Outdoor activities around Atlanta?

[sweettea1]

From what you've written, I'd definitely check out Asheville, NC and the surrounding areas (maybe even Charlotte) instead of Atlanta. If I were looking for a milder climate and all of the hiking, artsy areas, I'd look in NC before looking in Atlanta.

[movinginatl]

If you are open as to the town in the southeast & you really want the "artsy" vibe - you need to live in Asheville, Blowing Rock or Charlottesville. There are no artsy towns in the North Georgia mountains. There are some "cute" towns, but nothing that compares culturally to what you are used to. Helen should be avoided at all costs - it is a tourist trap and quite "corny" for lack of a better term.

In Atlanta, you would want to try for Decatur, Little Five Points, Virginia Highlands or Midtown. You can drive from downtown Atlanta to the N GA mtns (such as Dahlonega) in a little over an hour on the weekends.

[antiquesmountainapache]

Although the water is gone, Red Top Mountain State Park on Lake Allatoona is easily accesible. This is not really a mountain, but the park is nice with hiking trails and space for picnics. It is located in Bartow County. A little bit farther out is Fort Mountain State Park, a beautiful park between Ellijay and Chatsworth. There is also a private lodge nearby, Cohutta Lodge.

[michael49]

Originally Posted by movinginatl

If you are open as to the town in the southeast & you really want the "artsy" vibe - you need to live in Asheville, Blowing Rock or Charlottesville. There are no artsy towns in the North Georgia mountains. There are some "cute" towns, but nothing that compares culturally to what you are used to. Helen should be avoided at all costs - it is a tourist trap and quite "corny" for lack of a better term.

In Atlanta, you would want to try for Decatur, Little Five Points, Virginia Highlands or Midtown. You can drive from downtown Atlanta to the N GA mtns (such as Dahlonega) in a little over an hour on the weekends.

Thanks, Charlottesville is already on my list of places to check out.

[michael49]

Originally Posted by movinginatl

.....You can drive from downtown Atlanta to the N GA mtns (such as Dahlonega) in a little over an hour on the weekends.

Thanks for the info.

How is the hiking/camping in the N. GA mountains?

[hmcclellan]

Michael49 -
I am from WA and nothing will ever compare to the hiking in the Northwestern states. I have been hiking in North Georgia once and I haven't been back. As far as activities in and around the city of Atlanta, we have a few nice parks where you can ride your bike, run and bring your dog to the dog park.
Many places along the Chattahoochee just outside of Atlanta in Marietta have nice wide trails to run or bike on.
Midtown boosts Piedmont park that has soccer fields, tennis courts and trails to run, bike or roller blade on. They also have a dog park.
Chastain Park is almost a 3 mile loop around a golf course. I like to run here in the winter since it gets darker earlier and they have a really nice lit path with many late night runners. I feel this is a very safe area to run at night. (I still take precautions though). They also have tennis courts.
Freedom Park is east of downtown Atlanta and incorporates part of the PATH trail ways. It is an interesting park due to the various, large sculptures that dot that pathway. artinfreedompark.org
You read more about PATH here: pathfoundation.org
We also have the Silver Comet Trail which is great since it is a large, wide bicycle, roller blading and running path that is mostly flat. silvercomet.tripod.com Another great place to run or day hike is Kennesaw Mountain area. It has a great amount of trails and I usually do a run early on Sunday morning on the outer trails. It can get packed on the weekends. They also allow horses so watch out where you step. website: nps.gov/kemo
Stone Mountain is a nice short hike up, but you can also bike around the base too. website: stonemountainpark.com
This website is pretty informative: georgia.org/Travel/Adventure/Running.htm
Most of these places that I listed are in or around the Atlanta area, some are 15-20 mins out. Stone Mountain and Kennesaw are probably the furthest. If you are into competing, website: active.com is a good site to get all the local races and such.
Good Luck!

[CC58]

Been there, done that. Atlanta has little to offer that you require. Very conservative. Hiking is fair, but not good. Not much culture.

Good points: cheap, rolling hills /w pines, ok climate, friendly folk (but clannish).
Bad Points: humid, little work, no culture, no nightlife, no sidewalks, not much to do.

Consider north Denver or Boulder. You won't be disappointed.

[Barb C.]

Originally Posted by michael49

My wife and I currently live in New England. We love to hike, run, bike, kayak, etc but are getting a bit tired of the freezing NE winters, amoungst other things.

Is there much hiking, etc in the mountains near Atlanta? We are fairly liberal minded and like interesting towns with small, artsy shops and restaruants, etc. We love La Madeline! We do like areas that seem to be progressive and growing, however. Any recommened towns? Thanks in advance for the input.

I don't know much about the Atlanta area, but I can suggest a great place to visit/hike/houseboat/kayak - check out Smith Mountain Lake, in Virginia.
I wouldn't call it liberal, but then, you could enjoy the shops, Blue Ridge, &
lake without having to delve too deeply into politics.

[plessthanpointohfive]

Amicalola Falls and Amicalola State Park with the Hike Inn - for hiking and camping.

For just plain old kayaking for exercise you can go to Lake Clara Meer in Piedmont Park. For a short trip you can go to Lake Allatoona and there's another one my friend goes to that I can't remember.

Biking - PATH (Google it) is in and around Atlanta. Street Biking in flocks is pretty common in the intown neighborhoods.

Liberal minded with easy access to small artsy shops and restaurants - Midtown, Little 5 Points (Candler Park and Inman Park), Lake Claire, Virginia-Highland, Grand Park, Cabbagetown, East Atlanta Village, Decatur - these are all Atlanta neighborhoods, except Decatur - a tiny city tucked up against Atlanta's east side.

Welcome to Atlanta, where there is a lot more culture than people say - it's a lovely city to live in, not necessarily good for tourists, including suburbanites....

And I don't mean no disrespect by that last part. However, it's easy to say something has no culture when you don't actually live there and your exposure to it is Braves, Falcons, Hawks, and Thrashers games or going downtown for a day...

[netdragon]

I'm from New England as well (Connecticut). There's the Silver Comet Trail in Cobb County (Smyrna/Mableton), there's Kenessaw Mountain (a small hill), there's lake marinas like Red Top Mountain near Cartersville where you can do lake activities. There's also Stone Mountain. Farther away, there's a lot of parks in the North GA Mountains (Cloudland Canyon State Park, Tallulah Gorge) which have walking trails, and Clingman's Dome in the Smokey Mountain National Park is about 1 mile from the Appalachian Trail. There's also a ski mountain right near there in Gatlinburg where they have man-made snow. There's also High Falls south of Atlanta near Jackson. In Cherokee, NC, near Clingman's Dome, there's a trail through a recreation of a historic indian village and Cherokee also has a beautiful park on an isle in the center. There's also the Etowah Mounds near Cartersville, which isn't exactly a walking trails, but is interesting and you'll get some exercise if you go up to the top of the tallest mound.