May 21, 2025 (My Favorite Section!)

May 5

Big Creek Greenway – Haynes Bridge Park to Big Creek Park and back

8908 steps / ~4 miles

So it turns out this is my favorite stretch of the Greenway! You start by walking under this really cool overpass. Lots of bridges – I’m a big fan of walking over bridges, especially ones that pass over creeks and rivers. This section has a few that take you right over Big Creek, which I adore.

I also love the artwork on the raised sewer manholes – I’m not sure if I just didn’t notice it before or if the art is only in this section, but the walk is so much more enjoyable when you’re looking out for the next work of art. Most if not all of the paintings are by Komal Chugh, who does have a website, but it seems a little out of date. Still, Komal, if you see this? Big fan of your work. I love the perspectives and the colors!

Once you near the Big Creek park section, there’s this part where the trail splits off a few times. One section takes you to the Big Creek Park trail and the boardwalk, so I walked that and came back. There’s a port-a-potty over there, by the way – I know I was relieved to see that, haha.

Anyway, at the point where the paths diverge, there’s a sign with a map. That’s when I realized two things:

1. There are three different trails over there, all heading in roughly the same direction: the paved path that eventually leads to a boardwalk, and the paved section that…also becomes a boardwalk, but a different one?

2. I’d originally marked on my map that I walked the nature trail section by the wetlands. I definitely hadn’t.

So I walked the wooden boardwalk section (well, the other boardwalk is also wooden…but, like, a laminated kind of wood, whereas this one was more raw? You’ll see it in the photos below.) I followed that trail until I ended up back at the Big Creek Boardwalk (I think? I’m blanking on the exact logistics) then went back to the point where the paths converge.

I opted not to walk the nature trail because I wasn’t wearing my mud shoes. (Yes, I choose my shoes for the day based on the likelihood of walking in mud, lol.) I hope to go back and walk the nature trail someday, but, to me, it’s not a part of the main section of the Big Creek Greenway. It’s more like a side quest.

I found my way back to Haynes Bridge Park and ended my journey for the evening, realizing I only had one section of the main (Alpharetta section of the) Greenway left to walk. My goal was nearing completion!