Island Ford – N&S Trails – Sandy Springs, GA – 5.75 miles – Easy to Moderate

Distance: Approximately 5.75 miles
Difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Group Pace: 2.5 – 3 MPH
Parking Fee: $5

Let's Take-a-Hike along the Chattahoochee River.

The Island Ford Trail is all soft surface, with some of it hugging the Hooch and other parts running deeper into the woods. While AllTrails lists it as easy, I would suggest that it falls somewhere between easy and moderate due to the relatively modest but consistent elevation gains and descents in the trail sections that do not hug the waterline.

We will meet in the parking lot where the north and south trails connect. This is the first parking lot that you will see on your left after turning onto Island Ford Parkway off or Roberts Drive. Please do not miss it as there are several parking lots in this park. Do not go to the visitor’s center. The easiest way to find it would be to just follow the link that I post in the event section using google maps to ensure you come to the right place. Where the red pin is will be the exact place where we will congregate … give or take a few yards😊

There is a parking fee of $5.00 unless you already have the appropriate parking pass (CRNRA; US NPS). This park doesn’t have have cash envelopes available from what I recall, but does have a posted barcode that you can scan with your phone, enter license plate and payment info and pay online, etc. upon your arrival. But if you are not comfortable with that approach or want to save a few mins, you can pay online in advance by using the link I have provided below.

Doggies are permitted on this trail and welcome/encouraged to attend.

The hike will start at 9 am, and I figure it will take us about 2.5 to 3 hours max with a couple of very short rest breaks.

Please note: I do and will start events on time so please do not be late out of consideration for all attendees.

Our pace will be about 2.5 - 3 mph. Not a sprint but definitely not a crawl either, so please consider this before signing up.

Below are some helpful links. As always, if you have any questions in advance please let me know and I will do my best to answer them.

AllTrails (general info about the trail itself):

Island Ford Trail - Georgia | AllTrails

Day Pass (parking):

[Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area Site Pass in Georgia - Recreation.gov](https://www.recreation.gov/sitepass/2626)

Hope to see you there, and of course please remember that you will be participating entirely at your own risk as Suwanee Take-a-Hikers assumes absolutely no liability (nada, zero, zip, zilch, jack squat) for adverse events which may occur during meetups.