Things 2 Do

State park seen in blockbuster movies offers escape from Atlanta

By Nelson Hicks, WSB-TV

Sweetwater Creek State Park (Georgia Department of Natural Resources)

By Nelson Hicks, WSB-TV

LITHIA SPRINGS, Ga. — While Katniss Everdeen and Gale Hawthorne found the confines of Sweetwater Creek State Park an escape where they could talk in “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 1,” non-tributes from any district can head there for some peace and quiet, too.

Sweetwater Creek State Park is in Lithia Springs, just outside the perimeter off interstate 20 heading toward Alabama. It’s only minutes from downtown Atlanta.

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At over 2,500 acres, the park offers plenty of room to explore. The park features a 215-acre lake, yurts, tent camping, fishing, playgrounds, 15 miles of hiking trails and picnicking.

Recreation at Sweetwater Creek State Park has everything from fishing to paddle boating and fun for the whole family. CONTRIBUTED BY GEORGIA DNR

The park also includes the ruins of the New Manchester Manufacturing Company, a textile mill burned during the Civil War.

Sweetwater Creek

For nature lovers, the highlight of the park is hiking along the 400-foot-wide creek’s rapids, some up to class IV. Additional trails wind through fields and forest, showcasing ferns, magnolias, wild azaleas and hardwoods.

Parts of “The Hunger Games” and “Killing Season” were also filmed at the park.

There’s a $5 parking fee to enter the park.

Cox Media Group

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