Roswell River Parks Fitness and Adventure Trail

Nineteen miles north of Atlanta on the Chattahoochee River, the Roswell River Parks Fitness and Adventure Trail reclaims a former sand dredging facility for human and environmental health. This project is the first in a multi-phase system of riverfront parks designed by Starr Whitehouse for the City of Roswell, GA. Eroded by currents, overtaken by invasives, and disturbed by industrial uses, this three-acre site originally offered no waterfront access and little programming beyond a gravel road and an aging footpath running parallel to the river. Starr Whitehouse transformed this site into a vibrant nexus along the city’s most used trail – offering adult fitness, environmental restoration, riverfront seating, and connections to adjacent parks. The existing road and footpath join to form a perimeter jogging loop studded with fitness stations beneath the mature tree canopy. Inside this active perimeter, softer “adventure trails” dart between boulders and crisscross bioswales, making hydrology part of the park experience. Invasive and hazardous trees are reused to create sawn log paths and seating pods. Along the riverbank, stone “get-downs” stabilize the shoreline, beckoning visitors to fish, paddle, swim – and reconnect with the region’s lifeblood watercourse. Built to withstand flooding, the first phase of the path survived complete inundation during Hurricane Helene with negligible damage.