The City of Sandy Springs cuts the ribbon on the renovated Morgan Falls Dog Park on Wednesday, October 14, at 2 p.m. at 100 Morgan Falls Road. Yeager, a Sandy Springs Police Department K-9, has been invited to give it a sniff. The city says the work finished ahead of schedule.
The city's Springway trail page tells anyone driving to the trail to park at the dog park. That address is the front door to the North End's riverfront. The trail, the paddling dock and the overlook all hang off it, and so does the argument over where the trail goes next. That argument is about parking more than anything else.
What $1.04 Million Fixed
The main problem was mud. Rough Draft Atlanta reported that a lack of dry ground was one of the most common complaints about the park in a 2024 community survey. Earthwork in fall 2024 moved water away from the site, regraded it and took out a few trees. The city's release says the work started with grading a drainage channel "to ensure dogs and their owners have a dry place to play."
The second phase added the parts you'll see on Wednesday:
- Shade structures. Crews were putting them up on ladders on September 24.
- Benches and picnic tables
- Waste and wash stations
- Drinking fountains
- Boulders for dogs to climb and survey the scene from
The 3.4-acre park keeps its two fenced areas, one for small dogs and one for large dogs, and it still overlooks the Chattahoochee. Rough Draft cited the city's 2027 budget: about $560,000 of the $1.04 million budget has been spent, and the rest is expected to go out this fiscal year. The city doesn't own this land outright. Last October it updated its land lease with Georgia Power so its contractor could build the shade structures, the wash station, dog agility equipment, better ground cover and drainage.
One housekeeping note. The city's pets and livestock page points out that Fulton County requires a license for dogs and cats older than four months.
Why the Lot Matters More Than the Fences
The dog park sits on the Springway's Morgan Falls Connector, the first piece of the city's trail master plan to be built. The city lists it as 1.88 miles from Morgan Falls Overlook Park to Roswell Road at Cimarron Parkway. The Sandy Springs Conservancy lists the segment at 1.6 miles and puts its grand opening in May 2025. According to the city, Roswell Road is the trail's other end, and the dog park lot at 100 Morgan Falls Road is the parking it names for drivers.
Rough Draft reported that the dog park was closed in late September while crews worked and was expected to open in early October. Here's what you can walk to from the lot:
- The dog park itself, with its fenced small- and large-dog areas.
- The Orkin Lake boardwalk. The path is 8 to 12 feet wide and crosses the lake on a concrete-deck boardwalk on its way to Roswell Road. No fishing from the boardwalk, and no swimming or diving in the lake.
- Morgan Falls Overlook Park at 400 Morgan Falls Road, the trail's other end at the river.
- Morgan Falls Dam. Rough Draft notes it was built in 1904 and still produces hydroelectricity. The city lists a fishing area at the dam.
A few rules apply once you leave the fences. The trail is open dawn to dusk. Pets stay on a short leash and walk on the right shoulder. Only small, low-speed electric mobility devices are allowed, so no gas-powered vehicles or golf carts. The city's parks listing gives Overlook Park's hours as 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Neither source lists separate hours for the dog park.
The Overlook End of the Loop
Morgan Falls Overlook Park opened in 2010 as the first new park Sandy Springs built after it incorporated. It has porch swings facing the river, a fire pit, a playground, a picnic pavilion and a 2/3-mile hiking trail through the woods. Pavilions are first-come, first-served unless a group has reserved one.
There's also a floating dock that gives public access to the Chattahoochee upstream of the dam. You can launch your own kayak, canoe or paddleboard, or rent one from Murph's Surf Paddle Shack at the park. Murph's lists the Morgan Falls location as open Wednesday through Sunday for its 2026 season. It doesn't publish a late-fall or winter schedule and says weather and staffing can close it, so check its booking calendar before you load the car. Its posted Morgan Falls rates:
| Rental | 1 hour | 2 hours | 3 hours | Day |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single kayak | $25 | $40 | $55 | $65 |
| Double kayak | $40 | $60 | $70 | $85 |
| Fiberglass paddleboard | $25 | $40 | $55 | $65 |
Those prices don't include tax or a small booking fee. Murph's also lists a $2-per-person Morgan Falls charge inside that fee, plus a $5 parking pass. The city's page for Murph's adds weekend SUP yoga and year-round private boat and board storage.
Parking Is the Fight Over the Next Mile Too
On October 6, the City Council voted 4-2 to apply for a $3 million Georgia Department of Natural Resources grant for Segment 2C of the Morgan Falls Loop, as Rough Draft Atlanta reported. The segment would start where the current path ends at Overlook Park. It would run through a wooded, naturally preserved stretch along the river and a tributary toward Adair Lane and Grogan Ferry Road. It's about 60% designed and is one piece of a proposed 5.6-mile loop.
The numbers are still in flux. The project is estimated at around $14 million, and a city memo says that even with the full grant, it would still be nearly $3 million short. Mayor Rusty Paul said the vote was narrow in scope:
"This is simply whether the council will authorize the city to file a grant application for partial funding … we did it last year … we didn't get it."
Parking came up again and again in the debate. More than two dozen residents spoke during public comment. Council Member Melody Kelley, who represents the District 2 neighbors closest to the route, said she had read emails from residents of the Edgewater at Sandy Springs Apartments about parking conflicts with path users near the existing Segment 2A. She called the lack of parking for a nature-trail attraction a major issue. Council Member Mary Ford said she'd rather the segment be a nature trail than a 12-foot-wide concrete path, and that she'd like to see sidewalks such as one on Adair Lane funded first. The Grogan's Bluff Homeowners Association has asked the city to move the trail along Morgan Falls Road, south of the neighborhood, and to build an Adair Lane sidewalk. In a letter, the HOA said it supports a trail network and is asking for the path to move "only a few meters." City staff recommended keeping the current alignment, pointing to the creek bed and forested area between the path and private homes.
Here's the timeline. If the state scores the project highly this winter, the city submits a second-round application next spring. If the money is accepted, the design can't change beyond minor landscaping. Officials can still look at other funding, other alignments and materials, and more public parking away from homes. That leaves the lot at 100 Morgan Falls Road as the city's listed trail parking for the rest of this fall and winter.
This loop is only one corner of a bigger plan. The city adopted its trail master plan in 2019 and named it Springway in 2023. The full plan calls for 31.4 miles of paved paths, with connections to PATH400, City Springs and Cumberland.
One More North End Evening on the Calendar
The riverfront isn't the only thing the city has added up here this fall. Its new Night Market runs 5 to 8 p.m. on the first Thursdays of September, October and November at River Springs Shopping Center, 8610 Roswell Road. Rough Draft reported that the market came out of North End residents asking for more programming and investment outside downtown City Springs. The Sandy Springs Record describes it as an after-work extension of the Saturday market, not a replacement for it. The season's last date is Thursday, November 5, with local farmers, food producers, artisans and prepared-food vendors. Grows Organic Products is one name on the market's vendor map. If you're spending a fall afternoon at the dog park or on the boardwalk before dusk, that's one more reason to stay in the North End for the evening.
Shanna Bradley follows projects like the Morgan Falls Loop because a trail segment or a parking decision can change how a street lives and how a home on it shows. If you live near the Morgan Falls riverfront and want to know how Segment 2C might affect your corner of the North End, Shanna Bradley is glad to talk it through. Book an appointment.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
