5 Atlanta Staycation Ideas for Families

In the past, we’ve always tried to go on a summer vacation with our kids.

This year, though, we’re making the best of our home city with a few fun Atlanta staycation ideas for families!

More and more families are saving money by taking “staycations” rather than vacations.

If you’re unfamiliar with a “staycation”, it’s just when you use your vacation time to explore your own city instead of a different one.

You save money because you don’t need to drive to a new area, stay in a hotel, or eat out every night. Great idea, right?

But here’s the thing about staycations: They can become expensive really quickly if you try to visit the most popular attractions in your area.

This particularly true if you have several children (as we do). So this year, we decided to take not just a staycation, but an affordable one.

Read on to get our list of five places to go on a staycation in Atlanta. Plus, get a free printable Staycation Bingo challenge to complete with your family!

Looking for more ways to plan family trips? Take a look at our list of 10 helpful tips for traveling with kids!

5 Fun Atlanta Staycation Ideas for Families

1. Zoo Atlanta

Zoo Atlanta is about half an hour from our house and we love visiting it with the kids.

Our public library system has an arrangement that allows a family of four to visit the zoo once a year for free.

Since we have four kids, we only had to pay for two tickets. Not bad at all!

One of the reasons we love the zoo so much is that it’s a non-stimulating attraction.

When we see the animals, we’re excited but we’re not overly stimulated. It’s a much more relaxing time for our family than visiting an amusement park.

2. Atlanta Area State Parks

As the weather warmed up, we decided to use another of our Atlanta staycation ideas and visit some nearby state parks that we’d never visited before.

Tallulah Gorge was incredible. We drove for a couple of hours and it was totally worth it.

The kids had snow cones, we went on a hike, and we learned about the North Georgia mountains.

Another one of our favorites is High Falls State Park. It’s only about 30 minutes outside of the city of Atlanta.

But you can hike right next to the waterfalls! We couldn’t stop staring at how pretty they were.

Plus, we got to ride the paddleboat along the water.

3. Callaway Gardens

Technically speaking, Callaway Gardens is not in Atlanta. It’s about 90 minutes west.

But if you like the outdoors and flowers, in particular, this is one of the local Atlanta staycation ideas you simply have to try.

A word: If you go to Callaway Gardens, spring is absolutely the best time of year to plan a trip.

Everything is in bloom and the entire park looks like a paradise.

See what I mean? It’s absolutely gorgeous.

4. Go bowling.

I have to admit: I didn’t bowl often as a child. I think I might have gone two or three times.

But we took the kids bowling one summer and they had an absolute blast.

With the Kids Bowl Free program, kids can bowl up to two games free per day over the summer at participating alleys.

And it’s a cool way to beat the summer heat in an air-conditioned space.

During the day, bowling alleys tend to be pretty quiet. So you may not even have to worry about wait times.

Finish off the afternoon with a slushy and that’s basically a perfect summer day.

5. Southeastern Railway Museum

A few summers ago, we got to visit the Southeastern Railway Museum – just outside of Atlanta.

I didn’t think that the kids would find it interesting. But they did!

We toured vintage locomotives (which are much bigger than they seem on screen).

We checked out vintage tour buses. Then we got to see a video about how train engines came to America back in the 19th century.

And we finished with a ride aboard a vintage steamer!

It was affordable and surprisingly interesting for all of us.

Printable Family Staycation Bingo Challenge

So if you’re in the North Georgia area, those are five fun Atlanta staycation ideas you can try as a family this summer.

But, no matter where you live, you can still plan a simple and fun summer staycation with this printable Staycation Bingo challenge!

There are 32 ideas here – 16 for adults or couples and 16 for families with kids!

Some of the ideas include indoor fun such as making slime, trying a scavenger hunt, and reading books.

But there are plenty of outdoor ideas too! Like going camping, taking an art class, or having a picnic in the park.

Hang the kids’ challenge on your fridge and let the kids check off each idea as you try it!

What are you all doing for your family vacation this year? Are you considering a staycation? Have you done one before?

If you live in Atlanta, do you have any more fun Atlanta staycation ideas to suggest? Share your plans and experiences in the comments!

This post is part of the “Summer Staycation” hop from iHomeschool Network! Click on over to see how our fellow bloggers are spending their summers at home!