Friends of Briarlake Forest Park
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    • Get to Know Us
    • Information About the Park
    • Our New Pavilion
    • Use of the Pavilion and Other Park Areas
    • Know before you go!
    • The Park's History
  • Education
    • Biodiversity at Briarlake Forest
    • Junior Ranger Program
    • Educational Resources and Links
  • News and Events
    • Upcoming Park Events
    • Bluebird Sanctuary
    • Calendar of Events
  • Park Art
    • Brick Art!
    • Gallery
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    • Art inspired by BFP
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Our Pavilion

When DeKalb County acquired the land that was to become Briarlake Forest Park, it included a charming yellow farmhouse. The house dated back to the mid 1800s, but careful study revealed that the house was not structurally sound and had little to no historial significance. However, many wanted to preserve the house in some fashion.

Over a five-year period, the Friends of Briarlake Forest and Dekalb County Recreation, Parks and Cultural Affairs worked on a plan to convert the yellow farmhouse into a pavilion and educational nature center, thus increasing its usefulness to the community. The Park had the benefit of tremendous expertise in developing a plan
to repurpose the house—architects, naturalists, and of course, many interested volunteers.

Our hope was that the pavilion would become a site for social gatherings, educational nature programs, cultural events and much more. That vision has been realized and the pavilion is already being used regularly and we expect that use will only grow.
The project was funded by Dekalb County, our fiscal partner Park Pride and our generous community donors.

The brick chimney area facing Briarlake Road was preserved and the remaining parts of the farmhouse were converted to a covered pavilion and open deck. The facility includes restrooms and much-needed storage space and is handicapped-accessible. Eventually it will be surrounded by attractive landscaping and benches. Below are photos from the grand opening of the pavilion in December 2022.



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Park Address:
3330 Briarlake Road Decatur, Georgia 30033

Click for directions

Thanks for Stopping By! 

We hope you'll take some time to browse our site to learn about our Friends group and Briarlake Forest Park.

Please feel free to share your photos and videos of the our unique urban forest. ​​
Send them to us by email, and we will add them to our photo gallery.
​​

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  • Home
  • About
    • Get to Know Us
    • Information About the Park
    • Our New Pavilion
    • Use of the Pavilion and Other Park Areas
    • Know before you go!
    • The Park's History
  • Education
    • Biodiversity at Briarlake Forest
    • Junior Ranger Program
    • Educational Resources and Links
  • News and Events
    • Upcoming Park Events
    • Bluebird Sanctuary
    • Calendar of Events
  • Park Art
    • Brick Art!
    • Gallery
    • Grazing Sheep in the Park
    • Art inspired by BFP
  • Donate
  • Contact Us