Free & Cheap Things to Do in Cartersville

History & Culture

A 54-acre Mississippian-culture archaeological site preserving six earthen platform mounds built between 1000 and 1550 CE — the largest, Mound A, rises 63 feet. The on-site museum displays artifacts unearthed during decades of excavations, and a 1.1-mile riverwalk loop connects the mounds to the Etowah River.

Address: 813 Indian Mounds Road SE, Cartersville, GA 30120

Tip: Open Thursday–Saturday 9am–5pm; closed Sunday–Wednesday. Allow 90 minutes for the museum plus mounds. Climbing Mound A's wooden staircase is the highlight. Free SNAP Museums for All admission with EBT card. Free on-site parking.

Arts & Culture

A 120,000-square-foot Smithsonian-affiliate science museum on the south end of Cartersville — the Weinman Mineral Gallery, the Fossil Gallery (full-scale Tyrannosaurus, Apatosaurus, and mosasaur skeletons), the Science in Motion transportation gallery, the Bentley Planetarium, and a daily Gem Panning experience. The most kid-active museum in north Georgia.

Address: 100 Tellus Drive, Cartersville, GA 30120

Tip: $20 adult is right at the site cap; family-of-four runs $72. Allow 3-4 hours. Gem panning and planetarium shows are small additional charges. Active military free with ID; ½-price for dependents. Free parking on-site.

Arts & Culture

A 120,000-square-foot Smithsonian-affiliate art museum with the largest permanent collection of American Western art in the country — Sagebrush Ranch interactive gallery for kids, Civil War and Presidential Letters galleries, a Hollywood Western movie set, and Native American artifacts. USA Today readers ranked it the #1 art museum in the nation in 2020 and 2021.

Address: 501 Museum Drive, Cartersville, GA 30120

Tip: Free Family Thursday on the 2nd Thursday of every month, 4–8pm, is the budget play. Children 12 and under always free. Active military free with ID. Allow 3-4 hours. The Sagebrush Ranch hands-on gallery is the family favorite.

History & Culture

The county-history museum housed in the refurbished 1869 Cartersville Courthouse on Church Street downtown — exhibits on Bartow County's Native American foundations, Civil War history, iron and textile industries, and the Allatoona Pass battle. Smaller than Booth or Tellus, but rounds out the Cartersville museum trifecta with the actual local story.

Address: 4 East Church Street, Cartersville, GA 30120

Tip: Open Monday–Saturday 10am–5pm, closed Sundays. Allow 90 minutes. Active military free with ID. The 1869 courthouse building itself is part of the experience. Two blocks from the Booth Museum — easy to pair.

Historic Sites

A beautifully restored 1855 Victorian mansion that was the home of evangelist Samuel Porter Jones — the preacher Nashville's Ryman Auditorium (originally the Union Gospel Tabernacle) was built for. Period-furnished rooms, original family belongings, and a small Civil War collection. Tour-only access; the gardens are walkable year-round.

Address: 224 West Cherokee Avenue, Cartersville, GA 30120

Tip: Open Tuesday–Thursday 10am–noon and 1–5pm, Friday 10am–noon. Tour-only — call ahead to confirm. Closed weekends except during two annual arts-and-crafts festivals. The Ryman Auditorium connection makes this a quirky pairing with Nashville music history.

Historic Sites

A free 1.7-mile interpretive battlefield trail along the western shore of Lake Allatoona — the site of the October 5, 1864 Battle of Allatoona Pass, one of the bloodiest five-hour engagements of the Civil War and the inspiration for the hymn "Hold the Fort". Earthen forts, trench works, and an unknown soldier's grave remain remarkably preserved along the route.

Address: Old Allatoona Road, Emerson, GA 30137 (I-75 exit 283)

Tip: Free parking; trail open dawn to dusk year-round. Easy 1.7-mile loop takes 45-60 minutes. Bring water — no facilities on-site. Site is managed by Red Top Mountain State Park; dogs welcome on leash. Pair with Cooper's Furnace 8 miles north for a Civil War half-day.

Historic Sites

An 1894 hand-painted Coca-Cola advertisement on the brick side of Young Brothers Pharmacy in downtown Cartersville — Coca-Cola's first outdoor wall sign anywhere in the world, painted by syrup salesman James Couden to entice train passengers stopping at the nearby depot. Authenticated by the Coca-Cola Company and restored to its original 1894 appearance.

Address: 2 N Public Square, Cartersville, GA 30120

Tip: Free, always visible — a 5-minute photo stop on Main Street next to Friendship Plaza. The original misspelled-and-corrected "Drink" word is a charming detail (a letter "i" squeezed in mid-paint). Pair with Cooper's Friendship Monument in the plaza and the rest of the downtown walking district.

Shopping & Strolling

A walkable downtown of restored 19th-century brick storefronts anchored by Main Street and Wall Street — 40+ independent shops, art galleries, coffee houses, and chef-owned restaurants, including the 1931 4 Way Lunch (one of the oldest restaurants in Georgia). Easy to park once and walk to the Coca-Cola wall, Bartow History Museum, Friendship Plaza, and the iconic 1903 courthouse.

Address: Public Square, Cartersville, GA 30120

Tip: Free street parking on Wall Street and Main; large free public lot near the railroad tracks. First Friday of every month is a downtown art-and-music walk. The 4 Way Lunch (cash-only, no telephone) is the budget meal — close to $10 plate.

Parks & Nature

A 1,776-acre Georgia state park on a peninsula in Lake Allatoona — 15 miles of hiking and mountain-bike trails through hardwood forest, a sand swimming beach, a fishing pier, the historic 1860s Vaughan Cabin, and a small visitor center with iron-mining exhibits (the park's name comes from the red iron-bearing soil). Also operates the Allatoona Pass Battlefield 8 miles southeast.

Address: 50 Lodge Road SE, Cartersville, GA 30121

Tip: $10 daily ParkPass per vehicle effective 2026; annual pass $50 covers all GA state parks. Open 7am–10pm year-round. The 0.75-mile Iron Hill Trail interprets the area's 1830s iron-mining era. Free beach access for park visitors.

Parks & Nature

A free Army Corps day-use park at the base of the Allatoona Dam, on the north bank of the Etowah River — preserving the massive 1830s stone furnace ruins of Mark Cooper's Etowah Iron Works (destroyed by Sherman in 1864), plus picnic shelters, a playground, hiking trails along the river, and views of the dam from below.

Address: 1052 Old River Road SE, Cartersville, GA 30121

Tip: Free entry; open seasonally (closed mid-winter — check the operator site before driving out). The short loop trail past the furnace ruins is the marquee walk. No facilities for trailers — limited single-car parking only. Pair with Allatoona Pass Battlefield 8 miles south.