Here are three Atlanta parks where you can enjoy a wide range of outdoor activities.

Stone Mountain Park

A 3,200-acre state park, Stone Mountain Park offers hiking trails, camping, and a lake with fishing and canoe and paddleboat rentals. Park visitors can hike miles of wooded nature trails or climb the 1.3 mile trail to the top of the mountain. Many locals picnic near the Grist Mill and Covered Bridge or fish in the 363-acre lake. Golf enthusiasts will enjoy the two beautiful Georgia golf courses with scenic views. In May 2008, Sky Hike opened at the park. This treetop ropes course, which features suspended bridges, high ropes and vertical nets, is the nation’s largest family adventure course.

Learn about Stone Mountain Park’s history in a splashy way with Ride The Ducks™. The Duck vehicles are 1940's era Army DUKWs, converted into comfortable open-air vehicles for park visitors. Your guide brings history to life with fascinating facts, funny stories, music and of course, a big splash into Stone Mountain Lake.

Piedmont Park

Piedmont Park provides an in-town recreational venue in Atlanta’s Midtown area. With 185 acres, sidewalks and expansive green spaces, the park includes playgrounds for children of varying ages, baseball, soccer and football fields as well as public tennis courts. Pedestrian walkways are ideal for a stroll, providing spectacular views of the city skyline and Lake Clara Meer. Canine lovers can exercise their pets at the Piedmont Park Dog Park, an enclosed area where dogs can play off-leash.

Piedmont Park’s sidewalks connect 18 miles from Georgia Tech through Atlanta suburbs to Stone Mountain Park. These sidewalks are one of the many PATH trails for pedestrians, bikers and rollerbladers. Stop at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum, experience the quirky Little Five Points area, enjoy lunch in Decatur or end at Georgia’s most visited attraction, Stone Mountain Park. Other in-town PATH trails include the South Decatur Trolley Trail, the Westside Trail and the Chastain Park Trail.

Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area

The Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area includes 50 miles of hiking trails, picnic areas, canoe and raft rentals and year-round fishing. For a lazy day on the river, do as locals do and "shoot the Hooch" by renting inner tubes or rafts and drifting down the river. The Chattahoochee River is a stocked trout stream with 23 species of game fish. Year-round fishing is available with a Georgia fishing license and a trout stamp.


Have you visited any of these Atlanta parks? Share your thoughts here.