Alpharetta has two paved trails, and both are 12 feet wide. The Big Creek Greenway runs through the woods beside North Point Parkway. The Alpha Loop is the newer, urban path that ties together downtown, Avalon and the Northwinds district. The first mile of the Loop opened in April 2020. By September 2026, the Alpha Loop Foundation counted more than seven miles open, with nearly five more under construction, in design or planned.
After six years of building, there is still no continuous path from the Loop to the Greenway. The missing piece is about a mile long, running from Morrison Lake at Haynes Bridge Road to Encore Parkway. This winter its two ends move at very different speeds.
The Mile Between Morrison Lake and Encore Parkway
The city calls this missing segment the Alpha Link. On August 17, 2026, the Alpharetta City Council approved a $15.9 million, 18.5-month design-build contract with Reeves Young for the trail. Appen Media reported that it will run about a mile from Encore Parkway to Morrison Lake, through land next to Georgia 400. It will be lit and will have a plaza at Encore Parkway. CBS Atlanta put the route this way: it starts at the Alpha Loop near Morrison Lake, runs behind the Lakeview development, and ends at the Big Creek Greenway at the new Encore Gateway.
The price came down before the vote. According to Appen, city officials first estimated the segment at almost $25 million. Phasing and a land swap with the Georgia Department of Transportation brought it lower. The funding comes from three places: about $10 million in transportation sales tax, roughly $4 million from the 2022 parks bond, and close to $1 million from the True North 400 community improvement district.
Councilman John Hipes told Appen Media, "When I first sat up here in 2018, we had not completed any segments of the Alpha Loop." Councilmember Katie Reeves put it more simply: "We're almost to the Greenway, so that is kind of exciting."
"Almost" is the right word. CBS noted that the city's announcement gave no construction start date. Until crews start, the 18.5-month clock can't point to a finish date.
The Gateway Arrives First
At the Greenway end of that mile, work is much further along. Encore Greenway Park and Gateway sits at North Point Parkway and Encore Parkway. It is a joint project of the City of Alpharetta and True North 400, and the CID describes it as the critical connection between the Alpha Loop and the Big Creek Greenway. Construction started in February 2025, and True North 400 lists December 2026 as the scheduled completion, with $1.93 million in CID investment.
The project page's progress photos are captioned September 2026. Here is where the work stood:
- Finished: helical piers for the boardwalk, a sewer transfer platform, storm drainage, site grading and the MSE walls shown in the September photos.
- Underway: permanent grass, handrails along the raised boardwalk, terraces on the plaza, and a retaining wall faced in stone veneer.
- Still ahead: beams and decking for the bridges, plus finishing the electrical conduit for future lighting.
No ribbon-cutting has been announced. December is the scheduled date, not a confirmed opening.
A second, smaller project sits nearby. True North 400 plans the $977,411 Encore AlphaLink Plaza at Encore Parkway and Fanfare Way as the entrance to the Alpha Link. Its project page gives no start or finish date.
That leaves this winter in an odd position. The gateway built to connect two trail systems may open months, or longer, before the trail that brings the Alpha Loop to it. When the Encore park opens, it will work as a new front door to the Greenway. It won't connect to the Loop until the Alpha Link is built.
Meanwhile, the North End Loses Its Lot
At the opposite end of the Greenway, access shrank on October 5. Alpharetta Now, citing the city, reports that Union Hill Park at 1590 Little Pine Trail is closed for construction from Monday, October 5, 2026, until spring 2027, with no parking. The path from the Greenway to the restrooms stays open. The other north-end parking is the Marconi Drive lot off Windward Parkway. Union Hill is usually the 13-acre park off Windward Parkway with the pop-up skate park and the covered roller hockey rink.
So this winter the Greenway loses a trailhead at its north end and, if the schedule holds, gains one near the middle. Here are the access points that remain:
| Access point | Where it is | What to expect this winter |
|---|---|---|
| Union Hill Park | 1590 Little Pine Trail, off Windward Pkwy | Closed with no parking until spring 2027; restroom path open |
| Marconi Drive | Off Windward Parkway | The other north-end lot during the Union Hill closure |
| Preston Ridge | Near the YMCA | Open |
| Rock Mill Park | 3100 Kimball Bridge Road | Restrooms, pavilion, outdoor classroom, art piano, Little Free Library |
| North Point Parkway | Behind Ethan Allen, across from the mall | Open |
| Haynes Bridge Road | 0.3 miles east of North Point Parkway | Open; the wetland mulch loop starts south of here |
| Encore Greenway Park | North Point Pkwy at Encore Pkwy | Completion scheduled for December 2026 |
Rock Mill Park's 20 acres include the full set of amenities in the table. With Union Hill closed, it is the Greenway access point with the most to offer this season.
How the Greenway Works This Season
Sources disagree on the Greenway's length. Alpharetta Now cites the city at about 12 miles. Its mile markers start at zero at the Roswell city limit and end at Union Hill, and they measure only the main trail, not the boardwalks, connectors or spurs. The visitors bureau describes the Alpharetta section as about nine miles. The markers are the reliable measure, as long as you remember that they skip the spurs.
There are two ways to get off the concrete:
- The wetland mulch loop, a soft-surface loop around a wetland between Haynes Bridge Road and Mansell Road.
- The mountain bike trails, dirt routes on the east side of the creek about two-fifths of a mile south of Webb Bridge Road.
The Greenway, its access parks and the Alpha Loop are open dawn to dusk under the city's park rules. Class 1 and Class 2 e-bikes are allowed up to 15 mph. Class 3 e-bikes, motorized scooters and golf carts are not. Dogs must be leashed and under control. As winter days shorten, the dawn-to-dusk rule cuts into after-work hours. The future lighting at Encore Greenway Park and the planned lights on the Alpha Link are aimed at that problem. Neither is in place yet.
Fall storms bring down trees. To check trail status, Alpharetta Now points to the Statusfy app, under "Alpharetta Recreation, Parks & Cultural Services," or 678-297-6130. To report a fallen tree or damage, call 678-297-6154.
For a stop after a walk from the North Point Parkway access, the visitors bureau's North Point listings include Vincent Bakery at 5950 North Point Parkway #129, which serves espresso drinks. They also list 14Foods at 7391 North Point Parkway #1420 and Showdown Social at 7955 North Point Parkway. These are in the North Point commercial district, not directly on the trail.
Where the Missing Mile Leads
The Alpha Link also matters beyond the Greenway. Appen reported that it will connect to an Alpha Loop section that crosses Georgia 400 into the North Point area. One week after the trail vote, on August 24, the council voted 4–3 to approve New York Life and Jamestown's plan to redevelop North Point Mall into a sports and entertainment district built around a proposed 20,000-seat hockey arena, Appen Media reported. No NHL franchise has been awarded. North Point is competing with The Gathering at South Forsyth, and the approved plan builds the for-rent homes only if Alpharetta gets a team. No construction schedule had been published as of this writing.
For this winter, the facts on the trail are these. The Union Hill lot is closed until spring 2027. Encore Greenway Park is scheduled to finish in December. The Alpha Link has a signed contract and no start date. Until it is built, getting from the Alpha Loop to the Big Creek Greenway still means driving to a trailhead.
Public projects like the Encore Gateway and the Alpha Link change how a part of Alpharetta works day to day, sometimes well before anyone sees it in a sale price. If you own near the Greenway or the North Point corridor and want to know how these projects bear on your property, The Stowe Group can walk you through it. Request a Confidential Valuation.
