Leita Thompson Morning Hike

This moderate-to-fast paced training hike covers five and a half miles of trails.  Leaving from the overflow parking area, each week we hike a variety of different routes, including the yellow, red and blue trails. The route changes from week to week so we don't get too comfortable from doing the same thing over and over again. To ensure we do not get too spread out, we will stop to regroup a few times during the hike.

The trails are non-technical, soft, fine gravel paths that make a very comfortable hiking or running surface.  However, from these short steep undulations through the woods you will receive a somewhat challenging workout, especially as we maintain a pretty fast pace.

If you are new to the AOC or if you have not done several D2 or harder hikes recently, this is not an appropriate hike to start with.  

There is one Porta-Potty in Pavilion parking area and another one by the pond, that we pass two or three times while hiking.

Well-behaved dogs are welcome on this hike and should stay in the back of our group.  On the form there is a place to indicate if you will be bringing your dog.  Be prepared to pick up any messes your dog makes.

We ask that anyone who decides to leave the group during the hike let me or the co-lead know! 

After the hike: You are welcome to join us for lunch. Most often we go to Panera Bread on Hwy 92, where they serve sandwiches, soups and salads. It is located less than a half mile away from the Leita Thompson Park, east on Hwy 92, towards 400. Panera Bread is in the Super Target shopping center, near Chick-fil-A. Sometimes we change the lunch spot. So check the reminder email and/or announcement at the start of the hike.

About the park: There are three trails. The yellow one is 1.12 miles.  The blue one is 2 miles. The red one is 2.25 miles.  The red and blue trails offer a .25-mile extension around the lake. This beautiful area was memorial donation left by Leita Thompson.

Leita Thompson, called “Miss Leita,” (1884-1978) had a strong appreciation for hard work, independence and women. At 16 years old, she joined the National Woman’s Party which later helped pass the woman suffrage amendment in 1920. She worked in banking and advanced to become one of the first female banking executives in the country. She advised women on retirement and provided disability assistance. She founded the Leitalift Foundation in 1956 to help support workingwomen make a living and achieve their goals. The foundation also provided social and professional recognition for outstanding women. For many years Leita Thompson, a hard-working single woman herself, personally and through the Leitalift Foundation, made it possible for working women to enjoy a fuller life by providing housing on her property. Since the foundation's creation, at least 156 students, nurses, retirees and professional women received grants, support and recognition in the community.

Leita Thompson purchased the property in 1946 and made it her home until her death in 1978.  At that time her property, 107 acres, went to the Leitalift Foundation. Later in 2001, the Leitalift Foundation donated it, more than 100 acres of prime, undeveloped land to the city of Roswell. The 2001 gift was then worth $20 million.

Today this land on Crossville Road consists of a dog park, pavilion, garden and miles of wooded trails in her name. The Arts Center West is now run by Roswell Visual Arts, a division of Roswell Recreation and Parks Department.

From Atlanta take GA-400 N to exit 7B W/Holcomb Bridge Rd in Roswell. Continue west on Holcomb Bridge Rd for 5.7 miles. On your right you will pass Chick-fil-a and Mountain Park Rd. Take the next right. This is the entrance for the dog park and Art Center West.  Make an immediate left for the gravel parking lot a.k.a. Overflow Parking lot.

If you enter the pavilion parking area you can park there and/or follow the signs to the overflow parking lot. As you head back toward Hwy 92/Woodstock Hwy, see the signs on your left that read "Overflow Parking" and "One Way." Take the gravel road through the woods and park at the top of the hill. Come out of the woods to the gravel parking lot.

We will meet in the overflow parking area.  Use the Dog park/Art Center West entrance and proceed to the left to park at the gravel parking lot (we are NOT meeting behind the pavillion).

You do not need a parking pass or cash to park here.