"Since the 1940s, Chastain Park has been an Atlanta recreational gem, and the Palisades Project represents an exciting next chapter in its history," Chastain Park Conservancy president and CEO Rosa McHugh told Simply Buckhead in its October 1 issue.
The Palisades opens roughly 30 acres that have long been off-limits to the public and turns them into woodland for walking. The park already draws more than 3 million visitors a year, according to the same report. Its biggest investment in decades is going into the one thing it has had the least of, which is room to be quiet. The fall calendar now under way runs almost entirely on the park's older event spaces, and construction on the new section is expected to begin as that calendar winds down.
Where the Palisades Sits, and What Goes In
The site is a partly wooded stretch near the south end of the park. It runs along Nancy Creek and Lake Forrest Drive, close to North Fulton Golf Course. The Conservancy says the plan came out of the 2025 Chastain Park Comprehensive Plan Update, which the Atlanta City Council approved. It also says one request kept coming up in public meetings: more passive greenspace, meaning places to walk, explore and reflect.
Lord Aeck Sargent designed the project and SG Contracting is set to build it. The Conservancy's July 14 project update lists what visitors will get:
- A one-mile trail system through mature forest
- A native tree arboretum
- A natural play space for children
- An outdoor native plant garden
- Overlooks with views across the golf course and the Nancy Creek valley
- Restoration work to protect wildlife habitat along the creek corridor
Several infrastructure changes could make a bigger difference to everyday trips. A new 153-foot pedestrian bridge over Nancy Creek will lead into the site. A new entrance drive and parking area will serve the Conservancy offices, Farm Chastain and the new trails. Rough Draft Atlanta reported in June that the road into the lower park, which now cuts across the golf course, will be moved and its pavement turned back into fairway. According to Urbanize Atlanta, the trails are meant to connect with existing PATH trails, and the site is seen as a link between PATH400 and the BeltLine.
A Buckhead resident who now starts a walk at Chastain could eventually walk from there toward the city's trail system.
What Is Settled and What Is Still Pending
The design, the builder and the scope are fixed. The start date is not. Each update since July has given a slightly looser timeline than the one before it.
| Item | What has been reported | Source and date |
|---|---|---|
| Construction start | Expected November 1 | Chastain Park Conservancy, July 14, 2026 |
| Construction start | Expected in November, pending final fundraising | Atlanta Business Chronicle, September 2026 |
| Construction start | Before the end of the year | Simply Buckhead, October 1, 2026 |
| Build time | 12 to 16 months | Conservancy, July 14; Simply Buckhead, October 1 |
| Build time | 12 to 18 months | Atlanta Business Chronicle, September 2026 |
| Money raised | More than $12 million, with $1 million left to reach the goal | Conservancy, July 14, 2026 |
| Project size | Described as a $13.5 million recreation zone | Atlanta Business Chronicle, September 2026 |
The Atlanta Business Chronicle preview said construction was expected to begin in November "pending the final fundraising." The Conservancy's summer fundraising push centered on the Gilded Trail. It was scheduled for August 8, with a Trailblazer Dinner at The Chastain and a Boots & Bubbles gathering at the St. Regis. As of today, October 11, no final total from that event and no confirmed groundbreaking date has been made public. If the reported timelines hold, the trails would open somewhere between late 2027 and 2028, depending on when work actually begins. The current plan and its expected finish are in the Conservancy's update.
The Park at Full Volume, Through December
The remaining fall and early winter calendar shows how the park has been used for decades. Nearly every event below takes place at the amphitheater, the playground, a parking lot or the arts center. The Palisades adds to none of those. These are the scheduled dates as of mid-October:
- Through October 15: The Conservancy's Chastain Challenge ends. It is a six-week, 100-mile activity fundraiser that started September 1 and added an activity-tracking app this year.
- Sunday, October 18, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.: The Chastain Park Auto Show takes over the Red Parking Lot. Admission is free, more than 175 vehicles are listed, and Ira Lane Coffee is among the vendors.
- Friday, October 23: RAWAYANA plays the amphitheater, which now goes by Synovus Bank Amphitheater.
- Thursday, October 29, 6 to 10 p.m.: Chastain Horse Park's Reins of Hope fundraiser. It takes place at the Atlanta History Center, not in the park.
- Friday, October 30, 5 to 7 p.m.: Glow Chastain, a free Halloween event at the playground.
- October 30 and 31: Steve Lacy plays two nights at the amphitheater, the last shows on its October calendar.
- November 7 and 8: The Chastain Park Fall Arts Festival runs Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The organizer lists it as free.
- Through November 14: The fall class session continues at the Chastain Arts Center, covering pottery, drawing, painting and printmaking. Two-week December workshops follow from November 30 to December 12.
- Saturday, December 5: Holiday Chastain, a free family event at the playground.
The pool season ended September 7. The amphitheater's busiest stretch closes with Steve Lacy, and the arts festival is the last big weekend crowd before the holidays. If construction starts on the November date the Conservancy first announced, crews would arrive the weekend before the festival. If it starts any time before year-end, as Simply Buckhead reported, the work begins during the quietest part of the park's year.
What a Regular Visit May Look Like During Construction
No published plan yet says how construction will affect current routes. Nothing reviewed for this post mentions trail detours, PATH closures, temporary parking or interruptions to Farm Chastain access. Updates so far describe the finished project, not the work schedule.
The location still gives a rough sense of where things may change. The work is centered at the south end along Nancy Creek and Lake Forrest Drive. The plan includes a new entrance drive and parking for Farm Chastain and the Conservancy offices, along with a new route for the road across the golf course. Anyone who parks near the lower park, drives to Farm Chastain, or plays the holes near that road can expect the area to look different. Details on timing should come from the Conservancy as the start date firms up.
After the Arts Festival, Lunch Has Moved
People who used to finish a Chastain afternoon at Three Dollar Café will find it in a new spot. Appen Media reported that the longtime sports bar planned to leave 4475 Roswell Road for the former Snooze building at Chastain Market, 4600 Roswell Road. In May, ToNeTo Atlanta described the move as complete. The old building's future is less clear. A Raising Cane's had been proposed there. On August 28, ToNeTo Atlanta reported, citing two unnamed sources, that the plan had been dropped. The company has not publicly confirmed this.
That leaves the Fall Arts Festival on November 7 and 8 as the last big gathering on the park's familiar layout. If work begins after that weekend rather than on November 1, the festival would also be the last big crowd before the Palisades starts turning a closed stretch of woods along Nancy Creek into a mile of trail.
If you're watching how the Palisades and its new links to PATH400 could change daily life around Chastain, or how much a walk-to-the-trails location may matter in the next few years, Robert Peterson is glad to talk it through with the same neighborhood knowledge he brings to every Buckhead conversation. Let's Connect.
