Loading...
 

  • >> Places
  • >> Outdoors
  • >> Park
    • >> Best Spot to Commune with Nature/Best Park

    Best Spot to Commune with Nature/Best Park

    Cover Image
    Creative Loafing has been presenting Atlanta's Best People, Places and Events since 1972. These are some of the past winners for this category:

    Best Park BOA Award Winner

    Piedmont Park (Featured)

    Best Place to Get Back to Nature BOA Award Winner

    Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area

    Best Spot to Commune with Nature BOA Award Winner

    Constitution Lake Park (Featured)

    Best Park BOA Award Winner

    Piedmont Park (Featured)

    Best Place to Get Back to Nature BOA Award Winner

    Sweetwater Creek State Park (Featured)

    Best Spot to Commune with Nature BOA Award Winner

    Tie: Atlanta with Nature Botanical Garden & Chattahoochee Nature Center

    Best Park BOA Award Winner

    Year » 2018
    Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2018 » Cityscape » Critics Pick
    Piedmont Park (Featured)

    Best Spot to Commune with Nature BOA Award Winner

    Year » 2018
    Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2018 » Cityscape » Critics Pick
    Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area (Featured)

    Best Park BOA Award Winner

    Year » 2018
    Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2018 » Cityscape » Readers Pick
    Piedmont Park (Featured)

    Best park BOA Award Winner

    Year » 2017
    Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2017 » Cityscapes » Readers Pick
    Piedmont Park (Featured)

    Best spot to commune with nature BOA Award Winner

    Year » 2017
    Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2017 » Cityscapes » Readers Pick
    Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area
    www.nps.gov/chat/index.htm
    Sweetwater

    Best zen nature spot within 17 miles of Downtown Atlanta BOA Award Winner

    Year » 2017
    Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2017 » Cityscapes » Critics Pick
    Sweetwater Creek State Park (Featured)
    A quick drive west on I-20 from the connector delivers you to a serene environment that feels far, far away from the chaos of Atlanta’s urban center. At SWEETWATER CREEK STATE PARK you can find your bliss in myriad ways: Rent a canoe and go out on the 215-acre reservoir and contemplate the interconnectednessmore...

    A quick drive west on I-20 from the connector delivers you to a serene environment that feels far, far away from the chaos of Atlanta’s urban center. At SWEETWATER CREEK STATE PARK you can find your bliss in myriad ways: Rent a canoe and go out on the 215-acre reservoir and contemplate the interconnectedness of us all or take a hike and praise the creator of your choice (or none at all, if that’s your thing). The best hike combines the White Trail with the Red Trail, leaving the visitor center and heading counterclockwise for a 4.5-mile loop jaunt. Starting with a warning not to disturb rattlesnakes about a mile in before winding through a forest past a turtle pond and climaxing with a roughly 2-mile ramble on the red trail, hugging the whitewater swells of Sweetwater Creek beside you. The sounds alone will provide salvation. Bathe in the water for a rebirth, with plenty of deer checking you out in the brilliant afternoon light. Whatever your chosen journey, Sweetwater Creek will deliver the zen you seek. 1750 Mount Vernon Road, Lithia Springs. 770-732-5871. www.gastateparks.org/SweetwaterCreek.

    (Courtesy of gastateparks.org/PressRoom).

    less...

    Best local place to commune with nature BOA Award Winner

    Year » 2016
    Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2016 » CityScape » Readers Pick
    Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area

    Best local place to commune with nature BOA Award Winner

    Year » 2015
    Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2015 » Cityscape » Readers Pick
    Atlanta Botanical Garden (Featured)

    Best spot to commune with nature BOA Award Winner

    Year » 2014
    Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2014 » Cityscape » Readers Pick
    Sweetwater Creek State Park (Featured)

    Best place for a seance BOA Award Winner

    Year » 2014
    Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2014 » Cityscape » Critics Pick
    Westview Cemetery Inc.

    Best spot to commune with nature BOA Award Winner

    Year » 2014
    Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2014 » Cityscape » Critics Pick
    Constitution Lake Park (Featured)

    Best local place to commune with nature BOA Award Winner

    Year » 2013
    Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2013 » Cityscape » Readers Pick
    Atlanta Botanical Garden (Featured)
    www.gastateparks.org/SweetwaterCreek

    Best riverwalk BOA Award Winner

    Year » 2013
    Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2013 » Cityscape » Critics Pick
    Island Ford
    If you want a quiet hike or run in one of the Chattahoochee River's more scenic and less crowded areas (with plenty of nooks where you can take a dip, depending on the water quality) head to Island Ford. The approximately 300-acre North Fulton enclave, which serves as the recreation area's headquarters,more...
    If you want a quiet hike or run in one of the Chattahoochee River's more scenic and less crowded areas (with plenty of nooks where you can take a dip, depending on the water quality) head to Island Ford. The approximately 300-acre North Fulton enclave, which serves as the recreation area's headquarters, boasts a trail through the forest and along the river with clear views of gently flowing water, shoals, kayaking, and geese galore. Unlike other sections of the river, Island Ford is relatively free from development. If you have any questions, stop by the well-maintained visitor station that was once the 1930s summer home - made with timber from the Okefenokee Swamp and Stone Mountain rock - of former Georgia Supreme Court Judge Samuel Hewlett. www.nps.gov/chat. less...

    Best local place to commune with nature BOA Award Winner

    Year » 2012
    Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2012 » Cityscape » Readers Pick
    TIE: Atlanta Botanical Garden and Piedmont Park

    Best urban wilderness refuge BOA Award Winner

    Year » 2011
    Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2011 » Cityscape » Critics Pick
    Cascade Springs Nature Preserve (Featured)
    You don't need to go to the North Georgia mountains to get into the wild. Just take a trip down Cascade Road in southwest Atlanta. Located deep in the heart of this affluent African-American community sits the Cascade Springs Nature Preserve, a dense, 120-acre woodland with steep inclines, a babblingmore...
    You don't need to go to the North Georgia mountains to get into the wild. Just take a trip down Cascade Road in southwest Atlanta. Located deep in the heart of this affluent African-American community sits the Cascade Springs Nature Preserve, a dense, 120-acre woodland with steep inclines, a babbling creek and waterfall, deer and more than 150 native plant species. Moss-covered pathways lead to an outdoor education center. Established in 1979 with city, state and federal funds, the former Creek Indian settlement includes an old spring house where tourists once bathed and the remains of a quarry that produced materials to build nearby homes. The preserve could use some TLC, i.e., trail markers, historical plaques and some replacement boards on a bridge near the waterfall. But you have to admire the rugged, semi-forgotten feel of the site, which was also once the scene of the Battle of Utoy Creek, in which Gen. Sherman's Union forces suffered heavy casualties. 2852 Cascade Road. 404-546-6744. atlantaga.gov. less...

    Local place to commune with nature BOA Award Winner

    Year » 2011
    Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2011 » Cityscape » Readers Pick
    Atlanta Botanical Garden (Featured)
    www.atlantabotanicalgarden.org

    Best local place to commune with nature BOA Award Winner

    Year » 2010
    Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2010 » Cityscape » Readers Pick
    Atlanta Botanical Garden (Featured)

    Runner-up: Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area


    www.nps.gov

    Best local place to commune with nature BOA Award Winner

    Year » 2009
    Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2009 » Cityscape » Readers Pick
    Chattahoochee Nature Center (Featured)

    Runner-up
    Stone Mountain
    1000 Robert E. Lee Drive, Stone Mountain, 770-498-5690, www.stonemountainpark.com

    Rich Pick: Best place to commune with nature BOA Award Winner

    Year » 2009
    Section » Print Features » Special Issue » Best of Atlanta » 2009 » Cityscape » Critics Pick
    Sweetwater Creek State Park (Featured)
    The most beautiful — and predictably, the most tourist-heavy — of the local parks, SWEETWATER CREEK STATE PARK is still best experienced by leaving aside the official trails and activities. With nine miles of hiking, it isn't hard to set your own path. For the athletic, the creek —more...
    The most beautiful — and predictably, the most tourist-heavy — of the local parks, SWEETWATER CREEK STATE PARK is still best experienced by leaving aside the official trails and activities. With nine miles of hiking, it isn't hard to set your own path. For the athletic, the creek — especially post-rainfall — makes for an excellent kayaking run. For a more peaceful Sweetwater experience, there's usually ducks to feed along the reservoir, not to mention multiple docks for fishing. And while not technically a part of nature, the New Manchester Manufacturing Co., a textile mill burned during the Civil War, connects the site to the area's conflicted history and provides an imposing spot to take photos, have a picnic, or use as a landmark during treks. 1750 Mt. Vernon Road, Lithia Springs. 770-732-5871. www.gastateparks.org/info/sweetwater. less...
    • «
    • 1 (current)
    • 2

    Browse Winners by Category

    After Dark
    After Dark
    Cityscape
    Cityscape
    Consumer Culture
    Consumer Culture
    Index
    Index
    Oral Pleasures
    Oral Pleasures
    Poets, Artists & Madmen
    Poets, Artists & Madmen
    Departments