Atlanta Kids Weekend Events: Jul. 24-26
Summer—better catch it before it’s gone! This weekend, you can watch a comet, hike a monolith, and go to a beach less than an hour away. Keep reading for ways to wow the kids with these activities, and more, below.
photo: iStock
Hands-On Fun
Visit Acworth Beach
Acworth Beach is a public beach and recreation area in Cauble Park on the north shore of Lake Acworth. The beach area of the park features a white sand beach as well as a roped off area for swimming. There is no lifeguard on duty and there is no charge for swimming. The surrounding park offers boating, fishing, public restrooms, rental facilities, a volleyball net, playgrounds, picnic areas, and more. Here’s the scoop.
Visit the Blue Heron Nature Preserve
Blue Heron is an independently operated City of Atlanta park with miles of trails that are open and free to the public from dawn till dusk all year long. The Blue Heron building is home to a preschool and not open to the public. There is no public bathroom access, but you can check out abundant wildlife on the 3-mile Blueway Trail. Find details here.
Hike a Monolith
The 1-mile Walk-Up Trail is open daily from dawn to dusk, unless otherwise posted. Just follow the painted yellow line along the trail and enjoy the unique scenery and spectacular views along the way. Restrooms are located at the base of the trail. While on top, 1,686 feet above sea level, enjoy amazing views of downtown Atlanta, the North Georgia mountains and the surrounding area. On a haze-free day, you can see 60 miles from the mountain. Here’s what you need to know.
Shoot the ‘Hooch
Float, spin or just kick back in bliss as you shoot the ‘Hooch in the Georgia sunshine. While many outfitters offer custom trips down the Chattahoochee, with put-ins as far as Helen, Georgia, the Nantahala Outpost in Roswell offers two distinct in-town river float trips that make your river float easy. For more details, click here.
Take a Walk in WildWoods and Cool Off with Dinosaurs Indoors at Fernbank
Fernbank Museum is now open daily 9 a.m. – 12 p.m., 1-3 p.m. and 5-9 p.m. Online tickets are required. Travel around the world and back in time as you discover live animals, amazing places, ancient fossils, prehistoric cultures and new science discoveries inside the museum, and outdoor exhibits, breathtaking walking trails, a canopy walk, native wildlife and nature playgrounds in the 75-acre WildWoods and Fernbank Forest. Click here for the details.
Visit Butterflies at CNC
The year’s most popular exhibit at the CNC is back for its 7th summer. Get up close and personal with hundreds of native butterflies surrounded by colorful nectar plants. Visitors must purchase admission tickets in advance, which include a date and time to visit the center. Members will also be required to make a reservation for their visit, and guests inside the butterfly tent will be limited. Here’s the scoop.
Virtual Adventures
View a Comet
NEOWISE, a rare, bright comet is visiting our part of the solar system for the first time in a little over 4,000 years! It will be visible starting about 30 minutes after sundown from now until around July 27. In honor of this rare celestial happening, the Adler Planetarium will host Adler Live!, a virtual public observing event on Thurs., Jul. 23 at 8:30 p.m. via Adler’s YouTube channel. Here’s the scoop.
Participate in Virtual Camp Field Day
Don’t miss the world’s biggest virtual field day with head counselor, Jerry Harris! Families from across the country can join in from their homes or backyards for dodgeball, sack races, capture the flag, and more on July 24. Find out more here.
Toddler Dance with Me Class Online
Parents and children dance together in this precious “Dance with Me” class. Move and assist your little dancer with imagination, movements, shadow dancing the teacher Ballet and Pop. The instructor uses interactive dance games and reads a picture book each class to finish. Check it out here.
Camp Creativity with Michaels
Families are invited to join free online crafting class that will highlight and walk little ones through a different project from start to finish. To help make sure that Camp Creativity has something to fit the interest of mini-makers everywhere, classes will center on a different theme each day of the week according to a schedule, and crafts can be made with mostly household items. For more info, check this out.
Check out our incredible virtual adventure calendar here for more options!
—Shelley Massey
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