Lilburn Greenway Trail

Biking in my Hometown map
From Lilburn Greenway

If you have been paying attention, you’ll already know the two things about me that inspire this particular post. First, I bought a new bicycle this year. And second, I am a proud resident of Lilburn, Georgia, even though they refuse to acknowledge that fact on matters of trash pickup. Lilburn is a small hamlet of 6.2 miles and at last census was around 11000 in population (2000), which sits just about 4 miles outside the perimeter (30 minutes from downtown Atlanta). Since that census there has been a lot of growth, but it’s still a small town. In April of 2008, amid no fanfare, the Urban Baboon moved its World Headquarters into a tiny, unheated garage in its Southeast Corner. So what do you get when you combine biking and Lilburn? You get the Lilburn Greenway Trail.


Now this isn’t the distance Mecca you can find with PATH or the Silver Comet. It travels from the Lilburn City Park to Rockbridge Road giving you a distance run of about 2.5 miles round trip. And as a short trip, you see a lot of casual walkers, dogs, and bicyclists on its surfaces. But in that short little run it is the closest thing to the holy grail of Atlanta Bicycling: a FLAT clean paved surface. The only hills are really little bridges over small streams. It is the ultimate beginners trail fit for virtual any mobile member of our society.


Also, the Rockbridge endpoint (or entrance from my perspective) sits a scant .75 miles from the majestic Urban Baboon World Headquarters of Lilburn, Georgia. So this means I can Bike out my front door to downtown Lilburn and back in just about 4 miles, which makes for a perfect casual after work activity utilizing about an hour of my life. You can extend the distance by circling the ¼ mile running path, which sits about a quarter of a mile from the City Park and the trail head. If I do it twice, I’m up to 4.5 miles. And since the trail is so pleasant and short, a second run back and forth brings me up to 6 miles.


Along the path, you’ll see friendly Lilburnians, the backyards of neighbors, a few nice bridges, a turtle sculpture, the Rail Line credited with creating the town, and some nice boardwalks to accent the paved surfaces. One important note: although the Northern Entrance to the trail is at Lilburn City park, bicycles are not allowed there. A park without bicycles is like a hot dog without a hot dog bun, sure you can eat it that way, but it will make you feel foolish, but those are the rules. However, at this end of the trail, you can hit the quiet city streets and cruise the old homes of Lilburn, though the town doesn’t have the flat qualities of the standard trail. This is where the parking lot is and parking is ample and free.


In addition, they are planning to continue the trail another mile to bring it all the way to Killian Hill across and to the other side of the park, presumably along the rail line. The ground breaking on this addition began earlier this year. This will bring the trail proper to 5 miles round trip, which will be a great addition to the Atlanta Bicycling (or casual walking) landscape. And if you see a middle aged idiot with his trademark Gold Skater helmet (which I have been told by virtually everybody makes me look stupid) flying by you, you just may have met the Urban Baboon.


Trail Essentials
Approximate Time: 30 minutes
Approximate Distance: 1.25 miles (one way)
Features: Flat Paved surface, stream, rail road tracks, park
Overall Rating: B-

Scenic Quality: B
Athleticism: C
Solitude: C+
Value: A
Parking: Free
Hours of Operation: Daylight hours
Facilities: At Lilburn City Park
Maps:  here
County: Gwinnett

1 comment:

  1. I was at the park for the Lilburn Daze last weekend. The park is also a no dog zone, but I ran into someone who said he saw dogs on that section of the greenway all the time. So since there were plenty of Lilburn police around I asked. Dogs can do the greenway that runs thru the park, but not the park. Maybe it is the same for bikes.

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