From Biking to Digging to Painting with Mud, Earthy Outdoor Activities Abound in this NW Georgia Town
Sometimes, a vacation is not just about great dining, sparkling hotel rooms and clean family fun. Sometimes, folks just want to get their hands dirty, immersed in interactive local action and attractions. Cartersville, Georgia, conveniently located 45 miles north of downtown Atlanta via I-75, offers these five ideas for getting colorfully dirty, amid surroundings ranging from rugged to luxurious.
Dig for Fossils, Pan for Gems
In addition to giant, eye-popping exhibits and experiments, admission to the Smithsonian-affiliated Tellus Science Museum includes fossil-digging and gem panning. Budding paleontologists can grab a brush to wipe away sand, uncovering fascinating fossils of all shapes and sizes. Large dinosaurs await discovery, and shark’s teeth, snail shells and other fascinating finds. Next, strike it rich in the Gem Panning area on a search for colorful gems and stones. A “Fossil Hunting License” and “Gemstone Treasure Map” can be printed at home to help identify that bucket list. (100 Tellus Drive, Cartersville, GA 30120; 770-606-5700)
Paint, Build and Bike in Red Mud
For an upfront and close encounter with Georgia’s famous red clay, Red Top Mountain State Park offers biking, hiking and even painting in the mud. It’s the earth, rich with iron ore, that gives the park its color and its name. Iron Hill Trail, a part of Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites’ Muddy Spokes Club, is open to both mountain biking and hiking, while 15 miles of lakeside hiking trails are bike-free. Along with views of Allatoona Lake, native plants and wildlife, ancient rocks, an open iron mine and remnants of its workings can be seen. New to the park is the Outdoor Classroom, a natural fun zone where kids are given an opportunity to explore, dig, build and play in ways that encourage creativity and teamwork. Kids explore the Cedar Summit Climbing Area, Iron Mining Digging Area, Red Clay Canvas Art Area, Imagination Building Blocks, Mountain Music Jamboree Junction and more. Each month, many more colorful opportunities to further dig in are offered, and parents can download a classroom guide. (50 Lodge Road SE, Acworth, GA 30102; 770-975-0055)
Get Your Hands Green
The Pettit Preserve, a private environmental nature preserve on 70 acres in Bartow County is only open to the public on one Saturday each month, making it even more special. Guests may encounter deer, wild turkey, beavers, bobcats, turtles and fish on private lakeside trails. To meet its mission, monthly environmental awareness and nature experiences encourage stewardship. (29 Vineyard Rd, Dallas, GA 30132; 678-848-4179)
Meet Georgia’s Largest Camel Herd
At Pettit Creek Farms, visitors can get a little dirty on a working farm, home to Georgia’s largest camel herd (21!) and many other surprises, including giraffe, zebra, capybara, a lemur, kangaroos, llamas, alpaca, wallaby, reindeer, macaws, peacocks and emu, along with the requisite farmyard denizens and honey bees. (337 Cassville Road, Cartersville GA 30120; 770-386-8688)
Ritzy, Rustic, Rarified
Guests can sit down to an inspired meal on fine china and turn in on 1,000+ thread count sheets, and still find plenty of ways to get good and dirty at beautiful Barnsley Resort in the north Georgia mountains. In addition to championship golf, hunting and clay shooting at the Springbank Plantation and Sporting Club, there’s horseback riding, friendly encounters with the Barnsley Barnyard animals, children’s corral rides, horse painting, bicycle rentals, disc golf and catch-and-release fishing and fly-fishing. (597 Barnsley Gardens Road, Adairsville GA 30103; 877-773-2447 or 770-773-7480)
Yes, close-by Cartersville is known for world-class museums, great shopping, dining and interactive experiences ranging from prehistoric to present day. And yes, Cartersville is a great place to … just get your hands in the dirt. And if all this earthy activity gets to be too much, there’s one more great way to get “dirty”–try the Deep Forest Detox at the Barnsley Spa. This one-hour, hand-crafted clay mask with towel compression therapy will leave your spirit cleansed.