The Georgia Poetry in the Parks poetry trails were installed in April and May 2022 on the Michelle Obama Trail, the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area, and Glenlake Park in DeKalb County. Another trail will be hosted by the Georgia Writers Museum in Eatonton.
Accessing the poetry trail at Glenlake Park:
The shortest path to poetry is in Glenlake Park, where the poems are grouped together in a relatively small area. If you turn into Glenlake Park from Church Street, the poems will stretch along a path that starts just past the parking lot and moves toward Glendale Avenue (loosely following the green line above the path on the map below).
Accessing the Michelle Obama Trail:
The Michelle Obama Trail is accessible from the Georgia State University-Perimeter College Decatur Campus. To access the poems on the Michelle Obama Trail, enter the Georgia State University-Perimeter College campus from Clifton Springs Road and look for Parking Lot 3. At the back of the lot, you will find visitor parking and signs for the trail. Note: plugging “Georgia State University Perimeter College Decatur Campus” into mapping software will lead you to the college’s main entrance on Panthersville Road. The DeKalb Regional Youth Development Center is located across the street at 2946 Clifton Springs Rd, Decatur, GA 30034.
Accessing the poetry trail at Arabia Mountain:
The start of the trail can be found at the Davidson-Arabia Mountain Nature Center, and the final sign is at the Stonecrest Library/Stonecrest Library Trailhead. Parking for the trail is available at either end, as are restrooms. Please note that the Stonecrest Library closes at 8 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, and at 6 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and it is not open on Sunday. Outdoor lavatories are available at the Nature Center.
The map below shows the Arabia Mountain Trail with the poetry trail overlaid in purple. There is a fork in the top section; two poems are past the Stonecrest Library Trailhead toward the Mall trailhead.
