The Atlanta Beltline is one of the most unique and wonderful parts of the infrastructure of our city. Check it out on any nice day and you’ll see people out exercising, walking, skating, scootering, performing music, wearing Lorax costumes… and literally every other thing you can think of. The Beltline is so wonderfully and weirdly Atlanta, and we wouldn’t have it any other way!
And now, the Atlanta Beltline has a new amazing honor! It’s officially home to the world’s longest linear arboretum, beating out the Stanley Park Seawall in Vancouver or the High Line in New York. Keep scrolling to learn more.
How long is the longest arboretum in the world?
The Beltline’s arboretum spans 12 miles and is expected to grow to 16 miles this summer, before the World Cup.
The arboretum covers a whopping 60 acres and conects more than 400 acres of parks, with a massive variety of 647 unique trees and woody shrub species.
How did the Atlanta Beltline become the world’s longest arboretum?
This incredible natural feat is due to a collaboration between the Atlanta Beltline and Trees Atlanta, which have worked together for the past two decades to bring native plants to the city.
Greg Levine, executive director of Trees Atlanta, said in a statement,
Trees are iconic to Atlanta’s identity, and Georgia is special in its incredible diversity of plants and trees. The Atlanta Beltline Arboretum is an important part of Atlanta’s urban forest and brings attention to the benefits of trees for the health and well-being of people, wildlife, and the natural environment. Our 20-year collaboration has built a unique botanical garden that demonstrates how trees and greenspaces improve where we live.
Sometimes described as the city’s ’emerald necklace’ the Beltline is proud to be home to the world’s longest arboretum!
You can learn more about Atlanta’s Beltline Arboretum on Trees Atlanta’s website, here!