Who, What, & Where Age levels: All ages for hikes, and for the Lake Loop bike trail Activities: Mountain biking, hiking, swimming, and camping. Hours from Atlanta: 2

Every kid dreams of building a castle in a high, secluded place. That's why they'll love Fort Mountain, where prehistoric people built an 800-foot-long rock wall atop the mountain. Here's a great park to explore on foot. Better yet, rack up the mountain bikes and explore on two wheels.

Fort Mountain State Park,
best seen from a bike

Fort Mountain has four mountain bike trails, but only two are kid-friendly. The one-mile beginner loop is a gentle and scenic circuit around Fort Mountain Lake. The 6.2-mile Gold Mine Loop, rated strong beginner/intermediate, is too steep and rocky for most kids. Our visit included plenty of deer sightings, but we missed both the fast (bobcat) and slow (turtle) critters seen by other riders.

Go Guide: Fort Mountain State Park Getting there: Go north on US 411 or I-75 to GA 52. Head east eight miles past Chatsworth to the park. Contact: Fort Mountain State Park at (706) 695-2621, or www.gastateparks.org. Regulations: All mountain bikers must pay a $2 daily fee and get a permit. Extra treats: The mountain bike loops don't go by the old fort wall, so you'll want to hike the 1.8 mile (round-trip) trail past the wall, which features a jaw-dropping overlook and an old stone tower. No matter how tired your kids are, they'll revive at the lake's sandy swimming area, where they can build their own castles in the sky.

Move on to Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park

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