La Grange, GA Outdoor Activities

Located in a historic train depot in Jonesboro—the setting for Margaret Mitchell’s _Gone With the Wind_—the Road to Tara Museum assembles memorabilia and artwork inspired by the novel and its classic 1939 film adaptation. Visitors can meander past reproductions of the costumes worn by Vivien Leigh or peruse the many foreign translations of the book. The voice of Fred Crane, who played Brent Tarleton on screen, narrates sights throughout the museum, regaling with behind-the-scene tales of the movie set and Clark Gable’s mustache wax. Regular tours extend the educational experience outside the museum walls, exploring Clayton County’s various plantations and historic battlefields still littered with cork pop guns and broken water balloons

Since its inception as a small park in 1990, Dixieland Amusement Park has grown to include more than 20 rides and attractions for kids and parents alike. From high-flying cable coasters to speedy go-karts, the park's attractions foster adrenaline-fueled joy, while the Digital Armory, a bustling arcade, transports visitors to a virtual world with motion sensors and laser tag. Dining areas pepper the park's walkways for between-ride snacks, and, come nightfall, fireworks fill the sky to entertain visitors and idling pigeons.

The Robertson family exemplifies the unifying power of family fitness. While parents Mark and Melissa manage Ascension Climbing's incoming clients, their three kids—Grace, Caleb, and Zeke—provide one-on-one training in the art of scaling mountainsides or the gum-studded underside of a giant's desk. Grace, who formerly coached college climbing teams, transfers her expertise to competitive clients during one-on-one lessons at one of 18 ropes. Zeke oversees the littlest ones at Ascension’s climbing walls and two bouldering caves, and Caleb fills in the schedule with lessons on climbing safety and technique.

As a tightly knit, climbing-savvy family, the Robertsons hope to strengthen the bonds of other clans through Ascension Climbing’s many activities. They invite families to climb and boulder together during events and trips. They also host groups and parties, spreading their love of climbing through chaperoned events and overnight lock-ins.

Nestled inside 180 acres of tree-lined, gently rolling grounds, the Newnan golf course springs up from the natural terrain, gracing golfers with scenic views of ridges, ravines, and waterways. The meticulously maintained fairways and greens wend along natural, wooded buffers that create a sense of public but peaceful solitude, like delivering a speech from inside a sleeping bag. Golfers hone their short game at the practice green, deliver pep talks to lazy 9-irons at the all-weather driving range, or pick up anything from tees to new clubs at the pro shop. The 15,000-square-foot clubhouse's Coweta Grill serves casual or formal dining fare and slings drinks at full bar, and a sweeping veranda overlooks the 10th tee and its hazards, including the catapult-launched Harlem Globetrotters, who slap down soaring golf balls.

Golf with friends is the best kind of bonding. There's nothing like being out in the open air, hearing the wind blow through the beautiful old trees lining the well-groomed fairways, and refusing to grant your compadres mulligans. Today's Groupon gets you one round of golf on the championship course, plus a GPS golf cart, at Durham Lakes Golf & Country Club for just $30 (normally $51–$61 before tax; note that the course offers a discount for seniors). Buy a few Groupons and make it a foursome.

More than 50 species of butterflies flit between the petals of an ever-changing array of exotic plants inside the greenhouse as sunlight streams in through the glass ceilings. Outside, experts launch owls, falcons, and eagles into the air to fly—and many come back down to land on the arms of the audience. Since 1952, the staffers of Callaway Gardens’ educational nature preserve have immersed visitors in their passion for wildlife management and conservation across more than 4,600 acres of demonstration gardens, arboretums, and outdoor sports attractions.

At the 5-acre Horticultural Center, visitors wander through three conservatories, a grotto, and an outdoor garden and stand at the base of a 22-foot indoor waterfall. They can also soar up to 30 feet above the forest floor on a five-zipline treetop course replete with ladders, logs, and netting or practice their lumberjack calls on a 10-mile discovery trail through the trees. Staffers regularly lead guided hikes through the woods, hold a range of butterfly shows and cultural workshops, and help facilitate seasonal events—including circus, music, and theater performances and a holiday light show. On overnight stays, they welcome guests into lodgings such as a rustic inn, 155 secluded pine cottages, and 57 stone and wood villas with balconies.