The northwest corner of Georgia serves as home to the communities of Fort Oglethorpe, Chickamauga, Trenton and Chattanooga Valley. The area is less than nine miles from the major metropolitan area of Chattanooga, Tennessee, and makes a convenient destination for a weekend trip outside the city. Visitors to northwest Georgia can find numerous attractions to enjoy, including amusement parks, Civil War memorials and museums, and state parks.
Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park is just over the Tennessee-Georgia border in the town of Rossville, Georgia. The park has served the greater Chattanooga area since 1925 and gets its name from the Native American word for "bountiful waters." Travel + Leisure magazine has previously named the park one of the 10 best family-friendly amusement parks in the United States. Attractions at the park include more than 35 rides, including the Cannon Ball Roller Coaster and the Oh-Zone, which thrills visitors with the feeling of a 14-story free fall. Kidtown, a special area of the amusement park, features rides exclusively for toddlers and preschoolers. Live entertainment, parades and fireworks are featured regularly. Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park operates from April through October with hours and days of operation varying. Free parking is available.
Lake Winnepesaukah Amusement Park
1730 Lakeview Drive
Rossville, GA 30741
877-525-3946
lakewinnie.com
Operated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Cloudland Canyon State Park is in Rising Fawn, approximately eight miles from Trenton. The park offers views of a gorge cut into northwest Georgia's Lookout Mountain by Sitton's Gulch Creek. Those willing to make the journey down and back up 600 steps can even walk down to the bottom of the gorge and get close to two waterfalls that empty into the creek. Those who enjoy camping can find 72 recreational vehicle and tent camping sites and 16 cottages at the park, as well as facilities for camping in large groups. The park also offers picnic areas, a Frisbee golf course and tennis courts as well as a pond stocked with catfish for fishing.
Cloudland Canyon State Park
122 Cloudland Canyon Park Road
Rising Fawn, GA 30738
800-864-7275
gastateparks.org
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park, in Oglethorpe, is overseen by the National Park Service. The national park commemorates a Civil War campaign that occurred in the area in 1863, during which the Union and Confederate armies fought for control of Chattanooga. Visitors can walk trails that wind through 5,300-acre Chickamauga Battlefield, which is home to monuments and exhibits about the battle and the war. The visitors center near the Chickamauga area has a collection of military shoulder arms on display. The park also is home to Lookout Mountain Battlefield, a 3,000-acre site with its own monuments and exhibits to tour. Guided tours of both battlefields are available, and the park frequently hosts re-enactments.
Chickamauga and Chattanooga National Military Park
P.O. Box 2128
Fort Oglethorpe, GA 30742
706-866-9241
nps.gov/chch
The Sixth Cavalry Museum is also located in Fort Oglethorpe. The museum traces the history of the Sixth U.S. Cavalry Regiment, which began in 1861 and was headquartered in Fort Oglethorpe from 1919 to 1942. More than 6,500 square feet of exhibits display uniforms, weapons, photographs and other items related to the regiment. The collection also includes a Patton tank and Cobra gunship helicopter. The Sixth Cavalry Museum is open to the public Tuesdays through Saturdays.
Sixth Cavalry Museum
6 Barnhardt Circle
Fort Oglethorpe, GA 30742
706-861-2860
6thcavalrymuseum.com
