The PATH Foundation: The Nonprofit That Built Atlanta's Paved Trail Network
The Silver Comet, PATH400, and much of the Beltline's connective trail infrastructure share a common origin: a nonprofit founded in the early 1990s that decided Atlanta needed a paved trail system and set about building one, mile by mile.
Published July 6, 2026Before the early 1990s, Atlanta had almost no dedicated paved trail infrastructure to speak of — sidewalks along busy roads, maybe, but nothing resembling the connected multi-use greenway network that cities like Washington or Minneapolis had already built. The PATH Foundation was formed to close that gap, working on the premise that trails needed a dedicated advocacy and construction organization rather than relying on individual counties or cities to build them piecemeal, if at all.
Starting with the Silver Comet
One of the organization's signature early projects converted an abandoned rail corridor stretching from the western metro toward the Alabama state line into what's now known as the Silver Comet Trail, one of the longest paved rail-trails in the country. Rail-to-trail conversions were still a relatively novel idea in the Southeast at the time, and proving the concept could work at that scale in Georgia opened the door to more ambitious projects across the region, since it demonstrated both public demand and a workable model for funding and building them.
Building inside the Perimeter
Where the Silver Comet used an existing rail corridor, projects like PATH400 in Buckhead required a harder kind of trail-building — threading a paved path through already-developed, expensive urban land, negotiating easements, and working around existing infrastructure rather than repurposing a corridor that was already cleared and linear. That work is slower and more expensive per mile than a rail-trail conversion, but it fills gaps in exactly the dense, car-dependent parts of the metro where a paved trail arguably matters most for people trying to get somewhere without driving.
A funding model built on multiple sources
Trail construction at this scale isn't cheap, and the organization has relied on a mix of public grants, corporate and foundation donations, and government partnerships to fund individual segments rather than any single dependable revenue source. That patchwork funding model means trail construction often happens in phases as money becomes available for a given segment, which explains why some planned trail corridors around the metro sit finished in some stretches and incomplete in others for years at a time — it's rarely a technical problem holding up construction, usually a funding one.
Working alongside the Beltline and other partners
The organization's role has evolved as other trail-building efforts, most notably the Atlanta Beltline, have taken shape around the city, and much of its more recent work involves connecting existing trail segments to each other and to newer projects rather than building entirely standalone corridors. That connective-tissue work is less visible than a signature project like the Silver Comet, but it's arguably more important to making the overall network function as something residents can use for everyday transportation rather than just recreational out-and-back trips.
Why this matters for everyday trail users
Anyone who's ridden a bike from a Buckhead neighborhood onto PATH400 or covered miles on the Silver Comet without ever touching a road has benefited from this organization's work, even if the name on the trailhead sign doesn't register. Understanding who builds and funds this infrastructure matters for anyone advocating for a new trail connection in their own neighborhood — these projects don't happen automatically, and they depend on sustained advocacy as much as engineering.
Negotiating easements is the hard part
Building a rail-trail conversion is comparatively straightforward once the corridor is secured, since the land is already cleared, linear, and free of the property disputes that come with cutting a new path through developed land. The harder, slower work happens on projects like PATH400, where the organization has to negotiate individually with property owners, utility companies, and multiple government jurisdictions to secure the right-of-way for even a short stretch of new trail. A single holdout property owner can delay a segment for years, which is a big part of why some trail maps show conspicuous gaps between finished sections that look, on paper, like they should have been simple to connect.
Measuring success beyond trail mileage
The organization tracks its impact in more than just miles built — ridership counts, connections made to transit and schools, and the number of communities now linked by a continuous paved corridor all factor into how it evaluates project priorities. That broader framing matters because a short connector trail linking two existing segments can matter more to daily riders than an equal length of trail built somewhere more scenic but less connected to where people actually need to go, and it shapes which gaps in the regional network get prioritized for the next round of funding.