Riverside Park Is Closed Until 2027. Here's Where Roswell's Fall Walks Went Instead

Riverside Park gets more than 130,000 visitors a year. It has been fenced off since dusk on February 1, 2026, and the City of Roswell expects to reopen it in summer 2027. Over the same stretch, other city park projects have been finishing one by one. A rebuilt pond reopened in September, a smaller river park sits a short way down Riverside Road, and a new trail now runs along Hardscrabble Road. If your fall walk used to start at Riverside, this is the season to try the projects that are already done.

What's Being Built Behind the Riverside Fence

The closure is part of a large project. On December 8, 2025, the Roswell City Council approved a construction contract with MAPP: $12.3 million for construction and a total budget of $13.8 million, paid for through the city's 2022 Recreation & Parks Bond. The plans call for ADA-accessible restrooms, a pavilion and event space, stage and bandstand improvements, a nature-based playground, a new sprayground, changes to circulation and parking, and stormwater upgrades. The city held a groundbreaking on March 13, 2026.

The closure covers more than the lawn. The Alpharetta-Roswell Herald at Appen Media reported that the sprayground is closed for the whole project and that the Riverside Sounds concert series is on hold until further notice. The city says pedestrian routes around the site will stay open during construction, and it hasn't announced any traffic interruptions.

The city's Riverside Park page points visitors to two other parks for parking: Ace Sand Park at 705 Riverside Road and Don White Memorial Park at 925(B) Riverside Road. It specifically leaves Azalea Park and River Landing off that list. Those two parks are also the riverfront walks that stay open along Riverside Road this fall.

Ace Sand Was the First Piece of the River Plan

Ace Sand Phase I opened with a ribbon cutting on November 6, 2024, just west of Don White Memorial Park. It was the first project built under Roswell's River Parks Master Plan, which links the city's riverfront land into one connected system. The Riverside renovation is a later project under the same plan.

"This Mayor and Council are proud to have activated the plan, which had sat on the shelf for several years until we prioritized its approval, funded it, and set the plan in motion with the creation of this exceptional park."

Mayor Kurt M. Wilson said that at the opening, as reported on the city's Roswell Connections site. Riverside is closed for a long renovation, but Ace Sand already has nearly two years of growth on its plantings. Here's what's there:

• A paved, shaded fitness loop with river views and fitness pods along the way
• Multi-use trails connecting the whole park
• Smaller paths through a central grove of trees to the Adventure Path, a woodland trail for all ages
• Rock gardens near the sand volleyball courts that also work as bioswales, collecting stormwater so it soaks into the ground
• Thousands of native plantings that help stabilize the riverbank

For anyone used to Riverside's open lawn, the paved fitness loop is the closest match. You get the river at your side and a clear path you can walk again the next morning.

Don White Covers What Ace Sand Doesn't

Ace Sand is built for walking. Don White Memorial Park, its neighbor at 925 Riverside Road, is built for getting on the water. The city's facility page lists river access, a canoe and kayak launch, fishing docks, hiking and multi-use trails, and outdoor fitness equipment.

Those fishing docks are worth remembering, because the other big park reopening this fall doesn't allow fishing yet.

The Pond Up Woodstock Road Reopened in September

Roswell Area Park, at 10495 Woodstock Road, is on the city's facility list for its pond and walking trails. The pond area was closed for nearly a year. On Thursday, September 10, the city held a ribbon cutting to welcome visitors back after an approximately $3.1 million project, also paid for by the 2022 bond.

Most of the work isn't obvious at first glance. Crews dredged the pond, rebuilt the embankment, upgraded the stormwater system, added new forebays, and improved the retaining walls and the trail around the water. What you will notice is the planting. The project added 35 new trees, native and aquatic plants along the edge, and logs placed as habitat for turtles and other wildlife. According to the city, turtles and frogs started coming back on their own before construction was even finished.

Plan your visit around one limit. About 15,000 fish will be added in phases as the pond settles, and fishing stays closed until that population is established. The city expects fishing to reopen in late summer or fall 2027. That's about the same time Riverside is due back. For now, the pond is a place for a walk and some turtle watching. If you want to fish, Don White's docks are the city's option.

Where Things Stand This Fall

The Smaller Finishes That Change Daily Routes

Not every update this year came with a pond or a river. In July, the city opened the Hardscrabble Road multi-use trail. It adds about 3,000 feet along Hardscrabble Road between King Road and Whittingham Place, plus about 1,200 feet along King Road, and ties into trails that were already there. For people who live nearby, it can turn a drive to a trailhead into a walk from home.

At Grimes Bridge Park, both soccer fields went from grass to artificial turf. The city marked the finish with a ribbon cutting on September 24 and has 29 more trees planned for this fall. On October 2, Roswell announced it had finished LED lighting upgrades at athletic fields and racquet courts across the city: 699 fixtures on 167 poles. With days getting shorter, any evening game or match at those fields and courts will be played under the new fixtures.

Putting Together a Fall Route Without Riverside

Each of these spots fills a different gap left by Riverside, so a fall routine can use more than one:

1. Riverfront walk: Park at Ace Sand and take the paved fitness loop. The city lists this lot as an alternate for Riverside visitors.
2. Getting on the water or casting a line: Go next door to Don White Memorial Park for the kayak launch and fishing docks.
3. A quiet loop with wildlife: Head to the Roswell Area Park pond on Woodstock Road, where the turtle logs and new plantings are in their first season.
4. Walking from home: If you live near the trail, use the new Hardscrabble and King Road segments to connect to the existing paths.
5. Before you go: Check the city's Riverside Park page for updates, since access around an active construction site can change.

The city says Riverside will come back with new restrooms, a pavilion, a playground and a sprayground in summer 2027. Fishing is expected to return to the Roswell Area Park pond around the same time.

I've lived in Alpharetta for more than 27 years, and park projects like these are part of what makes North Fulton feel like home. If you're curious how the River Parks Master Plan and other park projects might shape life on your side of town, I'm happy to talk it through. Lisa Gelber | Let's Connect.