Chastain Park: Buckhead's Largest Green Space and Its Amphitheater
Chastain Park is less a single park than a cluster of separately run facilities sharing one address. Here is what's where, how parking actually works, and when to visit if you're not going to a show.
Published July 6, 2026At roughly 268 acres, Chastain Park is the largest park inside Atlanta's city limits, and it doesn't behave like one green space so much as a campus of independently operated venues that happen to share a name and a boundary. First-time visitors who park near the amphitheater expecting to find the golf course or the horse park a short walk away are often surprised by how spread out the property is. Knowing the layout before you go saves a lot of backtracking.
Getting there and where to park
There is no single central lot. Entrances and parking areas are scattered along Powers Ferry Road, Lake Forrest Drive, Wieuca Road, and West Wieuca Road, each serving a different cluster of facilities. If you're headed to the golf course, park off West Wieuca. For the horse park or tennis center, Powers Ferry Road entrances are closer. On concert nights, expect the lots nearest the amphitheater to fill quickly and traffic on Powers Ferry to back up well before showtime — arriving 45 to 60 minutes early is standard practice for regulars. The PATH400 multi-use trail runs along the park's eastern edge and connects to the Buckhead trail network, so cycling or walking in from nearby neighborhoods avoids the parking problem entirely.
The amphitheater
Chastain Park Amphitheater is a mid-sized outdoor concert venue with a mix of reserved table seating and lawn space, booked with a steady schedule of touring acts through the warmer months. It operates under a separate management and box office from the rest of the park, with its own security and gate schedule on show nights. Non-concertgoers can still use the surrounding green space during the day; just check the event calendar first if you're planning an evening visit, since access to nearby paths and lots changes once gates open.
The golf course
The park's public 18-hole course has operated under the Chastain name for decades and remains one of the more affordable rounds inside the city, popular enough that weekend tee times fill up well in advance. Even if you're not playing, the cart paths and perimeter are pleasant for a walk early in the morning before the course gets busy, though golfers understandably prefer walkers stay clear of active fairways.
Chastain Horse Park
A nonprofit equestrian facility leases a section of the park and runs boarding, riding lessons, and a therapeutic riding program serving children and adults with disabilities. It's a working barn rather than a public attraction, so casual visitors should expect a functioning equestrian facility rather than a petting-zoo experience — call ahead if you want to observe lessons or tour the grounds.
Tennis center and arts center
The Chastain Park Tennis Center has public hard courts available by reservation, along with lessons and adult and junior leagues. Nearby, the Chastain Arts Center runs pottery, painting, and other studio classes for the community in a converted building that predates most of the park's current programming. Neither facility requires a park-wide pass; each has its own registration.
Fields, paths, and open lawn
Away from the ticketed venues, Chastain has a network of paved walking paths, several multi-use athletic fields used for youth soccer and football leagues, and open lawn areas that see steady informal use — picnics, pickup games, dog walking on leash. There is no designated off-leash dog park within Chastain itself; for that, see our guide to Atlanta's off-leash dog parks, which covers several closer options in Buckhead and the surrounding area. Runners tend to favor the loop road and connector paths in the early morning before facility traffic picks up.
Practical notes
Because each facility inside Chastain sets its own hours, there's no single "park hours" answer — the general green space is accessible from early morning to evening, but golf, tennis, and the horse park each have their own schedules and, in most cases, their own fees. Restrooms are tied to individual facilities rather than centralized. If you want a comparably large multi-use park without the same facility fragmentation, Murphey Candler Park in Brookhaven offers a similar mix of lake, fields, and trails in a more contained footprint. For current hours and facility contacts, the City of Atlanta's parks department maintains listings for each Chastain venue.