Piedmont Park at the Hour the Skyline Turns Gold

Piedmont Park at the Hour the Skyline Turns Gold

Piedmont Park is 189 acres of green at the intersection of Midtown and the Virginia-Highland neighborhood, and it is to Atlanta what Central Park is to New York — the place where the city goes to remember that it is not only buildings and traffic but also grass and sky and the particular sound of a softball hitting a glove on a Wednesday evening.

The Active Oval is the park's beating heart — a flat, open expanse where soccer games, frisbee matches, and picnics coexist with the democratic ease of a space that was designed for everyone and is used by everyone. From the north end, the Midtown skyline rises behind the tree line, and at sunset the glass towers catch the light and turn gold, then orange, then pink, and the whole city looks like it was painted by someone who wanted you to stay five more minutes.

The lake at the park's south end is small and urban and bordered by willows, and the turtles that sun on the logs don't flinch when joggers pass because they've been doing this longer than anyone in sneakers. The path around the lake connects to the Atlanta Botanical Garden at the park's northeast corner, and the canopy walk — a 600-foot elevated walkway through the treetops — is the garden's signature experience and one of the best things you can do in Atlanta for $22.

Best season: October, when the dogwoods and maples turn and the humidity that defines Atlanta summers finally releases its grip. The Saturday morning Green Market runs March through December with local produce, bread, and the kind of prepared food that makes "farmers market" feel like an understatement. Spring is azalea season, and the park's collection blooms in pinks and whites that turn the understory into a watercolor.