Atlanta Running Route Round-Up

This weekend brought a refreshing break from the sweltering heat of summer. Morning temps in the mid 60s felt like a dream. If you’ve been hiding indoors on the treadmill to avoid the heat, it’s time to reacquaint yourself with the great outdoors (or at least the sidewalks in your neighborhood).

In celebration of fall, here are five of my favorite neighborhood runs. You’ll find a map for the routes at Map My Run under my group Atlanta Running. Enjoy!

Avondale Estates – 4 miles

· Start at the corner of N. Avondale Rd. and Claredon Ave., by the gazebo
· Turn left and head down Kensington Rd.
· Veer right onto Lakeshore Dr.
· Turn right on Ridgecrest Rd.
· At the end of Avondale Lake, turn right on Wilshire Dr.
· Cross Claredon Ave. and turn right on Sussex Rd.
· Turn left on Dartmouth Ave.
· Turn left on Fairfield Plaza
· Turn right on Essex Rd.
· Turn right at S. Avondale Rd.
· Turn right on Dartmouth Ave
· Turn left on Kingstone Rd.
· Turn right on Claredon Ave.
· Turn left on Wilshire Dr.
· Turn left on Berkley Rd.
· Turn left on Kengington Rd.
· End at start point

Virginia-Highland to Inman Park - 4 miles:

· Start at the corner of Virginia Ave and N. Highland Ave.
· Run down N. Highland Ave towards Ponce de Leon Ave.
· Cross Ponce and Freedom Parkway
· Turn left on Cleburn Ave.
· Turn left on Seminole Ave.
· Turn right on Sinclair Ave.
· Sinclair merges into Austin
· Turn left on Elizabeth Ave.
· Turn right on Euclid Ave.
· Turn left on Moreland Ave.
· Turn left on Mansfield Ave.
· Turn right on Seminole Ave.
· Turn right on Cleburn Ave.
· Turn right on N. Highland Ave End run at N. Highland and Virginia

Druid Hills – 5 Miles

· Start at the CVS location at 1554 N. Decatur Road
· Turn right on N. Decatur
· Turn right on Oakdale Road
· Oakdale becomes Emory Road and cross Oxford Road
· Follow Emory to Briarcliff Road
· Turn left on Briarcliff
· Turn left on Harvard Road
· Turn left on Springdale Road
· Cross N. Decatur and continue on Springdale
· Turn left on Ponce de Leon Avenue
· Turn left on Lullwater Road
· Turn right on N. Decatur and return to CVS

West Stride – 6 Miles

· Start from West Stride and run south (toward I-75) on Northside Pkwy.
· Turn right on West Paces Ferry and cross the street at the crosswalk
· Turn left on Nancy Creek Rd.
· Head straight on Nancy Creek and cross W. Wesley Rd.
· Turn left on Ridgewood Rd.
· Turn left on Ridgewood Terr.
· Turn left on Moores Mill
· Turn left on Peachtree Battle
· Turn right on Margaret Mitchell Dr.
· Turn left on Ridge Valley Rd.
· Turn right on Wesley Pkwy.
· Turn left on Margaret Mitchell Dr.
· Turn left on W. Wesley Rd.
· Turn right into Westminster complex
· Turn right at first road (no street name) and follow through complex
· Turn right on W. Paces Ferry
· Turn left on Northside Pkwy.
· End at West Stride

Decatur to Little Five Points – 8 Miles

· Start at the Fellini’s on Commerce and Sycamore Place
· Head towards Howard Street, turn right on Howard
· On Howard, pass Decatur H.S. and the East Lake Marta Station
· Turn right on Ridgewood (after crossing the train tracks)
· Turn left on McClendon Drive
· Turn right on Moreland Ave.
· Turn right on Ponce de Leon Ave.
· Follow Ponce into Decatur
· Run through Downtown Decatur
· Turn right on Commerce Ave.
· End at Fellini’s

Atlanta Running

Welcome to Atlanta Running!

This is my first post for the blog. My goal is to connect with other Atlanta runners and share tips on running in this beautiful city. Check out the Map My Run tool to map your favorite routes.

As an intown resident, some of my favorite routes include neighborhoods in Decatur, Druid Hills, and Candler Park. I thought I'd start this post by listing a few of these runs below -- the routes are also saved in Map My Run under my group Atlanta Running. I hope you'll contribute to this blog by adding your favorite running routes.

Decatur (4.25 miles)

• Start at Fellini's on Commerce Drive
• Head down Sycamore Place towards Carpe Diem and turn right on Howard Street
• Run approximately 2 miles down Howard (pass Decatur High School and the East Lake Marta Station)
• Turn right on Ridgecrest and pass McClendon
• Turn right on Ponce de Leon and take this road back into Decatur
• Pass Taco Mac and the old Courthouse
• Turn right at Commerce Road (across from Decatur First United Methodist Church)
• End run at Fellini's

Druid Hills (5.7 miles)

• Start at Panera Bread on North Decatur Road (across from CVS)
• From the parking lot, turn right on North Decatur Road and then turn left onto Lullwater Road
• From Lullwater, turn right on Ponce de Leon
• Turn right onto Oakdale Road
• From Oakdale Road, turn left on North Decatur Road
• Turn right on Springdale Road
• Take Springdale Road back to Ponce de Leon
• Turn left on Ponce de Leon, and then turn left on Lullwater Road
• Take Lullwater Road back to North Decatur Road
• At North Decatur Road, turn right
• End run at Panera Bread