Lake & Outdoor Recreation

Georgias parks and waters offer relaxing family fun and thrilling adventures this summer.

 By Michelle Martin

Georgias natural venues offer the perfect setting to enjoy your favorite summertime outdoor activities. Whether youre looking for a relaxing day of fishing, birding and observing the beauty of nature, or are trying a more daring adventure like whitewater rafting, zip lining or rock climbing, you can experience the best of the summertime outdoors without leaving the state. Dont let the summer slip away without getting away from it all by getting back to nature!

Fishing
Georgias many lakes and wildlife management areas offer great public fishing opportunities for many different types of fish. For largemouth bass, one of the top spots in the state is Marben Farms Public Fishing Area (PFA), part of the Charlie Elliott Wildlife Center near Mansfield. Many of Marben Farms PFAs 22 ponds spanning 295 acres have boat ramps that are close to main roads, as well as some accessible on more interior dirt roads and some walk-in lakes without parking.

Swimming & Water Sports
Water skiing, boating, canoeing, swimming whatever your favorite on-the-water hobby, you can enjoy it on the 38,000-acre Lake Sidney Lanier reservoir and Lake Lanier Islands Resort in Buford. Harbor Landing offers rentals for boats of all shapes and sizes kayaks, pontoons, day boats and large-excursion yachts, etc. along with tubing and water skiing equipment. The resort also includes a beach volleyball area. For a real family fun adventure, make time for the water park, dive-in movies and many other activities at LanierWorld.

Whitewater Rafting/Tubing
Chattooga River on the Georgia-South Carolina border offers scenic, guided whitewater rafting and tubing for beginners to advanced rafters, with Class II-IV rapids divided into three sections. Section II drops approximately 12 feet per mile over seven miles, while the popular Section III covers more than 10 different Class III-IV rapids. Section IV, the most difficult course, features a 75-foot drop through the Five Falls (Entrance, Corkscrew, Crack-In-the-Rock, Jawbone and Sock-Em Dog). Guided tours, including overnight packages, can tell the rivers storied Native American and film (Deliverance) history.

Rock Climbing
Made famous by the Tom Hanks-Steven Spielberg critically acclaimed TV mini-series, Band of Brothers, Currahee Mountain is situated near Toccoa in the Lake Russell Wildlife Management Area. Currahee Mountain rises abruptly approximately 800 feet above local topography, and on clear days its 1,735-foot summit is visible from miles away. Four climbing spots Slab Area, Buzzard Wall, Small Wall and Brick Wall appeal to a variety of skill levels. Slab Area is the most popular, with several climbing routes and bolted anchors, while Brick Wall is very steep and has no anchors.

Zip Lining
Guinness World Records has certified Screaming Eagle Tours zip line canopy tours at Historic Banning Mills in Whitesburg as the longest continuous zip-line tour in the world. At nearly 10 miles long (50,000-plus lineal feet), the zip-line course features six different levels that soar above the historic town and lost gorge for the ultimate Superman-like experience! The zip-line park is open year-round. Reservations are recommended, so plan your adventure in advance.

Disc Golfing
Appling is home of the Professional Disc Golf Association and International Disc Golf Center. The sport, which originated in the 1970s, follows the same format as traditional golf, but uses round discs (similar to the Frisbee) and baskets. Georgias 59 disc golf courses include dedicated disc golf facilities and courses designed at public and state parks, many with no additional recreational fee. Local disc golf parks include Sequoyah Park in Canton and Perkerson Park in Atlanta.

Caving
Georgia Speleological Society has found 513 caves throughout the state, with most located in northwest Georgia. Walker Countys Pigeon Mountain features two of the most popular caves in the state, if not the entire country Ellisons Cave and Pettijohns Cave. Ellisons Cave includes two of the deepest cave drops in the continental United States: The Fantastic, which drops 586 feet, and The Incredible, which drops 440 feet. Pettijohns Cave has more than six miles of passages. The TAG region where Tennessee, Alabama and Georgia meet is regarded as one of the best among caving enthusiasts.

Geocaching & Orienteering
For a different kind of family fun, hit the Georgia State Parks for an afternoon of geocaching or orienteering. Geocaching is a GPS scavenger hunt of hidden caches for prizes. Each time you find one, you leave a prize for the next person. Georgia has 43 State Parks in the Parks GeoTour and 14 historic sites on the History Trail GeoTour, which features indoor boxes with combination locks. Orienteering uses a compass and map to navigate through the woods from one point to another. Georgia State Parks offering orienteering activities include Cloudland Canyon, Panola Mountain, Red Top Mountain, Sweetwater Creek and Unicoi state parks, as well as a compass course at New Echota State Historic Site.

Birding/Observing Nature
Callaway Gardens is a great place to take in natures beauty and wildlife while enjoying the many other recreational activities offered there. In May, visitors are likely to see cardinals, robins, titmice and woodpeckers, along with blue herons patrolling lakes and ponds for fish. Other opportunities to experience nature close-up include fireflies, female water turtles and fox squirrels in June, and Tiger swallowtail butterflies and dragonflies in July. Dont miss the spectacular display of seasonal flowers in bloom, including the large hydrangeas May through September at the Thornhill Hydrangea Garden.