"There was plenty of mud for my golden here for a long time," Mayor Rusty Paul said at the Oct. 14 ribbon cutting for the renovated Morgan Falls Dog Park, as Rough Draft Atlanta reported. If you have ever hosed red clay off a dog in the parking lot at 100 Morgan Falls Road, you know what he meant.
The renovated dog park is the clearest sign of what is happening along this stretch of the Chattahoochee. The city has now finished the work it could control, which was drainage, grading and paved path. Everything left on the Morgan Falls list waits on an outside party. A new dock is being built off-site. A trail extension needs a state grant decision. Ten athletic fields have to be redone around the youth sports schedule. Once you know which piece waits on whom, it's easier to plan a November afternoon there and to guess what the park will look like a year or two from now.
The dog park problem was water, and the city fixed it with drainage
The old dog park flooded because of a ditch. A drainage channel clogged with sediment, fallen limbs and roots kept spilling water into the large-dog enclosure, according to The Sandy Springs Record, which cited the city's construction overview. Crews started with earthwork in fall 2024 to redirect runoff and reshape the ground. The amenities went in later.
The project had a $1.04 million budget and covers the 3.4-acre site. Here is what's there now:
- Separate large-dog and small-dog areas with new sod, mulch and boulders for climbing and sitting
- Shade structures, seating and picnic tables
- Drinking fountains, waste stations and a wash station
- An ADA parking space and hardscape access into the park
Even this finished piece needed an outside partner. Georgia Power owns the land next to its hydroelectric dam and leases it to the city. Mayor Paul thanked the utility for allowing the improvements, including the water meter that runs the wash station. Recreation and Parks Director Brent Walker explained why the wash station matters: "If your dog likes to get in the river or gets dirty out there, you can actually hose them off before you take them home."
It is still the city's only public dog park, on the gravel road along the Springway Trail across from the state Department of Natural Resources boat ramp.
The trail you can walk today starts at the same parking lot
The dog park lot is also where the city tells trail users to park. From there, the completed Springway Segment 2A runs 1.88 miles from Morgan Falls Overlook Park over Orkin Lake to Roswell Road at Cimarron Parkway. It is a paved multi-use path 8 to 12 feet wide, with a concrete-deck boardwalk. The City of Sandy Springs lists it as open dawn to dusk.
The Springway is a different trail from the shorter wooded hiking trail inside Morgan Falls Overlook Park, which runs about two-thirds of a mile. The park also has porch swings, a fire pit, a playground, a picnic pavilion, a floating dock and restrooms. Rough Draft reported that the restrooms were renovated earlier this year. The city's park-hours page lists Overlook Park as open 7 a.m. to 10 p.m., later than the Springway's dawn-to-dusk hours. That matters as daylight gets shorter in November. Pavilions are first-come, first-served unless someone has reserved one through the city.
The water side is waiting on a delivery
Out on Bull Sluice Lake, Murph's Surf Paddle Shack runs the rental concession the city awarded in 2024. Its current menu lists single and double kayaks and fiberglass paddleboards. Its Season 2026 rental page lists Morgan Falls as open Wednesday through Sunday and warns that weather and staffing can close it. The Sandy Springs Record described rentals as seven days a week back in July. On a late-fall weekday, check the booking calendar before you load the car.
There are enough paddlers here that the city is adding a boathouse with more storage, working with its vendor. According to The Sandy Springs Record, the same stretch of water hosted the first Sandy Springs SUP Showdown in August, a six-mile out-and-back race on the Chattahoochee and Bull Sluice Lake. The Record also reported that the nonprofit Catalyst Sports runs adaptive kayaking at Overlook Park from June through October, so that program is done for the year.
The new dock is the clearest example of a piece that waits on someone else. "We're just waiting on it to be manufactured and floated down," Walker told Rough Draft Atlanta. "So, [the new dock] could show up any day now. It'll happen, hopefully this fall." Until it shows up, the paddling setup stays as it is.
The trail extension is waiting on a state grant decision
Segment 2C would stretch the Springway the farthest, and it has the longest wait. The planned 1.6-mile addition starts at Overlook Park and heads east along a Chattahoochee tributary through mature forest, past rock outcroppings and waterfalls, to Roswell Road. It would grow the Morgan Falls Loop from 1.8 miles to about 3.4. The long-term goal is a continuous 5.6-mile loop around the park. The route would connect to Adair Lane and continue to Grogan's Ferry Road.
The Sandy Springs Conservancy works on the project with city staff, the PATH Foundation and the design firm Kaizen Collaborative. The design is 60% complete. The city has set aside $5 million as a local match against an estimated cost of about $14 million. It applied for a Georgia Department of Natural Resources grant once before, in early 2025, and that grant was rescinded amid federal budget cuts.
On Oct. 6, the City Council voted 4-2 to apply again, this time for $3 million from the DNR. More than two dozen residents spoke during public comment, some in support and some opposed, Rough Draft reported. The two dissenting council members raised concerns about the trail's alignment and the lack of added parking. The city will learn in the spring whether the application moves to a second round. If the money comes through, the design can't change beyond minor landscaping. The earliest real news about Segment 2C will come next spring.
The fields are waiting on the season
Next to all this is the Morgan Falls Athletic Complex, the third outside schedule. Walker said all 10 fields are due for artificial turf, along with new parking and stormwater work to prevent flooding. "The completion date for the athletic complex work would be more like 2028, and we hope to start in mid-2027," he told Rough Draft. "We have to do that work around the [Sandy Springs Youth] Association's schedule for games."
Here's where each piece stands as of late October 2026:
| Piece | Status | Waiting on | Next milestone |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Falls Dog Park | Reopened Oct. 14 | Nothing; done | Open now |
| Springway Segment 2A | Open, 1.88 miles | Nothing; done | Open now, dawn to dusk |
| New dock | Being manufactured | Manufacture and delivery | "Hopefully this fall" |
| Boathouse and kayak storage | Planned with the vendor | The city and its vendor | No date given |
| Springway Segment 2C | 60% designed | Georgia DNR grant decision | Notice expected next spring |
| Athletic complex turf | Planned | Youth league game schedule | Start mid-2027, finish around 2028 |
A late-fall afternoon with what's open now
For now, a good Morgan Falls outing uses only the finished pieces. Park at 100 Morgan Falls Road and let the dog run in the large or small area, then rinse off river mud at the wash station. Walk the Springway over the Orkin Lake boardwalk toward Roswell Road and get back before dusk. Finish at Overlook Park, where the porch swings and fire pit stay open until 10 p.m. If the weather holds and Murph's booking calendar shows availability, you can still get out on Bull Sluice Lake while the new dock is on its way.
Jamie lives and works across these north Atlanta suburbs. If you're watching Morgan Falls change and wondering how parks and trails like these figure into a future move, Jamie Grace Miller is glad to share what she's seeing in your part of Sandy Springs. Schedule a Free Consultation whenever you're ready.
