Photograph courtesy of Chattahoochee Nature Center
One of my most vivid childhood memories is rescuing an injured bird we found trapped in our garage in 1994, when I was about 10 years old. My sister and I were enthralled by the drama of taking the wounded animal in our makeshift emergency vehicle (driven by Mom) to the only place we knew could help: the Chattahoochee Nature Center.
The Nature Center, which turns 50 this year, was a touchstone of my Roswell upbringing. We visited on school field trips almost every year and attended many a birthday party there, overlooking the river. It was a place my tired parents could take us to kill time, and it fostered a lifelong love of nature in me, pollen allergy be damned.
Georgia’s first nonprofit environmental education site, the Chattahoochee Nature Center was created by local activists who wanted to promote awareness and conservation of the Chattahoochee River ecosystem. What started as six acres off Willeo Road eventually morphed into a 127-acre destination that hosts 150,000 visitors annually.
The days I spent at the center dwindled as I got older, but I have always thought of it fondly, waiting for the time I could introduce my own children to a place I’d loved so much. So, on a recent cloudless day, my husband and I took our two daughters, ages five and two.
The scale of the center’s expansion was very apparent to me as we drove in. The new-to-me River Boardwalk Trail, added in 2022, welcomed us along like a never-ending red carpet, packed with dog walkers, bikers, runners, and people enjoying the river views.
Inside, we explored the pathways that branch out from the Discovery Center—the interpretive building that houses nature exhibits and interactive programming. My daughters didn’t share their parents’ enthusiasm for the birds of prey and bald eagles, but they did enjoy posing for photos at the butterfly sculpture, playing in the wide-open pavilion, and observing the beaver enclosure. On the bottom floor of the Discovery Center, they loved the up-close views of turtles, snakes, opossums, and fish.
Next, I dragged everyone on a quarter-mile hike around the Stone Cabin Trail, which I ended up somewhat regretting: The pathway was unpaved, and our stroller struggled to navigate the tree roots and pine cones. (Plus, the kids whined.) However, it did take us past the impressive Unity Garden, created in 2010, which has grown and donated more than 50 tons of produce (such as kale, cabbage, and turnips) to North Fulton Community Charities. We also saw the Stone Cabin, a landmark that dates to the 1960s, whose outdoor stone fireplace I vividly remember playing around during school field trips.
Walking the grounds as an adult, I recognized little of today’s Chattahoochee Nature Center, no matter how far I reached into the cobwebs of my brain. But that’s a good thing. The center has evolved, and the investment, time, and care that have been put into it over the decades ensure that it will be around for another 50 years. My girls are already asking to come back for the center’s annual Butterfly Encounter this summer; I’ll be happy to oblige.
This article appears in our June 2026 issue.
