The Carrollton GreenBelt Bike Trail is a hidden gem for rail trail riders in the South. It is a multi-use trail located in Carrollton, Georgia and provides a minimum of 18 miles of riding in a loop around the city suburbs. There are also other trails that connect to it throughout to get you into the city if you want to visit a specific place. I won’t go into a lot of detail about the actual trail system and map here because there is adequate information on their website. This post is a log of our ride on the GreenBelt during one of the hottest days of the summer of 2025.
The sign basically rules out anything with an engine. We were fine with our Class 3 e-bikes, as they are pedal assist. The trail has many trailheads, but we wanted to make it official and ride it from the “beginning.”
Mile Marker 0
Starting at Mile 0, we parked, dismounted the bikes and went straight to the pavillion to have a bite of lunch and use the facilities before heading out on the loop. Contrary to our normal fare (pack a lunch from home), we decided to pick up some local Wendy’s burgers for convenience.
The Tree Canopies
Leaving the pavilion, the trail goes for several miles through beautiful tree canopies filled with birds and many squirrels and rabbits. There are many places to stop to rest and on this extremely hot day we took advantage of a lot of them. Another thing that was impressive was the signage about native trees and wildlife.
The path is entirely paved and well lined, with plenty of good signage to keep you on the route. The trail weaves in and out of green space and urban landscape. On this day, we basically rode from shade to shade, so the green spaces were more welcome.
Riding Around the Lake
The scenery changes are so subtle and it is amazing to go from buildings, shops, and schools to natural beautiful landscapes (some man made, some not). We reached this stretch of path and it just made us smile. Next thing we knew, a lake appeared on the right and we just had to stop for a quick photo shoot.
The entire city of Carrollton is serious about keeping this trail beautiful and well maintained. Here we were greeted by the local bike club, The Chaingang Cycle Club. It was so innovative and welcoming.
Ayers Dairy Farm
There were plenty of curves on the trail and not much elevation to speak of. There were portions that took us out to the rural countryside where we passed a few notable farms in the area. I could be wrong, but I would guess that these farms pay for a good part of the upkeep of the trail in this area and we are grateful for it. Thanks!
Bridges, tunnels, and boardwalks abound throughout the entire loop. We continually mentioned to each other that there was so much to see and so much variety that we never once got remotely bored on the entire ride.
Welcome to Carrollton
Throughout the ride we felt welcome and as if the city was happy that we were there. This is always such a bonus when going on a ride like this in and around a town you have never been to before.
One of the amazing parts of the trail are these super long boardwalks. I can’t imagine the time and effort it took to go into building these. They were an incredible treat to ride down.
Ride with GPS Route
Below is the embed for our actual Ride with GPS profile ride from this trip, you can click on the title for more details.
Don’t Miss the River
The falls and bridge below were just before the parking lot trailhead where we parked the truck. It was so crazy hot this day that we just had to sink our feet in the cool rushing water and rest for a while. Even Edgar didn’t mind being that close to the water. That pup was pooped.
I can imagine that in the spring and fall this trail is packed with bicycles and pedestrian traffic. We always try to go to these places during the week if possible. We passed a few bikes and walkers, but not many. It was a Saturday, so I think it was the excessive heat that kept the extra folks at home or indoors. Even though it was so hot, I was so very glad we did this ride. It was instantly one of my favorites that we have ever done.
