Sells Park

If you enjoy nature and don’t want to travel far, Sells Park is an ideal location. A small nature area, Sells has a small pond and several short hiking trails.

It also connects with the Stroud’s Run State Park trail system, if you want to make a full day of hiking or biking. Enjoy beautiful scenery on the ridge line overlooking East State Street.

Sells is located at the end of Avon Street, just off of East State Street across from the Athens Community Center. There is a small parking area located at the park. Additional parking may be found at the Athens City Pool parking lot (just a short walk to the entrance of the park).

Social Trail Closure Announcement

Location: Sells Park

Project Start Date: 07/21/2023

The Athens City Arts, Parks, and Rec department will be commencing trail maintenance starting on July 21st, 2023 at Sells Park, located at the back of Avon Place.   During this time, you will see the closure of “Social Trails” and may heed caution/take notice of closures if you plan on partaking in fast-paced activities (i.e. mountain biking, trail running, etc.).   The reason for the closure of these social trails is solely an effort to mend ecological and environmental damage that has taken place over the years of use at Sells Park.  

While Social Trails may sound like leisurely trails to enjoy while socializing on, in reality, they are a form of erosion that creates trail-looking paths that displace critters, and disturbs environmental surroundings.  Social trails by definition are unofficial, user-created paths that form over time, as visitors take detours off of designated trails.   Often, these form due to main trails being muddy or brush-covered, urging people to walk on the side of the main trail.  Due to this heavy use over long periods, these unofficial trails get worn down and eroded to look the same as official trails and can be visually confusing.  

Below is a side-by-side of an official trail versus an unofficial “social trail”.


 

Through these means of restoring and mending social trails at Sells Park, we aim to wind back years of damage that has been done to these trails.  This should ensure the preservation of this resource that we hold near and dear to our hearts.

While differentiating official trails and social trails may be tough, Athens APR will be mitigating this confusion by use of visible caution tape and signage to point out closures, and to explain the reason for said closure.


While this may evoke slight confusion upon your next visit to Sells Park, we at the Arts, Parks, and Rec department will ensure signage and closures are clear and visible upon your next trip to Sells Park.  We thank you for your cooperation and aid in restoring and protecting this wonderful resource so we as a community can enjoy it for years and years to come.  

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Hiking Trails Map

Hiking trails map