"What we're trying to do is create a park within the park," Rosa McHugh, president and CEO of Chastain Park Conservancy, told Rough Draft Atlanta in June. She was describing roughly 30 acres at the south end of Chastain. Most people who walk the loop, play the golf course or catch shows at the amphitheatre have never set foot there, because you can't.
That land is the site of the Palisades Project, and the timing matters this month. Construction was set for November 1. Chastain has always added things to do, like a concert venue, an arts center, a horse park, a playground and a public golf course. This addition is planned around walking, sitting and native plants, and building it also changes the road you drive into the lower park.
The Acreage Behind the 16th Hole
The Palisades sits between the 16th hole of the golf course and Nancy Creek, WSB Radio reported in August. Rough Draft described it as overgrown with kudzu and ivy and "almost entirely inaccessible on foot." Urbanize Atlanta reported that over the years the area also collected fill, construction waste and trash.
That matters in a park this busy. Simply Buckhead reported that Chastain draws more than 3 million visitors a year, and that Conservancy leaders see demand for accessible natural areas still growing. So one of Atlanta's most heavily used parks has had a large stretch of ground nobody could use.
The idea isn't new. McHugh told Rough Draft that the land was first seen as an opportunity in 2008. The Conservancy brought it back during the comprehensive planning process, after a pandemic-era try at opening parts of the golf course as greenspace didn't work alongside steady play. The current design comes from the 2025 Chastain Park Comprehensive Plan Update, which Atlanta City Council approved. The Conservancy says one request came up again and again during public engagement: more passive greenspace.
What the Plan Puts There
The design firm is Lord Aeck Sargent and the builder is SG Contracting. According to the Conservancy's project announcement, the finished site will include:
- 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
- Habitat restoration along the creek corridor
Most of that list is about slowing down. The amphitheatre, the golf course and the playground are built around scheduled activity. McHugh described her goal to Rough Draft as a place "where you can just go and be and enjoy," with plants picked for "color and interest" so the site looks different from season to season. Native plantings have already started around the edges of the park.
The Change Drivers Will Notice First
People on foot will see the trails. People who drive into the lower park are in for a bigger change.
Right now the only vehicle road into the lower half of the park runs through Chastain Park Golf Course, which Rough Draft calls one of the busiest public courses in Atlanta. The Palisades Project moves that road and turns the old asphalt back into fairway. In its place, a new entrance drive and parking area will serve the Conservancy offices, Farm Chastain and the new trails. A 153-foot pedestrian bridge over Nancy Creek will take visitors into the Palisades.
That means golfers get a fairway with no road through it. Anyone headed to a Farm Chastain dinner or workshop will eventually use a different way in. The Conservancy lists its address as 4001 Powers Ferry Road NW.
When the Work Starts, and How Long It Runs
The sources agree that work starts soon, but the details shift a bit depending on who you read and when:
- July 14, 2026. The Conservancy said construction was expected to begin November 1 and take 12 to 16 months, with more than $12 million raised and $1 million to go.
- September 2026. The Atlanta Business Chronicle called it a $13.5 million project and said construction would begin in November "pending the final fundraising," taking 12 to 18 months.
- October 1, 2026. Simply Buckhead reported that 12 to 16 months of construction would begin "before the end of the year."
Read together, the work is expected to start this fall or early winter and run more than a year, so the Palisades probably won't open before 2028. The Conservancy hasn't announced any changes to parking, paths or Farm Chastain access during construction. The Chastain Park Conservancy site is the place to watch for those updates.
The Busy Side of the Park, Through December
While that work gets going, the calendar stays full on the side of the park you already know. Here is what's coming, starting today:
- Thursday, October 29. The Chastain Arts Center Holiday Show & Sale holds its opening reception. The same evening, Chastain Horse Park's Reins of Hope runs from 6 to 10 p.m. off the park grounds, at the Atlanta History Center on West Paces Ferry Road, according to the Horse Park's events page.
- Friday, October 30. Glow Chastain runs from 5 to 7 p.m. at the playground. It's a free Halloween event with trick-or-treating, activities and music.
- October 30 and 31. Steve Lacy plays the amphitheatre. These are the last 2026 dates on the venue's October calendar.
- November 7 and 8. The Chastain Park Fall Arts Festival sets up along Park Drive with art, food, children's activities and live music. The organizer says admission is free.
- November 30 through December 12. The Arts Center's December workshop session runs after the fall session ends November 14.
- Saturday, December 5. Holiday Chastain comes to the playground with hot chocolate, cookie decorating and family activities. It's free, per the Conservancy's events page.
- December 12. The Holiday Show & Sale closes.
Chastain Arts Center classes include drawing, printmaking, pottery, painting and jewelry making, which helps if you have a gift in mind for the December session.
Where the New Trails Meet the Loop You Already Walk
The new trails are planned to connect to the PATH Foundation trails already around the park, according to Urbanize Atlanta. The PATH Foundation describes today's Chastain Park Trail as 3.92 miles in two loops. One circles the golf course. The other runs north of Galloway School, the amphitheatre and the playground. The golf course loop is the one that passes closest to the Palisades. That's the stretch to walk this winter if you want to see the work as it moves toward the 153-foot bridge over Nancy Creek.
If you're thinking about how a reworked Chastain fits into your own plans in Buckhead, Dawn Anderson follows projects like this one block by block and can talk through what they mean for the streets around the park. Schedule a Free Market Consultation whenever the timing suits you.
