For most of the past decade, PATH400 was two good trails pretending to be one. A stretch ran south from Loridans Drive toward the Buckhead core. Another ran further north into Sandy Springs. In between sat a gap that meant anyone using the trail for something other than a there-and-back walk still had to get in a car to connect the pieces.
That gap closed in September 2025, when Livable Buckhead opened the three-quarter-mile segment between Wieuca Road and Loridans Drive, anchored by a bridge that clears Mountain Way Common at nearly 60 feet. This past year is the first full stretch of seasons where residents can actually use the trail as a route rather than a loop. And the businesses that sit closest to it are starting to act like they've noticed.
What Changed, Specifically
The Wieuca-to-Loridans segment was the last unfinished piece of PATH400 inside Buckhead proper, and it took nearly two years to build. Most of that time went to an engineering problem nobody could see from the trail itself: an unplanned habitat study for bats living near the bridge, which also led to taller, sturdier handrails than the original design called for. With it open, PATH400 now runs nearly three continuous miles through the neighborhood, linking four MARTA stations, Chastain Park, and the retail corridors along Peachtree Road without a car in between.
That is the part worth sitting with. A trail that used to require driving to a trailhead now starts at a lot of front doors. For a runner in North Buckhead, that means the Blue Heron preserve and Chastain Park are now connected by a single stretch of pavement instead of a drive down Roswell Road. For a commuter near Tower Place, it means a MARTA station is reachable on foot without crossing Peachtree at grade.
The Segments Still in Progress
Not everything is finished, and the timeline gets less certain the further north you look. Here is where each piece stands as of this September:
| Segment | Status | Expected Completion |
|---|---|---|
| Wieuca Road to Loridans Drive (Mountain Way Common bridge) | Open | Completed September 2025 |
| Loridans Drive to the Atlanta–Sandy Springs line | Under construction, with retaining walls, steep grades, and a major switchback | First quarter of 2027 |
| Sandy Springs extension, first two segments (Nancy Creek to Windsor Parkway) | Bidding or early construction | January 2028 |
| Sandy Springs extension, full 2.3 miles including Segment 2's three-year build | Construction on Segment 2 begins summer 2026 | Summer 2029 |
| Peachtree Park connector (Peachtree Road to the Gordon Bynum Bridge) | In city procurement | Begins early 2027, wraps later that year |
| Southern connector toward the Atlanta BeltLine | In city procurement | Begins early 2027, wraps later that year |
That Sandy Springs timeline is worth reading closely because it is phased, not a single date. The city's own reporting has the first two segments finished by January 2028, with a third segment, Segment 2, needing a three-year build once it breaks ground this summer, which is what pushes the full 2.3-mile extension to summer 2029. Livable Buckhead's own leadership has been candid that these dates depend on government approvals, utility relocations, major roads, private property, and railroads, none of which move on anyone's preferred schedule. The bat habitat study that delayed the Mountain Way bridge is a useful reminder of how easily a schedule like this can slip.
Why the Middle Piece Mattered More Than Either End
It is tempting to measure trail progress in miles, but miles aren't the whole story here. A disconnected trail is a recreation amenity. A connected one is infrastructure, and infrastructure changes behavior in ways that show up first in how nearby businesses position themselves.
That shift is visible right now along the corridor. La Parrilla was slated to open its 20th Georgia location this summer in the former On The Border space at 1 Buckhead Loop, a 7,500-square-foot spot that sits directly along the trail's commercial spine. Inside Chastain Park itself, a coffee-and-ice-cream concept called Chastain Creamery is in the works, positioned as the kind of stop that only makes sense if foot and bike traffic through the park is already a given rather than a hope.
Neither of these is a trail-branded business. They're just choosing addresses that put them inside a five-minute walk of a path that didn't reliably exist eighteen months ago, and that kind of siting decision is a better indicator of where a corridor is heading than any single ribbon-cutting.
The Park Project Riding Alongside It
Just off the trail, Mountain Way Common is getting its own upgrade that's easy to miss if you're only watching PATH400 itself. In February 2026, Livable Buckhead received a $160,000 grant from Park Pride that unlocked Moving Atlanta Forward bond funding and fully financed the roughly $450,000 first phase of a new master plan for the park. The centerpiece is the Creekside Connection Trail, a five-foot-wide, ADA-accessible crushed-slate loop that ties together entrances at PATH400, North Ivy Road, and Mountain Way, with designated creek-access points for kids and dogs along Little Nancy Creek.
Construction was scheduled to begin in late spring 2026, which puts the loop under active work right now rather than open for use. If you've walked past orange fencing near the Mountain Way entrance this summer, that's what it's for. The payoff, once it wraps, is a second, gentler loop option that doesn't require the full trail commitment PATH400 asks for, useful on a morning when you want the creek and the dog park more than the mileage.
One Night to Put on the Calendar
If you want a low-effort way to see how the trail's momentum is being funded, Livable Buckhead's annual fundraiser, Party on the PATH, returns Sunday, October 4, at Eclipse di Luna on Miami Circle, sitting right along the existing southern trail. The evening opens with a VIP reception at Johnson Lowe Gallery before moving into the main event for food, drinks, and music. It's a fundraiser first, which means the ticket price is doing double duty as trail maintenance money, but it's also a rare chance to see the corridor's civic side up close rather than just walking past it on a Tuesday.
What This Means If You're Already Here
None of this requires a decision from you. You don't need to buy, sell, or move to benefit from a trail that now reaches further than it did a year ago. But a few practical notes are worth carrying into fall:
- Expect construction signage and occasional detours on the stretch north of Loridans Drive through at least early 2027. The trail south of that point remains open and unaffected.
- If you use Mountain Way Common as a shortcut or a dog-walking loop, expect some disruption there through the rest of this construction season as the Creekside Connection Trail goes in.
- Don't plan a bike commute all the way to Central Perimeter yet. The first two Sandy Springs segments aren't due until January 2028, and the full 2.3-mile extension isn't expected until summer 2029.
- If La Parrilla's new location or Chastain Creamery are new to your radar, both sit within a few minutes of an existing trail entrance, which is either a coincidence or exactly the point.
The honest read on PATH400 right now is that the hard, unglamorous middle section is finally done, and the easier-to-fund ends are catching up slower than anyone originally promised. That's not a complaint. It's just how trail construction along a state highway tends to go, and knowing that keeps expectations realistic for whichever piece opens next.
Curious how any of this lines up with your own block, or what else has shifted nearby lately? Shannon Cartrett keeps a close eye on Buckhead's day-to-day changes, trail progress included, and is always happy to talk through what's new in the neighborhood. Browse more on the Buckhead neighborhood page or reach out through the contact page any time.
