New to ATLANTA area - Planning for Summery Escapes - Camping with out camping? Cottages on a Lake but not individual rentals?
 

New to ATLANTA area - Planning for Summery Escapes - Camping with out camping? Cottages on a Lake but not individual rentals?

Sorry for prior title without specific - reposting with Atlanta in title...........

We moved to Atlanta from Bay Area late September and know the heat and bugs are going to be intense for us this summer so I am starting to think about late Spring and Summer getaways.

I know there are lots of lovely, cooler, lakes and river areas for spending Summer weekends. But I don't think I want to rent an individual home. I sort of imagine some of the "hotels" that I know in California that have maybe 8-12 cottages each with kitchenette and deck and maybe a sleeping loft.

No more than 3 hours - 2 hours would be ideal. We live in Decatur East of Downtown Atlanta.

I have 5 year old and 2 year old. But we don't want anything to "do" no TV, no amusement park, no fast food.... just some water to play in, sticks to collect.

I dont' want to cook every meal so something close enough for 1-2 meals during a 36 hour getaway. But not critical.

If we liked it we might want to go a couple of times during the summer so around $100 a night.

We would probably leave Saturday morning - so I don't know if there are places that allow 1 night.

Thanks for any ideas...........

I don't think you are going to find what you are describing on a North Georgia lake (Burton, Rabun, etc). Maybe someone else knows of something.

Except for the lake location - and especially if you want only a 1 night rental - you are describing Mountain Aire Cottages in Clayton, GA. (Rabun County)

http://www.mountainairecottages.com/index.htm

The county's motto is "Where Spring Spends the Summer" and it usually 10 to 15 degrees cooler than Atlanta. There are plenty of restaurant options. You can drive to Lake Burton and rent a boat for the day - or swim from the little beach on Burton. Another option would the the cottages at Black Rock Mountain State Park.

To escape the heat and bugs, the North GA mtns are the ticket. Just a couple of options.

Thought of a hotel on a lake -

http://www.lakechatugelodge.com/contact.html

It might be difficult to find something that fits the bill in north Georgia, as earlier posters mentioned. (We've lived in Decatur for 11 years and used to do lots of camping in north GA). I have heard about a lodge in one of the state parks in north Georgia that you hike in to - I think it's an easy 4-5 mile hike, but that might be too much for your children. The name escapes me at the moment but perhaps someone else will chime in. There are also nice but very basic cabins for rent at Cloudland Canyon in northwest Georgia- lots of great hiking, scenery etc but nothing I'm aware of in the way of restaurants.

In my opinion, even the north GA area is fairly hot and humid (and too hot for camping) from Memorial Day to Labor Day. If you want a true difference in temperature and weather, you'll need to head farther north, into North Carolina. I would look at the towns of Cashiers and Highlands. The mountains are higher and the lodging options much more extensive, but this is definitely a 3 hour drive from Atlanta.

Check out some of the state parks in Alabama, especially Mt. Cheaha state park
alapark.com

When my children were small (they're 18 and 20 now), we stayed at the Highland Lake Inn in Flat Rock, NC. They have various lodge rooms and some small cottages. There is a lake for canoeing and a pool. For my children the best part was the greenhouses and the animals (horses, cattle, chickens). They roamed around the grounds and helped feed the animals. We have not been there in close to 10 years, so I don't know how it is now. http://www.hlinn.com/index.html

The Georgia State Park cottages have provided some of our fondest family memories. Back in the day we had to call a year in advance for popular Fall weekends. Summers were a 1 week minimum stay for advance reservations, but you could call last minute and book for a weekend. There were lots of trails for exploring and some of the parks have lakes. We always brought our food (often cooked ahead) since it was such a mood spoiler to leave the park. Pine Mountain is a nice one for little children, because it has ducks in the lake and rowboats to rent. Callaway Gardens is nearby if you do need any activities (Butterfly House, bicycle rentals). Looks like you can reserve online now
http://www.gastateparks.org/

Sorry, the park in Pine Mountain, Ga is called F.D. Roosevelt State Park. We just always called it Pine Mountain.

It's not exactly what you are looking for, but you might consider a few days at Callaway Gardens. The Wild Animal Safari park near CG would be a big hit with your kids too.

Thanks for these ideas - all good ones. How far is Ashville in the summer or Highland Inn?

Let's say I remove the notion of needing a restaurant - one can prepare a lot in advance - does that prompt any other ideas?

What you are looking for is in Rabun County. Asheville is another 81 miles further north - just under 2 hours more. Flat Rock would be about the same.