The trailhead at 750 Hickory Flat Road doesn't look any different this week. There are nine natural-surface trails, a meadow, gravel parking and room for horse trailers, all on the same quiet stretch of north Milton road they've always been on. On October 8, City of Milton and Georgia-Alabama Land Trust officials signed paperwork at the park that permanently protects its natural character.
That signing came out of a City Council meeting three days earlier, and the same meeting produced a second trail decision. Put together, the two votes tell you where Milton's next trails will go, and it's a different answer from the one the city gave a year ago.
Two Votes on the Same Monday Night
On October 5, council voted to take the Trails Blueprint out of the city's Unified Development Code. The Blueprint was the map that had sat in city code for years marking possible locations for sidewalks and multi-use paths. The vote also removed the rules requiring new developments to build trails and grant easements for them. In the city's meeting recap, Councilmember Carol Cookerly thanked city staff for their "sensitivity to this issue and the public," and added, "It's great to have a fresh start."
Later in the same meeting, council unanimously approved a $20,000 conservation easement agreement covering about 185 acres of Birmingham Park, according to the Milton Herald at Appen Media. The city's announcement says the easement keeps the park in its natural state "in perpetuity." Mayor Peyton Jamison said the property "cannot simply be developed by future elected officials."
The first vote erased a map of future trails along public roads. The second permanently protected a 185-acre trail park. The reason both votes point the same way goes back to the August listening session.
What Residents Told the City Before the Vote
In February 2025, the city asked for feedback on a draft update to the Blueprint. The draft proposed sidewalks and multi-use paths for walkers, cyclists and golf carts along public road rights-of-way. The city stressed that the map was a guide and not a promise to build anything. According to Appen Media's reporting, the proposed additions ran along Birmingham Road, Hopewell Road, Freemanville Road, Birmingham Highway, Providence Road, Arnold Mill Road, Bethany Road and Redd Road.
In November 2025, council pulled the map-related items after residents raised concerns about notice, proposed paths on rural Hickory Flat Road and the effect on mature trees, Citizen Portal reported.
Then on August 27, 2026, the Milton Trails Advisory Committee held the first in a series of public listening sessions. The city billed it as a chance to hear concerns, with no decision expected that night. Citizen Portal's account reported that several speakers asked the committee to keep new trail construction inside city parks and green space. Speakers also called for a moratorium on multi-use paths along rural roads until the city publishes uniform design standards.
Five weeks later, the roadside map was gone. The city's October 3 agenda notice describes the new approach as starting with community input and evaluating possible trails case by case. The same evening, council placed Birmingham Park under an easement that bars its development. Milton's trail system now rests on its parks.
What the Easement Locks In, and What It Leaves Open
Asked in its own announcement what changes residents will notice, the city answered, "None, since that's the entire point." Milton still owns and manages the park. The Georgia-Alabama Land Trust holds, monitors and enforces the easement.
Under the agreement, the city keeps the right to:
- Maintain the existing trails
- Build new trails, limited to gravel or natural surfaces within limits that protect the land's conservation values
- Add signage, seating, shelters, parking, restrooms and the utilities those need, as long as they're consistent with the easement
Hiking, horseback riding and wildlife watching are all named in the city's announcement. Biking isn't mentioned there. The council staff report and the agreement itself do list biking among the permitted low-impact activities, when it's consistent with the conservation purpose. The agreement doesn't use the phrase "mountain biking," and the city's park page describes the trail users as equestrians and hikers.
Resident Julie Zahner Bailey thanked the city at the meeting, the Milton Herald reported, calling the park "one of those special places that helps to define the character of Milton." In the same article, Mayor Jamison said he was "looking forward to bringing my grandkids to Birmingham Park."
The Trails Themselves, by the Mile
The city's official trail map names each route by color. Added up, the nine trails come to just under five miles. With the Meadow Loop and the Trail Access Road, the total is about 6.2 miles.
| Route | Length |
|---|---|
| Blue Trail | 1.41 mi |
| Yellow Trail | 1.1 mi |
| Trail Access Road | .77 mi |
| Green Trail | .65 mi |
| Purple Trail | .53 mi |
| Meadow Loop | .41 mi |
| Red Trail | .39 mi |
| White Trail | .36 mi |
| Pink Trail | .35 mi |
| Orange Trail | .15 mi |
| Red-Yellow Trail | .04 mi |
Blue and Yellow make up half of the named-trail mileage. The short connectors, Orange and Red-Yellow, let you shorten or reroute a loop. The map also marks standard parking and separate parking for equestrian trailers.
The Upgrades Already Lined Up
The easement doesn't freeze the park as it is. The city already has a grant-funded improvement project planned for Birmingham Park, and every item in it falls within what the easement allows. According to the city's project page, the plan includes:
- A prefabricated restroom near the trailhead
- About 15 more parking spaces, gravel except for two ADA spaces
- Two safer trail reroutes
- Plantings on a steep trail slope
- Replacing a small bridge
In March 2026, Georgia DNR listed the project among its Recreational Trails Program selections, with an award of $200,000. DNR's description includes the restroom, ADA parking, trail signage, the bridge replacement and reroutes on the Yellow Trail. The city hasn't posted a construction start date on the project page, so if you ride or walk the Yellow Trail, check that page before you head out.
Where Milton's Next Trail Acreage Could Come From
If trails now belong in parks, the next question is where Milton gets more park land. The biggest candidate is in South Deerfield. On September 21, council approved an agreement giving the city the option to buy 51.32 acres at One, Two, and Three Verizon Place for $26.25 million. City Manager Steve Krokoff said the vote "preserves the option" and "does not surrender the (final) decision."
The city's recap set out a 60-day due diligence period to study access, outdoor recreation, trails and public space on the property, and whether some edges could be sold for compatible private uses. A closing could happen on or before December 1. If the purchase goes through, Krokoff said, the city would pay with cash on hand rather than borrow. Council also approved a 30-day moratorium on certain zoning and land-use applications in South Deerfield. A resolution to extend it by up to 60 more days was on the October 19 agenda. The due diligence window runs into late November, so the purchase decision should come in the next few weeks.
Volunteers are also looking after the parks Milton already has. On October 18, more than two dozen of them pulled about 400 pounds of debris from around Providence Park's lake, creeks and trails during Rivers Alive.
With the roadside map gone from city code, Milton's next trail decision is whether to buy the Verizon Place acreage, with a possible closing on or before December 1.
At The Suits Team, we follow Milton's council decisions the same way we follow its home sales, because things like trailhead parking and future park land shape daily life in north Fulton. If you'd like to talk about what Milton's growing park system could mean for your home's value, start with our Instant Home Valuation and we'll go over the numbers with you.
