The 11 National Parks In Georgia You Must Visit

The 11 US National Parks in Georgia are both varied and diverse, with plenty to offer visitors of all ages.

From the choppy shores of the Atlantic Ocean to the tippy top of the Appalachian Trail, Georgia is an adventurer’s dream.

The United States National Park Service agreed and has designated eleven national parks in Georgia.

Come discover what makes these Georgia national parks worth visiting by reading our full list!

Which national parks can you visit in Georgia? Be sure to check these out.

Andersonville National Historic Site

I’m a Georgia native. Georgia is in my blood and in my family’s heritage. On my husband’s side we can trace back history of the family from before the Civil War. Now, those are deep roots.

When I was younger, I had a family friend that would dress up and participate in Civil War reenactments. He went to Andersonville National Historic Site every year and always talked about how much it meant to him and all of his history buff buddies. They got so much pleasure out of reliving the battles fought so bravely by not only the Confederacy, but the Union side as well.

Andersonville represents one of the deadliest grounds of the Civil War. Not only was it a Confederate Prison camp that housed over 45,000 Union soldiers, but it was a place where many of those soldiers would call their final resting place, as 13,000 of those men never went home.

It was also a place that many of the soldiers that died in the various battles nearby would be taken to be buried.

Today, the park is separated into the Camp Sumter Military Prison, the National Cemetery and the Prisoner of War Museum. The National Cemetery still sees over 150 burial a year by military soldiers.

Touring this park will give you a great sense as to what these men died fighting for and why it is important to our heritage as Americans to remember the past.

Appalachian National Historic Trail

There are two trails in America that every avid hiker vows to conquer before they die, the Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail.

The Appalachian National Historic Trail is a 2,200 mile long trail that starts in Georgia and ends in Maine.

It traverses through forests and across mountaintops, skirting small towns and farms.

You can start at the beginning like 83 year old Sunny Eberhart and trek the entire span, or you can do it in bite sized chunks, making it more tolerable to the weekend warrior.

Running through fourteen states, this is a great way to see the eastern seaboard, just not the fastest!

Chattahoochee National Recreation Area

Practically in my backyard, the Chattahoochee National Recreation Area is a gorgeous stretch of river and forests that meanders through North Atlanta to Lake Sidney Lanier.

Various historical points of interests and recreational areas dabble the shoreline highlighting everything from Civil War battles to cotton mill ruins.

Boating, hiking and fishing are just some of the activities you can enjoy in the recreation area.

My grandparents worked in the Roswell Mill that manufactured cotton that was powered by the Chattahoochee River in the early 20th century.

The ruins of the mill are a focal point in Roswell, Georgia and are such an interesting stop if ever visiting the recreation area.

When talking about the 11 best national parks in Georgia you must visit, you should put this one on your list.

Cumberland Island National Seashore

Want to see wild horses, historic ruins and wild, untouched beaches for miles?

This Georgia national park is a fairy tale in reality that you must visit to believe.

Although the island has a checkered past like many notable places in Georgia, the unfettered beauty still manages to shine through its landscape of maritime forests, undeveloped beaches and marshlands.

Hop on the ferry and bring your tent to experience the island as it has been for centuries. But, there are no amenities so make sure you’re ready for rustic and primitive.

Experience the wild horses and sea turtles that roam the island or tour the ruins of an industrial era compound fit for a king. Cumberland Island will fulfill your need for quiet, contemplation and all things nature.

Fort Frederica National Monument

Another beautiful island off the coast of Georgia, St. Simon’s Island is the home of one of America’s oldest ruins.

Fort Frederica was established in 1736 in order to keep America’s newest colony safe from Spanish raiders. Colonists were recruited from the mother land for their specialty in areas that were needed at the time such as blacksmithing and masonry in order to construct the fort.

A community of over 500 people sprung forth from this need and created a settlement in St. Simon’s Island comprised of German, English and Scottish defenders of colony.

Today, you can tour the remnants of the Fort, which was the focal point of the settlement.

Under the Spanish moss covered trees that are scattered across the island, you will find ruins of the fort and homes that depict how colonists lived in the 18th century in a wild new land they called Georgia.

You can also stop by the visitor’s center to watch an informational video about the fort. Fort Frederica National Monument is definitely a worthwhile stop if visiting south Georgia.

Fort Pulaski National Monument

What contains 25,000,000 bricks, cost $1,000,000 to build in 1829 and was a destination on the Underground Railroad? If your answer was Fort Pulaski, you’d be correct.

Fort Pulaski was built to help protect the Savannah River from those that would try to breach it. During the Civil War, the Confederacy held the Union Army for thirty hours before rifle guns were able to penetrate through its seven foot brick walls.

The Confederacy had no choice but to surrender, allowing the Union army to enter Georgia and take control of the region. Colonel Charles H. Olmsted said as he surrendered to the Union, “I yield my sword but I trust I have not disgraced it.”

Today you can still see the pock marks left by the canons of the Union Army. The moat surrounding the fort still contains eight feet of water as it did on the day of surrender.

The fort is now a source of education for the public and recreation for the masses, featuring recreational activities like bird watching, hiking and biking.

Jimmy Carter National Historical Park

What do a peanut farmer from South Georgia and the White House have in common? One was the President of the United States and the other was his home.

President Jimmy Carter put Georgia on the political map in the 1970’s with his small town charm and matter of fact attitude toward politics. How was a boy from a rural farming town inspired to greatness?

Walking around the Jimmy Carter National Historic Park, which includes his school, boyhood farm, the town train depot and the Plains Historic district, you get a sense of where he came from and the values that were instilled to produce such a leader.

In his later years, Mr. Carter, along with his wife Rosalynn, would spend a lot of time in their mountain house in Ellijay, Georgia. I would spot him walking down the country drive to my mom’s house near his mountain home. No secret service would follow him. Only he and his lovely wife walking hand in hand waving at passersby. Still the small town boy that Plains produced!

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park

My exposure to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield began as a field trip in elementary school. It was then that my love for all things Civil War were solidified.

As I grew up, I would traverse the mountain with friends and picnic in the battlefield. My family and I would play football in the fields and pick prickly spurs from our skin if we fell in the grass. There are lots of memories here at this Georgia national park, but none bloody or sordid like the mountain’s past.

What Kennesaw Mountain really is, is the final resting place for thousands of men and their unfettered heroism to fight for what they thought was right.

In four hours, 4,000 men would die in the bloodiest single day in the Campaign for Atlanta.

When visiting the park you can climb the mountain and see the Atlanta skyline as it is today.

Additionally, in the museum, you can see Civil War artifacts and relics from the era. Walk upon the battleground and see the huge canons that were such a source of death and destruction up close.

Come in the spring and see a Civil War reenactment that will transport you to 1864. Just don’t walk away unmoved and without learning that the passions of men have no boundaries.

Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Park

Another great from Georgia, the legendary Martin Luther King, Jr. is an icon of historic proportions and a revered instrument for change and humanity.

The Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic Park is a place that pays homage to this great man and everything he stood for.

Walking through the park is like walking through a timeline of a great man from birth to death and everything in between.

You can visit his place of worship, Ebenezer Baptist Church, his boyhood home and all the places that he held dear.

Take time in the museum to learn about his struggles and triumphs during the Civil Rights Movement, and don’t miss his equally poignant and beautiful gravesite to pay your respects before you leave.

Of the 11 national parks in Georgia you can visit, this needs to be on the top of your list!

Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park

Preservation of our heritage is important to Georgians. That includes the preservation of American Indian sites that cover the state of Georgia.

After all, humans have been occupying the site at Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park near Macon, Georgia for over 17,000 years.

Various American Indian peoples inhabited the area starting in the last Ice Age. Hunter gatherers by nature, they would subsist on great mammals that are now extinct such as the woolly mammoth and the ancient camel.

The park is a fascinating spot to discover how people lived, worked and died tens of thousands of years ago. Earthen mounds still exist today that were used as temples, homes and burial grounds.

One mound is so perfectly preserved that the clay floor has been dated to be the same floor laid 1000 years ago. Artifacts such as arrowheads, knives, pottery and farming implements are on display in the Ocmulgee Mounds Museum.

Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park is definitely a visit that the budding anthropologist or archaeologist won’t want to miss. Spend a day reliving the past in this Middle Georgia national historic park and you won’t be disappointed.

Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail

This one hits home for me. I’ve always felt a sense of guilt about being a white person, occupying land that I know was stolen from people that had lived here for thousands of years, bearing children, celebrating the seasons and living in harmony with the land.

There is a beautiful creek that runs in front of my house. I often go there and listen to the water fall down stream wondering what life was like for the Cherokee that occupied this land before they were forced to move to a place that was foreign and unwelcoming.

The Trail of Tears National Historic Trail didn’t have to happen. Were it not for greed, we would still be living in harmony today with an intact history and heritage to a robust and growing Cherokee Nation. But that is not how things panned out.

At New Echota in 1836, President Andrew Jackson signed a treaty between the United States government and only four members of the Cherokee Nation, virtually signing their homeland away. By 1838 almost all Cherokee tribes from Georgia, Alabama, Florida and South Carolina had either made the long dangerous trek to Oklahoma or died trying.

This historic trail is one of the most important parts of our history as Americans.

As shameful and embarrassing as it is, we must walk the trail, visit the campsites and immerse ourselves in the nature the Cherokee people held so dear so that we can in some way pay homage to their history and ask for forgiveness.

This is a must stop when visiting the 11 National Parks in Georgia. Don’t miss a chance to pay your respects for a nation that had their lives stolen.

We hope you enjoyed this list of national parks in Georgia!

Let us know in the comments which Georgia national park is your favorite!