Well the wife is out of town and then the boy will play? LOL…read more When I mean play, I mean get the opportunity to do somethings that I have been meaning to do. I wanted to go back to hiking paths and climbing mountains, like i used to do when I lived in the Adirondack Mountains. Getting here was a bit of a challenge. The GPS was a little off, but following the car in front t of me helps a lot. They looked like a bunch of hikers due to the stickers all over their car... Arrival to the parking lot was all gravel. The trailhead had some signage which was incredibly helpful. I took several pictures of the map and the direction I wanted to go. Seeing on a map and reality are two different things. At least I had some marker points to refer and go by. Down over the bridge you are met with a steady uphill climb some switchbacks and some rocky terrains to go over. The first Awesome fixture was the Fatman Squeeze. A hulking boulder with some tight side paths to go up on both sides end up at the same place. Then venturing on to the gravel path which takes you to the cell towers. Once past that the. Looking for the sign that leads you to the overlook. There it was. Beautiful over look to the mountains in the area.since we were facing the south the real mountains could not be seen. Couple of things to share, need to remind people that the canopy can be stuffy and humid. Be prepared to sweat, a LOT. Isn't that why you came? To overcome this mountain challenge??! Bring water. If your dog is strong enough to climb, other than that this can be challenging for their paws and your back, if you have to carry. Make sure your shoes are tied on tight. There are a lot of roots and loose rocks that can make a day go bad if you are not paying attention. Tightly tied shoes will alleviate the shift in the ground. Most importantly. Take your time, pause, reflect. Love, appreciate. Sweat. Have a good time...

When a friend asked if I wanted to do some hiking at pine mountain, I said sure! I made my way…read morethere and after 20 minutes of looking I thought to myself, this place is big! It also didn't help that my friend was waiting at the west loop trail and I was near Allatoona dam. After getting myself situated, parking at the lot located off of komatsu drive se (access komatsu via E. Main Street right off of 75), we made our way up the west loop trail to get to the David G. Archer overlook. Don't get me wrong, there are miles of trails here at pine mountain, but from the parking lot to the overlook is just under 2 miles. It breaks down from the parking lot as follows (taken from the pine mountain Rec area trail system map): West trail head/parking to west loop - 0.18 mi West loop to summit overlook- 1.57 mi Summit overlook to David G. Archer summit - 0.16 mi The view at the top gives you a beautiful look at expansive greenery, with Allatoona lake visible (although more visible in the fall). During clear days you're able to see Atlanta and its skyline in the distance (keep in mind Atlanta is easily less than 50 miles away. From here, we turned around and went back to our cars, although if you want, you can continue on past the summit and hike down to the East trail. Trails are marked very well with blazes so you have to try to get lost (see photos for blaze colors). There's forest, outcrops, easy and huff/puff portions of the trails, but I don't think it's a hard hike by any means. Pet friendly hike that leads to a great view with as much trail as you're interested in challenging. Do yourself a favor and give pine mountain (not to be confused with pine mountain near Columbus, GA) a chance! I know I'll be back!

This is a park with something for everyone ! Base / Softball , basket ball , football , soccer !…read more Clean and friendly with good parking and great concessions stand !

This is a great park! I take my dog here at least a few times a week to walk the path. There…read moreisn't a lot of shade...so in the summer go in the morning or evening. The path goes around the park and is .9 miles. There is plenty of parking. There are several baseball diamonds, a soccer field and a playground. It is usually pretty clean. However, it seams that quite a few people don't like picking up after their pet. My only criticism would be that the park would benefit from a few garbage cans right by the path so people will pick up after their pets.

Sorry didn't want this to be my 13th review…read more This was my favorite place to relax during my first year of college. An excuse to look at ducks and have a refreshing drink is always lovely, granted that's easy to do back home for me too, but lucky for me, there was something wonderful open. The cave of cave springs was beautiful, the atmosphere was eye opening, and the natural shapes were beautiful, it was short, but it was beautiful, next time it's open, you should go there, and bring the family.

Exploring the cave was so much fun - and surprisingly cold inside! While the cave itself isn't…read morehuge, it's absolutely worth the visit. Admission is just $2, and kids five and under are free! Outside, there's a beautiful creek where you can splash, explore, and even catch crawfish -- which we did a lot of! You can also feed rainbow trout in the nearby stream, which the kids loved. One of the most unique and special things about this place is the fresh spring water. Locals and visitors line up to fill gallons of it because it's clean, natural, and totally drinkable right from the source. Of course we tried it - and it really is some of the best-tasting water we've had! This place is a hidden gem and we'll definitely be back!

Exploring the cave was so much fun -- and surprisingly cold inside! While the cave itself isn't…read morehuge, it's absolutely worth the visit. Admission is just $2, and kids five and under are free! Outside, there's a beautiful creek where you can splash, explore, and even catch crawfish -- which we did a lot of! You can also feed rainbow trout in the nearby stream, which the kids loved. One of the most unique and special things about this place is the fresh spring water. Locals and visitors line up to fill gallons of it because it's clean, natural, and totally drinkable right from the source. Of course we tried it -- and it really is some of the best-tasting water we've had! This place is a hidden gem and we'll definitely be back!

This place is nice, but BE AWARE. they dont have it posted anywhere that swimming pool in this park…read moreis only open thu-sun. I drove all the way from HENRY county and was sadly disappointed. I would come back, but please call before you go unlike me

The best of a historical site…read more Easy to navigate. Specific and interesting signs and small museum. A piece of Georgia history work seeing. Bring some water. The mounds expose you to the sun with no shade. The river walk is all shade. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did. I'll never forget bringing my friend from out of town to visit.

My son and I chose a beautiful Saturday in October to explore the Etowah Indian Mounds on the…read morescenic north end of the Etowah River near Cartersville, Georgia. The site is an easy drive about an hour north of Atlanta, with plenty of free parking in a lot at the Visitor Center. The Visitor Center has restrooms and a small gift shop. The fee for adults to enter the 54-acre archeological site is only $6 per person. Built and occupied in three phases, from 1000-1550 CE, the prehistoric site is tranquil and calm. One can almost hear whispers of Native Americans as the breeze ripples through the tall grasses. There are three mounds (A, B, and C), that are accessible by wooden steps and hand rails. The mounds are well maintained and there were families picnicking on blankets at the summit of Mound A. Several picnic tables are also available near the river. The nature trail is tidy with signs educating the public on native woodland creatures and birds in the area. We saw many bluebirds and a couple Monarch butterflies lingering towards the end of fall. Definitely worth a peaceful morning or afternoon exploration and historical hike. The grounds are open 7am-5pm. Note: Plenty of dining options in Bartow County. We had brunch at the popular Doug's Place (about a 10 minute drive.)

Pine Mountain is a great hiking area. There are several trails for hiking here. Today we had…read moresmall group (9 of us) that did the west and east loops. Great workout of about 5 miles and 1300 total feet of elevation gain. Our trails were the Hiking Poles, Pocket Knife, Backpack, and Boot trails. These are the new names of the trails, but the old blazes were still visible on the trails. In fact, many places the blazes were visible and the new signs were not. Also we had stop at the David Archer Overlook at the top of Pine Mountain, the overlook view was good but not great. See pics. The overlook was the only place with lots of people. On the trails only a few folks and couple of mountain bikers. The trails are incredibly well maintained here. Am surprised this is first review of Pine Mountain. Logistics: Easy access to I-75 use exit 288. Lots of free parking here. We hiked Pine Mountain in the morning and went to Tellus museum in the afternoon. See my review of Tellus. All in all Pine Mountain is beautiful and worth a visit.

Cooper's Furnace is an old relic from the Civil War era. To get here, get on River Road and go all…read morethe way until it ends. Then you'll see the furnace, the picnic area, bathrooms, and the start of the trail. Cooper's Furnace isn't very impressive if you've seen any pyramids. It's just a big stone structure. If it was 10 times bigger, it would've been more impressive. The trail is only about 1.5 miles. But I haven't walked it. Instead, I stayed in the Day Use Area. The area is nice. They have a river, clean bathrooms, and picnic area. If you're an outdoorsy person, it's a decent place to come out, walk the trail, eat some grilled stuff, and lazily hang out near the river. The best part is it's free. They seem to have a place near the entrance, but on Saturday, no one was there taking fees. Not many people seem to come here. Perhaps it's just a place to hang out for nature-loving, bored people in Cartersville.

I have been coming to this trail for several years with my dogs. It's such a great hiking trail…read more(more of an easy stroll). The trail begins on Cassville Road across from the police station, nowhere to really park so you'll have to either park right off the road or park nearby. The trail is approximately 1.5 miles though the sign up front says 1.1 miles, haven't actually done an exact measurement. The trail follows along the Pettit Creek and is all paved. It begins open and about 300 yards in it dips into the woods and meanders through the woods, across a cool wooden bridge, and finally ends at Mission Rd (for now, apparently they are going to extend it another mile or so). It's such a peaceful and quiet trail to walk on and you can walk down to the creek with your dog. Currently the bridge is "closed for repairs" but I'm not sure why (this is as of Thanksgiving day 2025). Unsure of when they'll open it back up but you still have plenty of trail to walk on. Could definitely use some parking area but a great place to walk and ride your bike.