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Another beautiful weekend to wrap up Spring Break – luckily for Georgia families, there are lots of reasons to get out and enjoy it! Here’s a roundup of outdoor events (free or nominal cost) happening this weekend all over the state:

Saturday has a couple of fun festivals for the whole family to enjoy:

• Wild Azalea Festival, Reynolds Nature Preserve – FREE Admission!
• Sheep to Shawl Festival, Atlanta History Center
• Native American Tools & Weapons Demonstration, Etowah Indians Mounds Historic Site

More living history on Friday evening at the Days Gone By program at Stephen C. Foster State Park in the Coastal Region.

Friday afternoon also offers an opportunity to watch the animals being fed at Autrey Mill Nature Preserve in Johns Creek, 4:30-5 p.m.

For a “feeding show” of another kind, check out the ongoing Pitcher Plant Bog Habitat Ranger Guided Tour, happening Monday through Saturday in April, May and June at Gordonia-Altamaha State Park in the MidSouth Region. This is one of the “Hidden Gem” programs offered this year to celebrate the Georgia State Park’s 85th anniversary year.

Once these storms pass through (stay safe, everyone!), we should be looking at a beautiful weekend … here are some great outdoor family activities to help you enjoy it!

History is in the making at the 18th Century Market Faire at Fort Yargo State Park in Winder, GA. Go back to 1790s Georgia with frontier camps, native warriors, blacksmithing, woodworking, candle making, period dance and music, children’s activities, and more. Children under 12 free. (If you can’t make this one, the Atlanta History Center is having their Sheep to Shawl Festival next weekend…). And remember, you can always search for historical events using the drop-down filters on our Event Filter Bar.

April also kicks off a number of monthly guided hikes at various nature centers. Three to check out:

• First Saturday Hike, Elachee Nature Science Center, Gainesville, GA
• Hike and Craft, Mistletoe State Park, Appling, GA (more Nature Arts ‘n’ Crafts is on hand at Cloudland Canyon State Park in the Northwest corner of Georgia)
• Swamp Saturday Hikes at Phinizy Nature Center

For more swampy fun, Stephen C. Foster State Park in the Okefenokee Swamp has two great events this weekend: Swamp Archery and another stargazing evening at the Swamper’s Guide to the Galaxy.

Any we’ve missed? Let us know in the Comments section below!

Our statewide outdoor event calendar can get pretty packed (trust me, as the one who enters them all in…). So we’ve upgraded our calendar to include a super-powerful filter bar! Now you can drill down to just the right locations and interests for your family.

Here’s how:

Step 1: If you’re not already there, click on the Events tab in the main menu on GeorgiaKidsOutdoors.com or go to www.georgiakidsoutdoors.com/events.

Step 2: At the top of the page, before the statewide calendar, you’ll see a search bar and below that a filter bar (with the drop down triangle indicators):

Click on those drop-down triangles, and you’ll see a list of choices. For each menu, you can pick more than one. The more specific you are, the less results you will get (which is the goal, but if you’re too picky you risk getting no results!).

Going through the possible filters, you can select by Event Category (which includes things like “Night,” “Science,” “Hiking,” and “Homeschool,”).

The Cost filter will give you the opportunity to select your price range. You may be tempted to stick to “free” but keep in mind that most of the Georgia State Park events will charge a $5 parking fee (per vehicle, not per person), so you will be screening out a ton of options if you select that. And if you didn’t already know, you can check out a Georgia State Park Pass from most (or all?) public libraries, so you could make that free with a little planning and quick trip to the library!

The Region Filter allows you to pick either your home or travel destination area. If you aren’t sure which region you want, check our Regions page to see a list of counties and larger towns.

Venues lets you get really specific, and just see what’s going on at a particular park, nature center, etc. Again, getting too specific may limit your results, but this is handy if you already know where you are headed or are a member of a place and just want to see what they have going on.

Organizers is usually the same as venue, but not always. For example, the Georgia Herpetological (snakes and stuff) Society may do events at various locations, so they would be the organizer. We are also setting all Georgia State Parks events to be under Georgia State Parks as an organizer (bear with us, it’s a big task and still in process).

Day & Time are pretty obvious (we hope!).

What can we do to make this more useful? What events are we missing? Let us know in the Comments section below!

This weekend my daughter and I are going on an adventure to the Len Foote Hike Inn, so look for my recap of that experience early next week. I hope your family can find something to enjoy from the long list of events available this weekend.

Nighttime Events

One of the coolest nighttime events going this weekend (and continuing on for the next few weeks) is the Swamper’s Guide to the Galaxy. Stephen C. Foster State Park is one of the darkest places in the Southeast due to a lack of light pollution in the Okefenokee Swamp. This is an awesome stargazing opportunity that incorporates an astronomy lesson and lets you view the sky through high-powered telescopes.

Also:

• Twilight Paddle, Fort Yargo State Park
• Stars of Red Top Mountain (Friday night)
• Clicks in the Night: A Batty Experience

Egg Hunts

Hop down the bunny trail to some of the egg hunts and other Easter-themed events starting this weekend (with more to come next weekend).

• Nighttime Eggstravaganza, F.D. Roosevelt State Park
• Bunnies, Baskets & Eggs

History

The biggest history event this weekend is the Scottish Heritage Days, held at Fort King George Historic Site in the Coastal Georgia region. This 3-day event celebrates Colonial Georgia’s Scottish roots, and includes lots of cool demos for military buffs (fort tours, weapons demonstrations), including a battle reenactment on Saturday at 2 p.m.

More military history at the program on the “Medicine of War” in the Civil War. If you haven’t already claimed your “Every Kid in a Park” free pass for 4th graders and their families, this is a great way to make use of yours and get access to all federal land and waters free through August 2016.

Friday evening also starts the recurring “Days Gone By” program at Stephen C. Foster State Park, with a half-hour program on early swamp history. This living history program is conducted by a presenter in period costume, who will fire a musket to conclude the talk.

Hamburg Spring Fling is a day-long festival that includes a demonstration of the historic grist mill.

Animal Encounters

In addition to petting the bunnies at the various Egg Hunts, kids can get up close with their favorite types of critters at these events:

• Reptile Program
• Flight Show/Raptor Program
• Wildlife Feeding Time

Again, you can always use our handy filter bar on our Events page to find just the right events from our many options.

Springtime’s outdoor event season is heating up! Be sure to check back with our event calendar often to find new events added daily. And use our new search functions to find just the ones that work for your family’s interests and location.

Spring Festival season is also getting started with the Azalea Festival in Valdosta, GA. Look for Macon’s Cherry Blossom Festival to start next weekend, and lots more.

History buffs, Little House on the Prairie fans, and anyone who has ever wanted to throw a tomahawk should check out American Frontier Days at F.D. Roosevelt State Park.

The Chattahoochee Nature Center encourages fairy-lovers to explore through March with their Fairy House Spring Scavenger Hunt. You might also find bald eagles, butterflies, otters, and more, too!

Around the corner, the Dunwoody Nature Center continues their EcoExplorer series for ages 2-5 with a program on Seeds. Nice to find a preschooler program available on weekends for working parents (although they have some weekday ones, too)…

And of course, there are tons of trails with wildflowers beginning to emerge. Sweetwater Creek State Park near downtown Atlanta is a great one for spotting them — or if you’re too busy during the day working on your own garden, reward yourself that evening with a Stargazer hike (ages 12 and up).