Top Things to Do in Clayton County

Hampton, Georgia, is well known for NASCAR’s Atlanta Motor Speedway, so it might be surprising to learn it's also the setting of one of Clayton County’s most delightful birding hot spots: Newman Wetlands Center. Stroll boardwalks to look for tiny nuthatches scrambling up and down tree trunks or the brilliant flash of scarlet tanagers and eastern bluebirds. The center prides itself on accessibility and has an all-terrain chair you can reserve, as well as an app with audio descriptions of trail signs. Check their calendar for fun educational events that center around the importance of the wetlands to the county’s water resources. 

Fans of cinema or Margaret Mitchell’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “Gone With the Wind,” should put this Jonesboro museum on their list of Clayton County must-sees. Housed inside a historical train depot, the Road to Tara Museum’s collection showcases costumes, props, memorabilia and the history of the hit film. Admission also includes The Hattie McDaniel Legacy Experience, in which you can explore the career of the first Black actor to receive an Oscar and learn about the role McDaniel played in paving the way for other Black actors in Hollywood.

If your family is more like a school of fish, Jonesboro’s Spivey Splash Water Park is your Peach State paradise. Soak up Georgia’s summer sunshine as you drift along the state’s longest lazy river or watch your littlest littles have epic water fights with the sprayers on the Splash Pad. The Spivey Slide Tower boasts a 40-foot tower from which four slides spiral down to the pool below, while the FlowRider lets you hang 10 on an unbroken wave. When it’s time to dry off, climb, zipline and test your balance on a rolling log at Lake Spivey Sky Trail.

Open since 1959, the Atlanta State Farmers Market has a name that’s a bit misleading for two reasons. First, it’s actually in the Clayton County city of Forest Park. Second, it’s so much more than a farmers market! Yes, you can buy local produce — from fleshy seedless watermelon so juicy it splits open effortlessly to bumpy strands of purple-hull peas and, of course, succulent Georgia peaches. But there’s more: Seven days a week, you can browse 150 acres for Mexican sweet treats, shop for cuts of meat in the Market Grocery and hunt for seasonal goodies, like pumpkins and holiday wreaths. Tip: Bring cash and stop at on-site Don Burrito for rave-reviewed tortas and fresh-squeezed juices.

In 1976, Judge William “Bill” Huie Reynolds donated this 100-plus acres to Clayton County Parks & Recreation on the condition that the land be kept in its natural state. Today, you can benefit from Clayton County making good on their word as you explore Reynolds Nature Preserve in Morrow. Lose yourself (figuratively) on nearly 4 miles of trails as you look for deer and turtles, or make a scavenger hunt out of trying to identify the preserve’s many different fern species. Throughout the trails, find interpretive signs featuring QR codes that bring up cool history and nature facts when scanned.

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