7 Best Hikes in Atlanta with Kids

For families who love the outdoors, Atlanta, Georgia, offers great hiking trails with unique sights that appeal to all ages. On the trails in and around Atlanta, you’ll find Civil War-era ruins, waterfalls, whitewater rapids, mountains, and even a bamboo forest. Through the years, my family has explored dozens of hiking trails around the metro-Atlanta area. Based on my family’s experiences, here are seven of the best hikes in Atlanta with kids.

Island Ford

The Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area spans four counties in Georgia, boasting 15 land units spread across 48 miles and covering more than 10,000 acres. Its main visitor center, a cypress log cabin from 1935 known as the Hewlett Lodge, is located just north of Atlanta, in Sandy Springs, at Island Ford.

Along with the visitor center, Island Ford offers a fun hike for families. The two-mile trail runs along the scenic river, which flows over rocky shoals. On the other side of the path are a series of 16 granite outcroppings, which served as ancient shelters for the prehistoric people who lived in the area.  

The natural path has some elevation change, but overall, this moderate-level hike is on the easier side. Kids love climbing beneath the rock overhangs and exploring the shelters. During our family’s visits, sitting under the rocks always led to imagining what days were like for the Native Americans who lived along the riverbanks.

If you expect to be a frequent visitor to the Georgia state parks, you can purchase an annual ParkPass at the visitor center, which allows you to park at all 63 Georgia state parks for $50. Note that this pass does not include admission to any of the state historic sites.

Old Mill Park

Old Mill Park in Roswell, Georgia, features two hiking trails that are perfect for families. The first is an interpretive trail that runs along the west side of Vickery Creek. What makes this trail unique are the ruins of two antebellum textile mills that were operated by the Roswell Manufacturing Company. The mills were a leading provider of materials used by the Confederacy during the Civil War. When Union troops came to Roswell in 1864, they burned the mills to the ground, leaving only a machine shop standing.

Today, visitors can view the two-story machine shop, as well as the foundations and equipment of the original mills, along the Roswell Mill trail. The paved and gravel path has a modest incline, with stairs that allow visitors to get a better view of the mill relics. Past the equipment exhibit is a 30-foot waterfall created by the dam that powered the millworks.

Because of the short and easy nature of this trail and the many sights along the way, this is an ideal path for families with young children. Families looking for a longer hike can cross the covered pedestrian bridge, which connects Old Mill Park with the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. There, visitors can follow the Vickery Creek Trail, a loop trail complex totaling between five and six miles. The Vickery Creek Trail follows the east side of the creek and also leads to the waterfall and dam.

When my family visits, we usually take the Vickery Creek Trail to the waterfall so my children can spend time climbing around the waterfall’s base. We then walk back past the pedestrian bridge and follow the creek toward the Riverside Road entrance of the recreation area. This walk features the best of the Vickery Creek Trail without being too strenuous.

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Parking is free at this trail if you begin at the city parking lot off Mill Street. If you opt to start at the Riverside Road entrance, you’ll pay a parking fee of $5, unless you have an America the Beautiful Pass, the annual admission pass of the National Park Service.

Sope Creek

Another great trail featuring impressive ruins from a Civil War-era paper mill is Sope Creek. Like Vickery Creek, Sope Creek is part of a unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area known as Cochran Shoals. And like the Roswell mills, the 1855 mill at Sope Creek was destroyed by Union troops because of its role in aiding the Confederacy.

Sope Creek features more than three miles of trails, but families can see the highlights by taking a one-and-a-half-mile loop starting at the parking area off Paper Mill Road and following the trail around Sibley Pond. About three-quarters of the way through the hike are the Sope Creek Paper Mill ruins.

The trail offers a big payoff for kids because they can wade in the rocky bed of Sope Creek and explore the castle-like stacked-stone foundations of the mill. My children loved scrambling over the big boulders in the river and scaling the remains of the building. Of all the mill trails on this list (there are three of them), Sope Creek is the only one where visitors have access to the ruins.

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Sweetwater Creek

Sweetwater Creek is the last of the three mill trails on my list. Just west of Atlanta in Lithia Springs is Sweetwater Creek State Park, which has not only hiking, but also boating, fishing and camping.

From the visitor center, the White Trail winds through a forest to the shores of Sweetwater Creek, while the Red Trail follows along the creek’s edge. Both trails lead to the ruins of the New Manchester Mill. The picturesque shell of the five-story brick factory is viewable from a wooden platform.

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After the mill, follow the Red Trail south to see the creek’s rocky shoals and whitewater rapids. Then, depending on how far you want to hike, either return to the visitor center by taking the White Trail north or continue south on the White Trail to complete a four-mile loop.

Kennesaw Mountain

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, the site of a 14-day Civil War battle in Marietta, Georgia, has more than 22 miles of trails to explore. Of these, the Kennesaw Mountain Trail is notable for its sweeping views and historic cannons.

The 2.1-mile Kennesaw Mountain Trail is best for families with older children and teens, as the switchbacks, incline and rocky terrain add up to a moderately difficult hike. For inexperienced hikers or families with younger children, I recommend driving up Kennesaw Mountain Drive to the observation platform and parking lot, which allows visitors to climb the last 400 yards of the trail on a paved path to reach the summit.

Along the path, visitors can see monuments to the battle and original cannons placed along the mountainside. Visible from the top are the Atlanta skyline and Stone Mountain, a granite outcropping 30 miles away.

The last time my family visited, we opted to drive to the top of the Kennesaw Mountain Trail and then walk the easier trails near the visitor center. A good choice for families is the wooded 1.25-mile Environmental Trail, which makes a loop on flat terrain and includes interpretative signs about the site’s natural features.

You can also plan your visit to coincide with park events. On our last visit, we saw an artillery presentation in which artillerists demonstrated how to load a cannon and then fired it—without a cannonball, of course.

East Palisades

East Palisades is the only trail on this list in the city of Atlanta proper. Another unit of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, it’s a moderate hike, with some elevation changes and rocky terrain.

The standout feature of East Palisades is a bamboo forest that has overtaken the native species along a stretch of the Chattahoochee River. To reach the bamboo forest, visitors can park at either the Whitewater Creek parking lot or the Indian Trail parking lot.

While the park mostly consists of loop trails, visitors will need to leave the loop and take a spur along the river to reach the bamboo forest. Turn off the loop at marker EP 23, then turn left at marker EP 17 and follow the trail until reaching EP 26. When we visited, I found it helpful to snap a picture of the trail map for easy reference.

The bamboo forest is a serene place to spend some time because of the cool shade of the towering trees and the peaceful sounds of the hollow bamboo shoots knocking together as they sway in the wind. The enchanted feel of the forest also breeds imaginative play, as even my teenage sons and husband couldn’t resist picking up fallen bamboo sticks and having a sword fight, complete with knighting ceremony. Get there in the late afternoon to catch sunbeams streaming through the trees as the sun sets over the river.

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Stone Mountain

Stone Mountain is the world’s largest piece of exposed granite and Georgia’s most visited tourist attraction. Most visitors reach the summit of Stone Mountain by taking a gondola operated by Stone Mountain Park. But the sweeping views and the otherworldly terrain of the mountaintop are also accessible on foot.

Hiking the mountain is not only a fun experience, but it’s also less expensive than taking the gondola, which costs between $20 and $32 per person, depending on the ticket-level you choose. For just a $20 parking fee, visitors have all-day access to the park paths, including the two-mile Walk-Up Trail. Stone Mountain Park also offers an annual parking pass for only $40.

The Walk-Up Trail is considered a moderate hike. Although the trail is not long, the terrain gets steep, especially the last 200 feet to the summit. The path is also mostly of granite and can be uneven. This is part of the fun though for kids, who tend to bound over the rocks and marvel at the trees growing out of the dome’s rocky face.

As unusual as the hike itself is, the real reward is at the top, where you can see all of Atlanta on a clear day. Look to the west where the tall buildings of Buckhead, Midtown and Downtown fill the skyline. To the northwest is Kennesaw Mountain.

On our visits, we always spend time exploring the summit’s unique landscape. From some spots, it looks as if you could fall right off the curved face of the rock, though in reality there’s a fence that runs around the edge.  My kids also like this trail because it’s the only Atlanta-area hike where you’ll find a concession stand at the top. The promise of slushies and popcorn is enough to keep my kids going on the trail’s uphill climb.

So, if you’re in the Atlanta area, get outside with the kids this weekend and try one of these great family-friendly hikes. There’s so much to see and and do on these top Atlanta trails!

Need more advice about Atlanta? Check out my article on 10 Atlanta Museums That are Fun for Families! Planning a Georgia trip? Read about whether you should buy a state historic site pass here.