Shorty Howell Park — Attraction in Duluth

I’m a relatively recent transplant to the Atlanta area and having moved all around this country from coast-to-coast in my career, I’m proud to state that I have fallen desperately in love with this area and now consider this my permanent home.

Having entered official “geezerdom” (age 73) I find that I have become totally hooked on walking as my secret weapon to good health and well-being, I walk 90-105 miles each month. Hence, one of my very first priorities in Atlanta was to checkout available options for pursuing this goal.

I immediately began exploring the extremely impressive and elaborate array of Gwinnett County Parks. Having recently relocated to the Duluth area from my prior home in Lilburn, I was overjoyed to discover Shorty Howell Park which is located just a short distance from my new home.

I believe they offer something here for everyone, seemingly every interest or desired activity is covered...if I may be so bold as to quote “El Guapo” from the legendary cult classic film “The Three Amigos”...they do, in fact, have a “PLETHORA” of choices available here! All the athletic fields and facilities one might expect, a variety of classes available to the public, summer camps for kidlets—the list goes on seemingly ad infinitum.

My personal favorite hangout here is the approximate 1.25 mile multi-use trail which travels along the circumference of the entire park. This trail is fully paved and is designed for walking, biking, jogging, etc. Having quickly discovered the BRUTAL summertime sun in Atlanta, I’m proud to report that approximately 80% of the trail is surrounded by very tall trees which provide truly joyous shade in the summer months for trekkers such as myself. Additionally, a very large percentage of the main trail is accompanied by a more rustic unpaved nature trail which runs alongside—the nature trail option provides a glorious 100% tree covered shade environment!

I really should offer a side note here regarding the aforementioned nature trail. Having explored the available nature trails at other (unnamed) Gwinnett County Parks, I have discovered that the trails are indeed scenic and beautiful...however, they are clearly designed to be beneficial to the areas airborne inhabitants...signs should have been posted stating that park visitors have just entered an Official Gwinnett County Mosquito Feeding Facility! Thankfully, I can proudly report that I have yet to encounter a single mosquito at the Shorty Howell facility!

Park Health Risk Warning

Being a relative newcomer to the Atlanta area I find that I still have a great deal to learn about the local lifestyle and weather. I had been TOTALLY unaware of the areas mid-June summer ice storms and overnight freezes until I visited Shorty Howell Park. These VERY ominous conditions could be extremely distressing and potentially even fatal to uninformed and therefore unwary visitors. But, THANKFULLY, the Park’s management and staff have very conscientiously taken it upon themselves to clearly warn visitors of the risks that could potentially face an unsuspecting visitor. Signs are posted prominently on portions of the trail as well as at key positions surrounding the beautiful duck pond near the Park’s entrance. In the interest of public safety, I have included one of the many aforementioned warning signs in my series of ten photographs of the park and its activities. But, again, remain CONSTANTLY VIGILANT on any visits to this park throughout the summer months—your loved ones will surely thank you!!!

Please do visit the series of photographs included in this review. You’ll find a partial listing of the many events and services provided—plus, I think the photos, all taken in June 2019, will give you a feeling of what’s available and the general environment.

Also, for safety’s sake—be sure to checkout the photo of the severe danger warning sign posted next to the duck pond.

To access these photos please click on my ID photo at the top of the page—then click the...

This is a great park! There are at least bathroom facilities which are always nice and clean. There are several playgrounds with 1 large main playground. There are several pavilions for picnicking and parties. These need to be reserved for parties so be sure to check the Gwinnett County Parks and Recreation website to request a reservation. There are charcoal grills and picnic tables. This park is a sports park which means that they are open until 11 pm. Because they have Baseball/Football/Soccer the fields have very bright lights which is nice after dark. Because of this it's a great park for the summer when the heat of the day is unbearable because you can go there after sundown to walk/run/exercise or walk the dog. There is no dog park at this location. There is a large paved walking trail that basically goes around the perimeter of the park. There are several areas where you can walk on a trail in the woods which is a little more quiet and nice to be under the trees. When you go, be sure to visit the granite memorial for Mr. Shorty! I have lived in Gwinnett county since 1988 and my kids played ball at this park. We always saw Mr. Shorty walking around picking up garbage and riding around on his golf cart. He was a very sweet kind man who enjoyed watching the little league baseball games on warm summer evenings. The kids would all run to him calling, "Mr. Shorty, Mr. Shorty"! He just loved them and they loved him. So pay respect to the man for whom the park is named. He would like that ☺️ There is ample parking even when there are ball...

We love this park usually, so much that we wanted to have our twins birthday party here. However the park staff need a lesson in customer service. Pavilion rental rules state that the pavilion rental time includes set up and clean up. We did not book the pavilion because when we called the week before they said no one was booked for that day. Flash forward to today, and someone had rented the pavilion from 3:30-5:30. Our party was supposed to start at 2. We thought we would use the pavilion until 3:30 when the party that reserved it was set to arrive. But apparently they don't follow the rules.

When we got there at 1 to start setting up, the lady came to tell us there was a party at 3:30. We told her we knew and that we would move at 3:30. Around 3PM she came over again to ask if we were almost done. We hadn't even eaten yet. We were just about to eat. I felt like it was rude of them to kick us out when it wasn't 3:30 yet. The rules were clearly stated on the sign by the pavillion. It says no public use DURING the rental time. Not before. That's not a good way to treat people and we will never rent from this place. We then had to lug all of our party stuff down by the big playground where there were no picnic tables. Thanks for ruining my kids...