Morgan Falls Dog Park Took Two Rounds of Work to Get Out of the Mud

At the October 14 ribbon cutting, Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul said he remembered taking his golden retriever to the old Morgan Falls Dog Park. His dog loved to roll around there. "There was plenty of mud for my golden here for a long time," he said, as Rough Draft Atlanta reported. Plenty of Sandy Springs dog owners have their own version of that story. For years, a visit to the city's only public dog park could mean a towel in the back seat and a bath once you got home.

The reopened park at 100 Morgan Falls Road has new shade structures, picnic tables and boulders for dogs to climb. The upgrades that matter most are the drainage work underground and outside the fence. The city took two separate projects, about two years apart, to deal with the water. That drainage work is the reason the rest of the upgrades hold up, and it's what makes a riverside morning with a dog work now.

The First Fix Happened Outside the Fence

The first round started in fall 2024, and it didn't touch the play areas at all. The city's newsletter explained that a 500-foot ditch outside the fenced area had silted over. It no longer carried water, so runoff from the hillside was draining toward the dog park instead of around it. Crews had to clear the debris, then deepen, widen and rock-line the channel. They also built a temporary bridge so heavy equipment could cross over a large gas line under the park.

That work closed the park from September 30 until the week of November 18, 2024. The fishing pier, boat ramp and multipurpose trail nearby stayed open the whole time. Fixing the ditch stopped new water from flowing in. It didn't fix the ground inside the fence, which had spent years soaking up that runoff. That's what round two was for.

Round Two Had to Start With Georgia Power

The second project needed permission before anyone could dig. Georgia Power owns the 3.4-acre park and the land around it next to the hydroelectric dam, and the city leases it. The underlying lease dates to April 19, 2012. It had already been amended once, in 2022, for Springway Section 2A.

Here's how the timeline played out:

1. October 21, 2025. City Council approved a second lease amendment for the dog park improvements. The council record says Georgia Power required it because the work involved conductive materials. The amendment called for a $10 payment to Georgia Power, and the city said its capital project had enough funding to build the dog park. Rough Draft Atlanta covered the approval at the time.
2. Late May 2026. The city's May 21 to June 3 newsletter reported that construction drawings were approved and contracts awarded. Work was expected before the end of summer, and park users would get notice before the park closed.
3. August 2026. The August 6 to 19 newsletter listed the subsurface drainage, sod, concrete pavilion pads, ADA parking pad and dog-washing station as finished. Perimeter fencing, double-gated entries and shade structures were still to come.
4. October 14, 2026. The ribbon cutting was held at 2 p.m. The city said the project finished ahead of schedule. Yeager, a Sandy Springs Police Department K-9, was on hand to give it a sniff test.

The drainage under the grass was finished before the fencing, gates or shade went in. The city's announcement says improvements started with grading a drainage channel "to ensure dogs and their owners have a dry place to play." In Rough Draft's report, Paul tied the whole project back to that point: "We worked hard to fix the drainage issues here, and we spent a lot of time soliciting feedback from the community and our dog owners."

What Sits on the Dry Ground Now

The park still has two fenced areas, one for small dogs and one for large dogs. The upgrades on top of the new drainage, according to the city:

• Shade structures over concrete pads
• Benches and picnic tables
• Drinking fountains
• Waste stations
• A dog wash station
• Boulders for dogs to climb and survey the park from

Rough Draft reported that both areas now have fresh grass and mulch. The park is also ADA-accessible. Recreation and Parks Director Brent Walker said it has "an ADA parking space and hardscape for people who need additional support to come into the dog park."

The wash station needed its own piece of the lease deal. Paul thanked Georgia Power for allowing a water meter to be installed for it. Walker explained why it matters in practical terms:

"If your dog likes to get in the river or gets dirty out there, you can actually hose them off before you take them home."

That quote also comes from Rough Draft's coverage. With that hose, the fenced park can be where a walk along the river starts and ends.

The Wash Station Turns the Park Into a Trailhead

The fenced park sits on a gravel road along the Springway Trail. Rough Draft describes it as across from a state Department of Natural Resources boat ramp on the Chattahoochee. The city's Springway page lists the dog park's lot as a parking spot for the trail. So you can park once, walk, and come back to a hose before your dog gets in the car.

The Overlook's floating dock gives public access to the river upstream of Morgan Falls Dam, and you can launch a personal kayak, canoe or paddleboard there. The Morgan Falls Connector is the longer option. It's close to two miles each way to Roswell Road, so leashed dogs who are done with the fenced area can keep going. City rules say pets in parks must stay leashed and owners must pick up after them. The city doesn't post separate hours for the dog park. Its parks FAQ says most parks are open from 7 a.m. to dusk, and the connector closes at dusk too. In early November, that makes the morning the easiest time for the full loop.

Before the drainage work, a river walk with a dog usually meant a muddy dog in the car. With a wash station at the trailhead, a dog that wades in at the dock can be rinsed off before the drive home.

Where to Head After the Rinse

If the morning keeps going, a few spots along Roswell Road are listed as dog-welcoming. Perk-N-Pooch invites customers to bring their dogs and pairs a coffee café with dog washing and grooming. Visit Sandy Springs lists it at 6690 Roswell Road, Suite 360. Visit Sandy Springs' dog-friendly guide also describes a dog-welcoming rooftop patio at Meehan's Public House in Sandy Springs. It lists Southern Bistro at 4920 Roswell Road, #55, with a dog-friendly patio and a dog menu.

The park has been open again since October 14, three weeks as of this week. That's long enough to see whether the new grass holds up through fall rain, which is the test the old park never passed.

When I help clients compare homes in Sandy Springs, the daily routine matters as much as the floor plan, and that includes where the dog walks each morning. If you'd like to talk about which parts of the city put the river, the Springway and Morgan Falls closest to home, LD Realty Group would be glad to help, in English or Spanish. Let's Connect.