25 Amazing Adventures for Kids

Animals will literally be eating out of your hands at Wild Animal Safari in Pine Mountain. On the 3.5-mile drive through the park, giraffes, zebras, camels and bison may approach your car looking for a snack (available for purchase).

Learn about Georgia's freshwater fish — including how to cast a line — at Go Fish Education Center in Perry. Beginning anglers get help from staff and volunteers at the outdoor pond. Inside are aquariums with more than 70 species of fish.

Get up close with Georgia's marine life at the UGA Marine Education Center & Aquarium on Skidaway Island, southeast of Savannah. Visitors can touch snails and crabs in one tank. Other tanks showcase seahorses, stingrays and alligators.

Lions, tigers, and bears, oh my! See more than 1,000 animals at Zoo Atlanta, including the only twin pandas in the United States. Be sure to explore the new aerial playground and visit the petting zoo to feed goats and sheep.

All aboard the Lady Jane. First mates on this shrimping boat get to explore the estuaries and marshes surrounding Brunswick and St. Simons Island. Shrimping, crabbing and fishing trips are available, as well as private dolphin tours.

Could the mystery of Bigfoot be solved in Georgia? Go see for yourself at Expedition: Bigfoot! in Cherry Log. This quirky museum contains the country's largest permanent display of Bigfoot artifacts, including a life-size Bigfoot replica, diorama and maps of the latest sightings.

Race go-karts, hit baseballs and play more than 80 different arcade games at The Clubhouse, a sports-lovers' paradise in Statesboro. Don’t forget to stop by the make-your-own sundae bar. It doesn't get any sweeter than this.

Glide to the top of the world’s largest slab of granite on Stone Mountain Park's Summit Skyride, a high-speed (but still extremely comfy) Swiss cable car. From your perch 825 feet above ground, you’ll spot sights up to 60 miles away, including the Appalachian Mountains and the Atlanta skyline. 

With a zoo, theme park, and water park, Valdosta's Wild Adventures is three parks in one. Zoom around on roller coasters, hit the slides at Splash Island, and see exotic animals, such as lions, giraffes, elephants and more.

Six Flags Over Georgia in Austell has something for kids of all ages. The older ones can't wait to ride the big roller coasters; the younger ones love the old-fashioned Hanson cars, steam train, and water park with a wave pool.

Warm weather means one thing: It's time to head to Lane Southern Orchards in Fort Valley to pick fresh berries and peaches. Stop by the roadside market anytime for seasonal produce, homemade ice cream, and other goodies to take home.

Hike or bike the Animal Trail at Dauset Trails Nature Center in Jackson to spot foxes, otters, birds, bears and more at this rehabilitation center turned wildlife refuge. Be sure to visit the barnyard for an up-close look at early farm life.

Take a horseback ride, kayak to waterfalls, go fishing, ride ATVs, and visit the barnyard at Sunburst Adventures in Clarkesville. Grown-ups will love the cabins that come complete with hot tubs and fireplaces.

Sign up with Okefenokee Swamp Park in Waycross to take a guided boat tour of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, where you'll see egrets, sandhill cranes, red-shouldered hawks, and — of course — alligators. A separate train tour circles the swamp.

It's nonstop family fun at Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites. Go hiking, paddling, fishing and so much more! Kids can become Junior Rangers and earn badges from completing activities at 59 different parks and historic sites. Bring your dog, and join the Tails on Trails Dog-Walking Club. Ride mountain bikes on miles of exciting trails when you join the Muddy Spokes Club. Explore the state's diverse terrain and keep an eye out for native wildlife in their natural habitats.

Hitch a ride on the Historic SAM Shortline Railroad, a 1949 vintage locomotive that travels between Cordele and Archery. Hop on and off to see President Jimmy Carter's childhood home in Plains and the Georgia Rural Telephone Museum in Leslie.

Step inside a pint-sized play world at the Interactive Neighborhood for Kids in Gainesville. Kids can explore a variety of exhibits, including a mini medical clinic, bank, beauty salon, grocery store, courtroom and 1950s diner.

A steam locomotive with six train cars and a caboose is the centerpiece of the Thronateeska Heritage Center in Albany's historic Union Station. Other favorites include a 40-foot dome planetarium and monthly science experiments for little ones during "Toddlersaurus Time."

Let your inner artist and scientist out to play at Macon's Museum of Arts and Sciences. Its three floors house a planetarium, a 40-million-year-old whale fossil, and more than 70 animals, including alligators and bearded dragons.

At Cartersville's Tellus Science Museum, an affiliate of the Smithsonian, kids can dig for fossils, minerals and shark teeth; see a nine-foot-wide jaw of a Megaladon; explore replicas of Sputnik and the Apollo 1 capsule; and play with sound, magnets and rainbows.

Visit the nursery to watch Cabbage Patch babies being delivered at BabyLand General Hospital in Cleveland. Pay an adoption fee and repeat a special oath to take a baby home.

Pack a picnic for a day of trains at the Folkston Railroad Depot and Viewing Platform. Hear engineers talk on the scanner and watch as more than 60 trains roll through the double-track Folkston Funnel within a 24-hour period.

Explore seven mounds and more than 2,000 American Indian artifacts at the prehistoric Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park in Macon. Take the half-mile walk to the top of Great Temple Mound for a stunning view of downtown.

Bring your binoculars to Augusta's Phinizy Swamp Nature Park, where 14 miles of hiking and biking trails are teeming with wildlife, such as otters, alligators and bobcats. Before your adventure, stop by the visitor center to meet Phin, a yellow-bellied slider turtle and Phinizy Kids mascot.

On the last Saturday of the month, entry to the Georgia Southern University Museum in Statesboro is free. It's home to a 26-foot-long fossil of a Mosasaur (aka the T-Rex of the Sea) that is an astounding 78 million years old.