Free Admission At Georgia's National Parks This Weekend

ATLANTA, GA — It's National Park Week, and that could mean a free outing in the great outdoors for you and your family this weekend.

In recognition of what's being billed as America's largest celebration of national heritage, admission at all national parks will be free for the entire family on Saturday and Sunday, April 22-23. In Georgia, that includes 10 diverse sites, from north Georgia battlefields to the pristine Atlantic coast.

On Saturday, many national park sites will have observations celebrating Earth Day and, on Sunday, there will be events marking both Park Rx Day, which celebrates a healthy, outdoors lifestyle, and Volunteer Recognition Day, which offers opportunities for the public to chip in and help at the parks.

Here's a brief look at each of Georgia's national parks. Maybe this weekend's free admission will be just the excuse you and the family need to go check one out.

Andersonville National Historic Site

This site serves as a memorial to all prisoners of war throughout the nation's history. Andersonville, or Camp Sumter, as it was officially known, was one of the largest of many Confederate military prisons established during the Civil War. During the 14 months the prison existed, more than 45,000 Union soldiers were confined there, and almost 13,000 died.

Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area

Picnic, hike or get some boating in at this Atlanta-area park. The park features 48 miles of river and is rich in both human and natural history. "Shoot the Hooch," hike the trails or simply relax at this getaway from the busy, big-city world.

Chickamauga & Chattanooga National Military Park

Union and Confederate forces fought a battle here in 1863 for control of Chattanooga, which is just across the border in Tennessee. The Confederates won at Chickamauga in September, but Union troops rallied for a final victory in Chattanooga in November. The park was created in 1890 to preserve and commemorate these battlefields.

Cumberland Island National Seashore

Georgia's largest and southernmost barrier island is full of undeveloped beaches, forests and marshes. Totaling more than 36,000 acres, the island features early native settlements, wild horses, turkeys, turtles and other wildlife and historic structures.

Fort Frederica National Monument

This is a spot where British and Spanish forces clashed during Georgia's colonial days. The fort held, ensuring Georgia's future as a British colony. The fort was established in 1736 to protect the then-relatively new colony of Georgia, which had been founded just three years earlier.

Fort Pulaski National Monument

Sitting between Savannah and Tybee Island, Fort Pulaski was a Confederate outpost that fell to Union troops, thanks largely to new rifled cannon technology that, in effect, made brick forts obsolete. Today, the park includes scenic marsh and other wilderness areas that support white-tailed deer, alligators and raccoons as well as resident and migratory birds.

Jimmy Carter National Historic Site

The site includes President Carter's boyhood home, farm, school and the railroad depot that served as his campaign headquarters during the 1976 election. The Carters returned to Plains after he left office in 1981.

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park

The 2,888-acre park was the site of some of the Civil War's heaviest fighting during the battle for Atlanta. It commemorates the 67,000 soldiers who were killed, wounded and captured during the entirety of the Atlanta Campaign.

Martin Luther King Jr. National Historic Site

It was in the home, church and neighborhood on this historic site that King grew up. Located in a residential section of Atlanta's "Sweet Auburn" district, the site includes Ebenezer Baptist Church, where the civil rights icon, like his father and grandfather, preached.

Ocmulgee National Monument

A prehistoric Native American site, Ocmulgee is a memorial to the region's earliest peoples. There is evidence of 12,000 years of human activity at the site, including a skilled farming people who lived there from 900-1200 AD.

Photos courtesy National Park Foundation