DON CARTER STATE PARK
Imagine a massive 38,000-acre reservoir, but without the chaotic swarm of jet skis you usually get closer to Atlanta. That is Don Carter. You get direct access to the Chattahoochee River's flooded northern reaches, where the water actually runs cooler and quieter. Just launch your kayak from the wide, sandy swimming beach. Anglers love this spot. They pull spotted bass and crappie straight out of the brush piles near the shoreline.
If you hate sleeping on the hard ground, they have these air-conditioned, two-bedroom cabins perched on stilts up in the trees. Or try a yurt. Hikers and horseback riders can explore over twelve miles of hardwood forest trails, winding past quiet granite outcrops and red Georgia clay. It gets dusty, though. But the view of the lake through the oak trees makes the sweat worth it. Seriously, go look.
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