A charming LITTLE park on Main St. in Acworth…read more It is kind of small so a lot of people miss it. It is near the Acworth Post Office so I enjoy stopping by for a few minutes when I'm dropping off mail. Since it is small and I don't see many people there, I am sometimes surprised by art displays there. Fun!

Lake Acworth is one of those places that I look forward to visiting every time that I am in…read moreAcworth, Georgia. It is a tranquil place to walk and gather mu thoughts either at the beginning or end of my work day. If you are in the area, I would definitely recommend visiting here.

Lake Acworth is a great spot tucked away in the middle of suburbia that offers the locals and…read morevisitors a little taste of the outdoors and includes trails, bridges, docks and of course, a beach! We have visited Lake Acworth via Cauble Park on numerous occasions and always tend to enjoy ourselves. The water is always calm and clean, on the surface at least. The lake is well maintained and surrounded by the park, woods, a neighborhood and a highway. So, always something different to look at whether you are hanging on the beach or kayaking around the water. While most of our visits are for walking and enjoying the beach, I have visited for fireworks and other community events. The lake and park hold up well. There are onsite restrooms and such as well, which make trips here a bit easier. You will find folks enjoying all things from building sandcastles to walking the pups, grilling out, fishing or just chilling. When I visit, we tend to do it all, except the fishing part. Overall, Lake Acworth is a cute spot for a chill afternoon. Low energy needed to enjoy yourself here. Keep in mind that the main access point is through Cauble Park, which for non-Acworth city residents charges by the vehicle, usually no more than $20.

To go to this falls is extremely deceiving. Once you entered the Main Street, you need to cross a…read moresmall river and drive on dirt road which has tons of holes and driving is extremely tricky and dangerous. You can easily risk is exploding a tire or worse yet damaging your car. I would not recommend at all.

We came during the end of February with a surprising temp of 70 degrees outside…read more Very pretty ! The "hike" is literally less than 5 minutes off the road. We had 0 issues getting to it. Site was super clean ! Only downside I could find was some graffiti on the rocks / trees but that doesn't bother me.

Stunning, very well organized and clearly labeled ropes section in the ship store. I would have…read morebeen utterly lost without that ropes sign. Highly appreciated.

Little river marina was super awesome last year and it feels like the manager that was there moved…read moreon and honestly it shows. They still have good service just not the level it was last year. Still recommending but instead of being wowed it's just satisfactory.

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.

Beautiful park with access to the water, trails, lots of picnic areas with plenty of shade, and…read moreswings to relax and enjoy the views. The area we visited was wheelchair accessible.

This place is really neat! The falls are gorgeous, but it is a trek to get there. It's nearly two…read moremiles to get there, and the same back. It's not all flat either, there are some parts that are going up and down in the trees, a few trees you have to climb under or over on the trail. Part of it is covered, but part of us is very open and near a construction area. However, the falls are beautiful. And since it is such a trek, it's not super crowded. If you don't mind the hike and want a nice little spot to cool off and jump off a rock, I would highly recommend this place.

Fun staff and easy to understand instructions…read more First time renting a paddle board. The shop and rental desk is around back. Lots of signs pointing it out. Again. This not being my first time paddle boarding , but first time renting, I was presently surprised that the staff was just the right amount of informative. Loved the experience. Would buy a paddle board from them in the future.

The service was fine, however, I do wish that there was a bit more of a flexible policy when it…read morecomes to Weather. We booked for two hours per the recommendation of the staff when we called to inquire about kayaking. They said two hours was recommended When I inquired about the one hour session initially. We went here on a Saturday when the weather looked like it was going to hold up, but Georgia weather could be unpredictable and it started pouring cold rain in the middle of our two hour session. The staff told us that we cannot get our money back for the additional time we didn't use, and we also could not get a credit to use for another time. I wasn't very pleased with that, because we cannot predict the weather, and we also cannot allow ourselves to get rained on with cold rain and risk getting sick. So we really had no other option, except to forfeit the additional hour and lose our money.

George Washington Carver State Park is known as the first "Georgia State Park for Negroes." It was…read morethe brainchild of John Lloyd Atkinson Sr. who was inspired to build a private black resort in the same fashion that Florida's first black millionaire (Abraham Lincoln Lewis) built the "Negro Ocean Playground" near Amelia Island. FL. Jim Crow Laws made access to recreation difficult, even at state parks. It was by great effort men like these risked even their own finances to create "A place for recreation & relaxation without humiliation." Atkinson began building a home in 1941, but soon began to experience resistance from neighbors. You see, this property was located in a "whites only" subdivision and eventually became a 1942 Georgia Supreme Court case which debated the legitimacy of land being sold to a black man in such a residential development. The court battle delayed Atkinsons build for two years. During that time he joined the US Air Force and became a Tuskegee Airman [insert salute here]. He returned in 1943 and immediately began his quest to create a safe space for blacks to relax & enjoy. He was unsuccessful for 5 years until the 'New Deal' breathed life into funding black state park facilities, allowing Atkinson the lease of 345 acres of land through the U.S. Army Corps and secured a permit to create a beach. Atkinson served as the 1st superintendent of the newly founded State Park from 1950-58 and subsequently was the first Black Park Superintendent in Georgia. He and his family did much of the physical labor needed to realize his vision of a resort by hauling sand in his family pickup truck, spreading it to create the shorelines of the beach and built boat ramps, a clubhouse, concession stand, fishing docks and a playground. He believed heavily in instilling leadership skills & helped established a Girl Scout Camp called Pine Acres that became home to Atlanta's 1st African American Girl Scout troop. * * * FUN FACT - The park was part of what was called THE CHITLIN' CIRCUIT, where well-known entertainers such as Ray Charles & Little Richard performed in similar Southern locations. Other notables such as Coretta Scott King used the facilities for church outings while Rev. Andrew Jackson Young Jr. learned to water ski. It was the summer home to the St. John's Ski Bees, the only black water ski club in Georgia & where the honorable Justice Robert Benham spent his youth swimming and serving as a lifeguard with his brothers. Benham's father, Clarence, became the 2nd superintendent serving from 1959-1962. Budget cuts eliminated GWC Park from the state park system and in 1975 it became Bartow-Carver Park. However, in 2017 the park returned to its original name under new management by the Cartersville-Bartow County Convention & Visitors Bureau. source: https://evhsonline.org/archives/47346 * * * [ THE EXPERIENCE ] I arrived at the park on a windy January afternoon. The first gate to the park was open, but it felt eerily deserted, like a movie scene years after a major catastrophe. I wasn't sure if I should proceed, but I had come so far & nothing was saying "keep-out". The second gate to the parking area was closed, so I parked just in front of it and walked about 100 yards to the beach. I encountered a monument sign that told of the parks history. It noted the American Red Cross trained black lifeguards here + taught hundreds of black children to swim. Black motorcycle clubs of WWII veterans often met and swapped war stories at the concession stand known as THE CANTEEN, which also rented bathing suits, sold bait & offered boat rides to view the dam. I sat on the beach for a while, reaching down to grab a handful of sand. I held it up and acknowledge the sacrifices of those who worked so hard to create this space. In the distance I kept hearing the banging of the "Canteen" screened door. I walked onto a porch lined with rocking chairs and tested the door. It was open. Inside the concession area felt like a scene from the Walking Dead and I paused to wonder a silly thought: What if zombies actually existed? It would be the perfect spot for an ambush! Left of the concession was a large room where a portion of the ceiling had collapsed, again making me wonder if I should be here. Right led to some restrooms & small offices, all of which looked abandoned. I took a moment to photograph the pictures on the walls before bowing & leaving. I felt the weight of its hallowed halls as my heart filled with honor. * * * [ FINAL THOUGHTS ] I returned to my car, stopping to soak in the energy of all the souls who have come here seeking peace and relaxation from a world far crueler than I would ever experience in my lifetime. I hope each of them found joy when joy was scarcely available. 2021 / 18