By Larry Felton Johnson
The City of Marietta will break ground for a three-mile multiuse trail segment that will link Kennesaw State University’s Marietta campus with the Franklin Gateway Sports Complex.
Marietta officials and residents will celebrate the groundbreaking of Phase 1 of the Rottenwood Creek Trail on Friday, September 18, 2026, at 10:30 a.m. at Aviation Sports Complex, located at 455 Aviation Road, Marietta, GA 30060. This phase of the trail has an estimated cost of $17 million.
According to Marietta’s Trail Planning webpage, the completed Rottenwood Creek Trail will create an east-west connection between Kennesaw Mountain and the Chattahoochee River at the Bob Callan Trail in the Cumberland area.
The announcement of the groundbreaking on the city’s website states:
The Rottenwood Creek Trail is part of a larger effort by the City of Marietta and its partners to expand the current trail network and create an important connection between the Mountain to River Trail and the Bob Callan Trail. Once fully complete, the trail will help establish an east-west connection between Kennesaw Mountain and the Chattahoochee River.
This project supports the City’s Vision Statement 5 and furthers the goal outlined under this vision, which focuses on continuing to expand and connect the city’s trail system in a way that fosters recreation opportunities and transportation alternatives, including linkages to neighboring trails and other points of interest.
See a map of Phase 1 of the Rottenwood Creek Trail below:
About the Trail Network in Marietta
The City of Marietta has two multiuse trails in development, both of which connect with the larger Cobb County trails network.
Mountain to River Trail
The Mountain to River (M2R) Trail spans 13.5 miles from the Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park to the Chattahoochee River National Recreational Area, 3.5 miles of which is within Marietta’s city limits.
The Marietta portion runs from Kennesaw Mountain, south to the Kennestone Hospital area, continues to the Historic Downtown Square and then to Brown Park and the City Cemetery.
Rottenwood Creek Trail
The Rottenwood Creek Trail partners the City of Marietta, Cobb County, and Smyrna to connect the Mountain to River Trail and the Bob Callan Trail, creating an east-west connection between Kennesaw Mountain and the Chattahoochee River.