FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Nearly five miles of new trails along the popular Big Creek Greenway are now open to the public. Forsyth County officials cut the ribbon on two new segments of paths June 3, extending the overall length of the trail to about 15 miles within Forsyth County.
One of the new trail segments, west of Cumming, extends the Greenway from the intersection of Kelly Mill Road and Johnson Road to Ga. 20 for a total distance of 2.27 miles. The other new portion, a total of 2.5 miles, begins at the intersection of Ga. 20 and the Spot Road Connector and runs along the Connector, Doc Bramblett Road and Spot Road to the Sawnee Mountain Preserve north of Cumming.
The paths now open to the public are within Phase V of the Greenway, which has been on the county’s radar for well over a decade. The paths were funded by the county’s $100 million Parks, Recreation and Greenspace Bond and from special purpose local option sales tax revenues.
A future segment of the trail will connect all portions of the Greenway in Forsyth County. The county expects to complete an additional 1 mile of trails running parallel to Ga. 20 as a GDOT project widens the roadway.
The complete length of Phase V is 5.7 miles from Kelly Mill Road to the Sawnee Mountain Preserve Visitor Center on Spot Road.
The Greenway is a linear park featuring primarily 12-foot wide concrete paths/boardwalks that begins in Roswell’s Big Creek Park and runs through Alpharetta.
The Greenway begins in Forsyth County at the intersection of Ronald Reagan Boulevard and McGinnis Ferry Road. The trail runs north along Big Creek for about 9 miles before continuing north at Kelly Mill Road and along other roadways to Ga. 20.
The 2.5-mile stretch of Greenway that will connect portions in North Fulton to the Forsyth County border has been on the drawing board in Alpharetta for several years. The trail currently ends at Marconi Drive just north of Webb Bridge Road. After years of delays, the extension is scheduled for completion later this year.
Forsyth County Parks and Recreation Director Jim Pryor previously told the Herald that the connection to Fulton County has been complicated by the widening of McGinnis Ferry Road, where the two trails will meet. He also said Forsyth County has come to terms with Halcyon on a land swap deal that will extend the trail farther south toward the county line.
