Piedmont Park Sunset Hike + Optional free outdoor Atlanta Symphony Concert

We AOC hikers & music lovers have had a blast together on these PIedmont Park outdoor "double-headers" in past years.  Please forgive the late notice, but Joyce and I are excited about offering one again this Tuesday evening Sep 28th.  The weather is expected to be perfect - in the 70s during the outing with clear skies, and we can expect to see a colorful sunset at ~7:25 PM.  - Charlie

IN a NUTSHELL:  Hope you can join us for this leisurely hike through historic Piedmont Park, with a bonus afterward! - a FREE outdoor Atlanta Symphony Orchestra concert.  The performance will take place in the beautiful "Oak Hill" section of the Park adjoining 10th Street.  Classical music fans of all ages are welcome to attend the concert and no special registration or ticket is required.

PARKING, GATHERING SPOT & HIKE DETAILS:  In past years we've never had a problem finding free street-side parallel parking along Elmwood Drive, a quiet shady residential street just a couple of blocks east of Piedmont Park. Please carefully follow the Directions below if you wish to park there.  We'll gather for the hike a few minutes before 6:00 PM on the sidewalk on the SW corner of Elmwood and Monroe Drive. (PLEASE BE ON TIME allowing for Atlanta's insane rush-hour traffic.)  After introductions we can easily walk westward into the Park in about 5 minutes, via Elmwood Dr. and the Park Drive entrance.  

During our ~90-minute leisurely paced hike we'll enjoy the "wild side" of Piedmont Park by exploring some of its lesser-known scenic trails, including the Six Springs Wetland - also some of the shady pathways adjoining the Atlanta Botanical Garden and a gravel section of the Atlanta Beltline.  Feel free to split from the group at any time if you like, provided you let us know when you're doing so.  We can easily direct you back to our initial gathering spot.

Hope you can plan to stay with us for at least part of the Atlanta Symphony performance beginning at 7:30 PM, and if so you're sure to enjoy the relaxing but festive experience!  Please note below recommended Items to bring - most are optional.  During the first half hour of the hike we'll stake out concert viewing space for our AOC group on the Oak Hill lawn - then continue the hike.  In past years friendly neighbors on the concert lawn have volunteered watch our stuff till we return in time for the concert.   Regardless our individual Covid-vaccination statuses the Symphony encourages everyone to wear masks and politely maintain appropriate social distances while at the concert.

SYMPHONY CONCERT PROGRAM: It will be led by ASO Associate Conductor Jerry Hou and feature Associate Concertmaster Justin Bruns performing a violin concerto by Wynton Marsalis - plus other favorites including Gershwin's An American in Paris and selections from Bernstein's West Side Story.  The "traditional grand finale" of these outdoor concerts is Sousa's rousing Stars & Stripes Forever which never fails to get everyone in the Park singing, dancing and even waving sparklers!

MORE about PIEDMONT PARK:  More than 125 years old now, it became world famous in 1895 as the site of Atlanta's "Cotton States & International Exposition."  Hundreds of member volunteers from the Piedmont Park Conservancy deserve much credit in recent years for the park's dramatic improvements and excellent maintenance. The thriving Atlanta Botanical Garden has also been a big plus for the park's popularity & reputation since its founding in the late 1970s in the NW corner of the 200+ acre property. 
  For an excellent interactive Color Map of the park click here:  https://www.piedmontpark.org/maps/
    and also for more info visit the main site:  http://piedmontpark.org/ 

DIRECTIONS to our GATHERING SPOT on the sidewalk at the MONROE DRIVE/ ELMWOOD DRIVE corner:
For a zoomable map of this corner and its surrounding quiet residential area click on the Blue & Green "LOCATION" icon near the top of this article.

GPS DATA for GATHERING SPOT:  GPS or Google.com/Maps users can enter either of these Addresses as your Destination to augment our Driving Directions below:
- Street Address of the home at the Monroe/Elmwood corner; 1096 Monroe Dr NE, Atlanta, GA 30306
- Lat/ Lon Address of corner, being sure to include the Comma and Minus sign:  33.7847, -84.3679

DRIVING DIRECTIONS, assuming you begin by driving 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 happens to be just 1 block south of the traffic light at Park Drive).
6. Turn LEFT onto Elmwood Drive (or Right if you prefer).  In the past we've found plenty of free parallel street-side parking along Elmwood (both east and west of Monroe, in this quiet residential neighborhood).  Assuming you park in that area walk back to the southwest corner of Elmwood and Monroe where we'll begin gathering on the shady sidewalk at about 5:45 PM.  After introductions we'd like to begin our Hike there at 6:00 sharp (via Piedmont Park's east-side entrance bridge).

Free event, with free entrance into the Park, free Concert Viewing, and free (suggested) parallel Parking along Elmwood Drive.