Northwest Georgia: Kennesaw to Cloudland Canyon and Chickamauga

Route description

Leave Atlanta on I-75 north and after about 40 minutes turn off for Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park, where Confederate earthworks survive on the slopes above the visitor center. The summit road is closed to private cars, so take the free park shuttle or walk the steep trail; every lot needs a daily entrance pass, paid by card. The top gives a view over the forest to the Atlanta skyline and shows why both armies fought for this ridge in June 1864.

Continue up I-75 to Cartersville, a small town with a lively main street and a good base for the Etowah Indian Mounds just south of town. The site on the Etowah River was a major town of the Mississippian culture; climb the largest mound for a view over the fields and the river. Lake Allatoona and Red Top Mountain State Park are 15 minutes east if you want to camp by the water.

From Cartersville the quickest way northwest is I-75 to Calhoun, then GA-136 over the ridges through LaFayette toward Lookout Mountain; allow about two hours. Cloudland Canyon State Park sits on the canyon rim near Rising Fawn, with overlooks next to the parking lot and a long staircase down to Cherokee and Hemlock Falls. The campground, cottages and yurts are popular in autumn, when the hardwoods turn.

Drive back through LaFayette and north on US-27 to Chickamauga Battlefield, established in 1890 as part of the first national military park in the US. The 7-mile tour road starts at the visitor center in Fort Oglethorpe and passes hundreds of state monuments. Chattanooga, Tennessee, is only 15 minutes further if you want Point Park on Lookout Mountain. The route from Atlanta is about 270 km, on roads that suit RVs.