visit the main site:  http://piedmontpark.org/ 

DIRECTIONS to our 3:00 PM MAIN GATHERING SPOT:  As discussed above we'll all gather a few minutes before 3:00 PM just inside the Park's Entrance Gate at the corner of 12th Street and Piedmont Ave. For a zoomable map/ satellite view of this spot click the square Blue & Green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article.  GPS and Google Maps users can enter the following address of the Gate's adjoining Willy's Mexican Restaurant as your approx. destination:  1071 Piedmont Ave, NE, Atlanta, GA 30309. 

MARTA RAIL OPTION:  As discussed above, parking a car can be difficult and a bit expensive in midtown Atlanta.  The "Midtown" MARTA Station is conveniently located on 10th Street about a 15-minute walk from the 12th Street Park Gate.  From the station walk along 10th St. eastward about 4 blocks, then turn left at Piedmont Ave and walk ~2 more blocks to the gate. 

SUGGESTED 2:30 PM ELMWOOD DRIVE Gathering Spot for those who prefer to DRIVE, find parking, and walk together into the Park:  (As discussed above Free street-side parallel parking is usually available along Elmwood for a few blocks east of Monroe Drive and we can walk together from sidewalk at corner of Monroe & Elmwood.)
GPS DATA for this Gathering Spot:  GPS or Google.com/Maps users can enter either of these Addresses to augment step-by-step Directions below:
- Street Address at Monroe/Elmwood sidewalk corner; 1095 Monroe Dr NE, Atlanta, GA 30306
- Lat/ Lon Address of corner, being sure to include the Comma and Minus sign:  33.7847, -84.3677

DRIVING DIRECTIONS to above Elmwood/Monroe area assuming you drive toward Midtown from Atlanta's north side (via I-75 South or I-85 South):
1. As you near the I-75/ I-85 interchange (which is ~2 miles north of downtown Atlanta) get into the second lane from the Interstate's righthand side.
2. Avoid exiting onto the other Interstate, but as you pass the interchange bear right toward I-75 Exit #84 and exit there (for "17th St, 14th St and 10th St").
3.  Then bear leftward along the access road (a.k.a."Techwood Drive") for about 0.3 mile to the traffic light at 10^th Street (bypassing 17^th and 14th Streets en route).
4. Turn Left onto 10th Street and go 1.3 miles eastward to the traffic light at Monroe Drive (crossing Peachtree Street and Piedmont Ave. etc. en route).
5. Turn Left onto Monroe Drive and go just 0.2 mile northward to Elmwood Drive (which is 1 block south of the first traffic light at Park Drive).
6. Turn RIGHT onto Elmwood (eastward off Monroe. Elmwood has free parallel parking for several blocks in this quiet residential neighborhood).  Assuming you find a parking spot in that vicinity, walk back to the shady sidewalk at the SE corner of Elmwood and Monroe where we'll begin gathering at about 2:15 PM.  Then by 2:30 we'd like to begin our ~15-minute walk westward through the park to meet the others at the 12th St. entrance.

SAGE PARKING GARAGE:  As discussed above this multi-level garage inside the park is the Conservancy's recommended option if you prefer or end up needing paid parking.  Its address is 1320 Monroe Drive NE, Atlanta, GA 30306.  It's accessible via a long driveway beginning at the corner of Monroe Dr. and Evelyn Street.

Free event, with free pedestrian entrance into the Park.