Hiking Tripleheader in Oak Grove neighborhood parks, NE metro Atlanta

EVENT PLAN:  Ideal sunny hiking weather in the mid-60s is expected this Thursday afternoon.  Hope you can join us for this "triple-header" adventure in three beautiful DeKalb County parks, all heavily wooded with a fine variety of trails, and within a few minutes' drive of one another here in NE metro Atlanta.  We'll gather initially at Frazier-Rowe Park (a few minutes before 1:00 PM) and after introductions do our first hike there. (See Directions & GPS Info below.)  We'll then take an easy 5-minute caravan in our cars eastward to Briarlake Forest for our 2nd hike, followed by a final brief drive northward to Mary Scott Nature Park.  We'll hike my favorite trails in all three forests, pausing occasionally to enjoy the flora, fauna & scenic overlooks and to discuss a bit of the fascinating history of each park.  We of course intend to observe the CDC's COVID-19 guidelines regarding social distancing, etc. Feel free to "split early" if you need to for any reason, but if so be sure to let me know where & when you're doing so. We can easily direct you back to your car.

CANINE COMPANIONS are OK.  Bring your well-behaved dog if you like, but please make sure that he or she is leashed and under your control at all times, and in your registration notes please indicate it's size, breed & name.

OPTIONAL EXTRA INFO about the PARKS:  Since their founding in the last few years dozens of hard-working volunteer "Friends" at all three parks have built and continue to improve and maintain their networks of scenic trails.  The parks' founders and volunteers also host periodic workdays to plant beautiful native trees & shrubs and remove invasive non-natives such as English ivy, Chinese privet, and Asian thorny olive. 
Frazier-Rowe Park features about 15 acres of forest including the easily accessible adjoining trail system at "Coralwood Nature Preserve."  The Fraziers and the Rowes were neighboring families of different ethnicity who lived in harmony on the beautiful property before it was transformed into a park. 
Briarlake Forest's twenty acres of shady old homestead property boasts numerous gigantic oaks and beeches and a gorgeous creekside overlook from the top of one of the steepest forested hills.  A historic 100+ year-old farmhouse is the centerpiece of its main trailhead.  
Mary Scott Nature Park's ten acres of heavily forested terrain includes a scenic loop trail down to the still-standing chimneys of an old homestead that overlooks a tributary of Peachtree Creek.

DIRECTIONS from the I-85 CLAIRMONT RD EXIT (Exit #91) to our FRAZIER-ROWE PARK GATHERING SPOT:  (For a zoomable Map & satellite view click the above square blue & green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article.)

1. Take Clairmont Road toward Decatur (south & slightly east) about 1.6 miles to the traffic light at LaVista Road.
2. Turn Left onto LaVista and go eastward 0.9 mile (THROUGH the next traffic light at Oak Grove Rd) to the small "Vista Grove Plaza" shopping center on your Left (at 2868 LaVista Rd).  Look for Sprig  and Subway restaurants on the end of the shopping center by the woods and park in that vicinity of the big lot,
3. We'll gather at the "Frazier-Rowe Park" bulletin board and trailhead on the edge of the woods - just a few feet from the Sprig restaurant entrance. 

GPS USERS can enter as your Destination Address the following concise LAT/LON Coordinates of the Frazier-Rowe Park trailhead where we'll meet:
  33.8256, -84.2893   (Be sure to include the comma & minus sign.)

STREET ADDRESSES (approx.) for main Trailheads at all three PARKS:
- Frazier-Rowe:      2860 LaVista Rd, Decatur, GA 30033
- Briarlake Forest: 3330 Briarlake Rd, Atlanta, GA 30345
- Mary Scott:          4146 Briarcliff Rd NE, Atlanta, GA 30345

FREE Event, with convenient free Parking at each of the parks' trailheads.