Page 21 - September 24

6 26 18
Atlanta, Georgia
Hosted 1996 Olympic Summer Games
While downtown Atlanta’s Centennial Olympic Park has an interactive Fountain of Rings, along with other sculptures and tributes to the games, you’ll want to travel to other parts of the state for an active Olympic experience. A long, straight stretch naturally bordered by trees made the calm waters of Lake Lanier in Gainesville the site for rowing and canoe/kayak competitions in 1996 and keep it in the echelon of top courses in the world. Rent recreational canoes, kayaks and paddleboards April through October; the best chance to paddle with the Olympic course set up, which consists of 2,000 hand-placed buoys, is February through May. The Upper Ocoee River was the site of the 1996 whitewater competition. It’s a natural mountain river in northwest Georgia though the quarter-mile segment used for the games was modified to increase intensity of the rapids and flow. People still come here to raft the resulting world-class slalom course. Bring your own ride to Georgia International Horse Park in Conyers to explore on horseback the former Olympic Equestrian Endurance Course or on bicycle the first Olympic mountain biking course, a 9-mile ride with 1,032 feet of elevation change.
Lake Lanier in Gainesville, Georgia, is the site for rowing and canoe/kayak competitions in 1996, where you can rent recreational canoes, kayaks and paddleboards April through October.
SEPTEMBER 2024
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 19