Red Top Mountain State Park

This popular park on Lake Allatoona is ideal for swimming, wildlife watching, and fishing. Visitors can bring their own boats or watercraft or rent from nearby marinas. A sand swimming beach is nestled in a cove and surrounded by trees, providing a great place to cool off during summer. 

While best known for the 12,000 acre lake, Red Top Mountain is also a hiker’s haven. More than 15 miles of trails wind through the forested park, providing opportunities for exercise and nature photography. A short, paved trail behind the park office is suitable for wheelchairs and strollers, welcoming guests to explore a reconstructed 1860s homestead. The gravel-topped 4 mile Iron Hill Trail is open to both hikers and bikers, offering pretty views of the lake’s shoreline.

Featured Birds

Brown Thrasher

Brown-headed Nuthatch

Dark-eyed Junco

Red-headed Woodpecker

Named for the soil’s rich red color caused by high iron-ore content, Red Top Mountain was once an important mining area. The park also maintains Allatoona Pass Battlefield, a historically significant battlefield due to the well-preserved trenches and earthworks.

Iconic birds of Red Top Mountain State Park and nearby Lake Allatoona include: Common Loon, Dark-eyed Junco, Osprey, Brown-headed and White-breasted Nuthatch, Pileated, Red-headed, Downy, and Hairy Woodpeckers, as well as both Scarlet and Summer Tanagers.