Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park

The Summit Trail is a 2.2-mile round-trip hike from the Kennesaw Mountain Visitor Center to the top of Kennesaw Mountain at 1,808 feet elevation. The trail is moderately strenuous with a 700-foot elevation gain and rewards hikers with panoramic views of Atlanta and the surrounding region. The paved road to the summit is closed to private vehicles on weekends and holidays, with a free shuttle available. This is one of the most popular hikes in the Atlanta metro area.

The Kennesaw Mountain Visitor Center features a museum with Civil War artifacts, interpretive exhibits on the 1864 Atlanta Campaign, a 22-minute orientation film, and a bookstore. Rangers offer programs and can orient visitors to the 2,965-acre park and its 20 miles of trails. The center serves as the trailhead for the Summit Trail and the main hub for ranger-led tours and programs.

Cheatham Hill preserves the site of the June 27, 1864 Battle of Kennesaw Mountain's most intense fighting, where Union forces under Gen. William T. Sherman launched a frontal assault on Confederate positions. The site features preserved earthworks, an Illinois monument to the dead, and interpretive signs explaining the battle. The Dead Angle — where Union soldiers fought at point-blank range against Confederate entrenchments — is accessible via a short walk from the Cheatham Hill parking area.

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park contains some of the best-preserved Civil War earthworks in the Southeast, including Confederate artillery positions on Kennesaw Mountain's summit and along Little Kennesaw Mountain. These earthworks — hastily constructed trenches, rifle pits, and cannon emplacements in June 1864 — remain largely intact and are visible throughout the park, providing a tangible connection to the soldiers who defended and assaulted the mountain 160 years ago.