Explore the Outdoors: Heritage Park
A popular park tucked behind the YMCA of Cherokee County and built along the Etowah River, Heritage Park’s newest amenities include permanent public restrooms and a playground that is less than a year old. The fantastic play space includes two structures, six swings, and a slide built right into the landscape. Plus, the playground is surrounded by an ADA accessible sidewalk and sits on a turf grass surface. No shaking mulch out of shoes after a trip to this fun spot!
While its new play area is fantastic, Heritage Park is perhaps best known for its easy concrete trail loop that stretches .9 miles. Ideal for walkers, runners, bikers, and skaters of all ages. The trail also welcomes leashed dogs. Relatively flat as it sits in the floodplain of the Etowah River, the trail is typically accessible for wheelchairs and strollers as well. On any sunny morning, visitors may find workout groups taking advantage of the plentiful field areas. These greenspaces are also ideal to bring a favorite ball or frisbee and enjoy some fun!
Due to its proximity to the river, watch out for mud on the trail after heavy rains or storms. When planning a visit after bad weather, check the City of Canton website or social media for closure and clean up notices before heading to the park. For those who want to take it easy along the trail loop, plenty of benches and bench swings invite guests to sit and stay awhile. And for those who take exercise seriously, Canton recently installed an incredibly useful plyometric outdoor gym at Heritage Park. Those looking to get physically fit will discover lots of permanent equipment and QR code instructions for how to best use it!
If you love the Heritage Loop, you’ll also love that it now extends to Etowah River Park across the iconic Canton pedestrian bridge over the river and eastward, under and across I-575. And soon the trail will connect in the opposite direction to The Mill on Etowah and all the way to Boling Park—all without having to access a road! For easy access parking, look for the small Heritage Park directional sign just past Mr. Clean Car Wash off Riverstone Parkway. Parking is also available near the YMCA, but please note access to the park from here is via a long cement staircase.