Cartersville, Georgia

The Booth Western Art Museum is dedicated to the art of the Western United States and is the only one of its kind in the Southeastern United States. The 120,000 square foot museum features a vast collection of Western artworks spanning the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, including Civil War art, Contemporary Western art, a Presidential Gallery, over 200 Native American artifacts, and an interactive children’s gallery known as the Sagebrush Ranch. The Enduring Traditions gallery experience offers an in-depth insight into the history of Western art with works by well-known artists like Charles M. Russell, George Catlin, and Frederic Remington. Significant pieces in the museum’s collection include two authentic stagecoaches, original signed letters and photographs from all 43 United States Presidents, and a two-story sculpture court.

501 N Museum Dr, Cartersville, GA 30120, Phone: 770-387-1300

The Tellus Science Museum is a family-friendly natural history and science museum devoted to all things science. The world-class 120,000 square foot museum features four main galleries that house interactive and hands-on exhibits and displays, including the Fossil Gallery, the Weinman Mineral Gallery, the Collins Family My Big Backyard, and Science in Motion. Signature exhibits at the museum include a massive 80-foot-long Apatosaurus and a replica of a Wright flyer, and other exciting attractions are an observatory with a state-of-the-art 20-inch telescope and a 120-seat digital planetarium that presents shows on the night sky.

100 Tellus Dr, Cartersville, GA 30120, Phone: 770-606-5700

State Parks

The Red Top Mountain State Park is a beautiful reserve on the shores of the 12,000-acre Lake Allatoona that offers a wealth of recreational outdoor activities. The 1,776-acre park was once an important mining area and is named for the rich red soil found in the park that is so-colored due to its high iron-ore content. Today, the park offers a wide range of recreational activities, including hiking, mountain biking, picnicking, and lake-based sports like swimming, boating, water-skiing, fishing, and there is a spacious campground, rental cottages, and a lakeside yurt for overnight stays. The park is also home to the historically significant Allatoona Pass Battlefield which features well-preserved earthworks and trenches.

50 Lodge Road SE, Acworth, GA 30102, Bartow County, Phone: 770-975-0055

The Etowah Indian Mounds State Park is an ancient historic site in Bartow County that was once home to thousands of Native Americans in the early 2nd century. Dating back to between 1000 A.D. and 1550 A.D., the site spans 54 acres and has six flat-topped earthen mounds, some of which stand over 50 feet, a village area with a plaza, a defensive ditch, and borrow pits, giving insight into the lifestyle of the Native Americans who resided here. The largest of the flat-topped earthen mounds stands at 63 feet and was used as a platform for the home of the priest-chief. An on-site museum features several exhibits of artifacts found in the archaeological site such as shells, beads, paint, and tattoos.

813 Indian Mound Rd SE, Cartersville, GA 30120, Phone: 770-387-3747

Recommended Activities for Families

Rose Lawn Museum is a historic house museum that was once the home of the famous evangelist Samuel Porter Jones and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The beautifully restored Victorian mansion houses collections of period furniture, memorabilia of Sam Jones, and the writings of Rebecca Latimer Felton, who became the first woman to serve in the U.S. Senate in 1922. The house is surrounded by beautifully landscaped gardens and grounds and period-dressed staff are on hand to offer information to visitors about the house and Samuel Porter Jones, for whom the Union Gospel Tabernacle – now the Ryman Auditorium – in Nashville was built.

224 W Cherokee Ave, Cartersville, GA 30120, Phone: 770-387-5162

Nestled in the foothills outside Cartersville, Pettit Creek Farms is an 80-acre working farm and home to Georgia’s largest camel herd. The farm is also home to a variety of exotic animals such as kangaroos, zebra, alpacas, llamas, capybara, a giraffe, and a wallaby, among others, and visitors can interact with domestic farm animals like sheep, donkeys, and pigs. Tours of the farm must be pre-booked and include a walking tour of the property with a Pettit Creek Farmhand, meeting, petting, and feeding some of the animals, and pony rides if desired. Pettit Creek Farms hosts two annual farm celebrations, namely the PumpkinFest from mid-September through October, and A Country Christmas over the holiday season.

337 Cassville Rd, Cartersville, GA 30120, Phone: 770-386-8688

Attractions for Couples

Allatoona Pass Battlefield is the historic site of the Battle of Allatoona, also known as the Battle of Allatoona Pass, which was fought on October 5, 1864, making it one of the most historically important battlefields in the state. Managed by Red Top Mountain State Park, the site is well-preserved and features earthworks and trenches, and a deep railroad cut that was formed during the Great Locomotive Chase of 1862. Visitors to the site can enjoy guided or self-guided tours and learn more about the battle and the Civil War through interpretive signs.

Old Allatoona Rd SE, Cartersville, GA 30121, Phone: 770-975-0055

Established over 45 years ago, Pumphouse Players is a community theatre company that has been presenting live performances across a variety of genres ever since, making it one of the oldest community theatre companies in Georgia. Based in the historic, 72-seat black box Legion Theatre, a beautifully converted 1940s cinema in downtown Cartersville, Pumphouse Players presents a range of performances from well-known musicals to little know plays. The theatre also offers drama classes, workshops, and other educational programs to budding performers of all ages in the surrounding community.

114 W Main St, Cartersville, GA 30120, Phone: 770-387-2610

Built in 1929, The Grand Theatre is a long-standing, historic theater that presents a variety of performing arts programs, educational workshops, and other forms of entertainment to the community of Bartow County. The beautifully renovated theater features an Art Deco style that harkens back to the 1930s with a burgundy and gold color scheme, terrazzo floors, detailed wood paneling, towering columns, and an elegant reception hall. The Grand Theatre presents a full calendar of performances, including musicals, dramas, orchestral concerts, comedy shows, and bluegrass, and is open year-round.

7 N Wall St, Cartersville, GA 30120, Phone: 770-386-7343

The Clarence Brown Conference Center is a large, state-of-the-art venue that can be rented to host a variety of events ranging from business conferences and exhibitions to weddings, music concerts, and other performances. The vast hall boasts several venues with flexible spacing options to accommodate any group size, including an elegant banquet hall and ballroom, a lecture hall, an executive boardroom and meeting rooms, and a charming landscaped courtyard. The center is fitted out with state-of-the-art audio and visual technologies for all types of events and has high-speed wired and wireless Internet capabilities.

5450 GA-20, Cartersville, GA 30121, Phone: 770-606-5763