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10 Free Things to Do in Alpharetta, Georgia

Home / Georgia Vacation Ideas / 10 Free Things to Do in Alpharetta, Georgia

Christine Tibbetts, Updated March 7, 2022

Free in Alpharetta is night fun as well as daytime.
Splashpad lighting gives a whole new dimension to downtown fun in Alpharetta. Photo credit: Awesome Alpharetta.
Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
  • 1. Explore 25 Parks!
  • 2. Take a Walking Tour
  • 3. Enjoy an Arboretum
  • 4. Honors for Vets
  • 5. Stroll the Alpha Loop
  • 6. Step Back in Time
  • 7. Bike the Big Creek Greenway
  • 8. Geocache in Alpharetta
  • 9. Go Window Shopping
  • 10. Check out the Arts Center
  • Plus Music Events and Festivals

Alpharetta, Georgia, nestles close to the North Georgia Mountains with Atlanta’s city center just 22 miles to the south, and the Atlanta airport 35 miles away. Many free things to do are outdoors, and a few invite families inside for affordable vacation experiences. And the city’s distinctly pedestrian friendly. Here are the free things to do while visiting Alpharetta.

Alpharetta calls itself “awesome” and the local residents – easy to encounter in city parks or along art, history and music trails plus outdoor free festivals and concerts – act like they think so too.

Free stuff to do can introduce visitors to all parts of Alpharetta and Avalon, the city’s luxury planned community, and the many green spaces in between. Details here are a good start but know there’s more to do, whether Alpharetta’s your destination or a stop on a road trip from Atlanta.

1. Explore 25 Parks!

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Free in Alpharetta invites visitors to experience outdoor sculpture.
“Friendship Ring” is the title of this ring-around-the-rosie sculpture celebrating a 100 year old plus tree. Photo credit: Awesome Alpharetta

Twenty five parks.  Wow. They range from 110 acres to tiny and sport designations like active, passive, community and pocket. This is a list to peruse to plan different kinds of outdoor fun. Total land? 775 acres. Sports fields and playgrounds, paths and trails, pavilions and lawns, streams and trees — family-friendly categories in each one.

Waggy World Paw Park gives dogs some off-leash time in Wills Park. Wacky World is the kids’ playground name in this park. The 110-acre Wills also features lighted tennis courts, walking trails, 18 holes of disc golf, equestrian facilities (yes, bring your horse and your dog!) and 24 teaching trees – labeled with native plant insight and ideas for urban landscaping. Keep an eye out for the painted Play Me Again piano, and sit down to make some music.

Read More: RVing with a Dog? Essential Trip Tips

pin with text free in alpharetta georgia and wooded water area picture
22 miles from Atlanta, Alpharetta is an ideal family road trip destination for those seeking budget friendly entertainment in Georgia. 25 parks, multiple arboretums with playgrounds, and the Alpha Loop for biking or walking are just the beginning to the outdoor activities that kids will enjoy. There are a few indoor freebies for travelers seeking to escape the Georgia heat. This walkable city offers plenty for a leisurely vacation in the south (photo credit: Awesome Alpharetta)

2. Take a Walking Tour

Close to two dozen big outdoor works and always expanding: that’s the evidence of Alpharetta’s joy in public art. Find them all with a Arts Walking Tour  print brochure, digital easy link and even with the City Tours app. Some of the sculpture moves and some make music.

3. Enjoy an Arboretum

Free in Alpharetta could be sitting by a pond in an arboretum.
One arboretum would not satisfy Alpharetta. This city features four! Enjoying all the woodsy options takes a long vacation here. Photo credit: Awesome Alpharetta

Alpharetta Arboretum at Cogburn Road Park is the smaller of Alpharetta’s arboretums —  home to seven tree varieties. This is a place to find one of the five “play me again” pianos — painted with personality, and inviting fingers on the keys.  Playground space is designed for kids two to five and then for five through age 12. Capture a watering lesson here with the eco-friendly water capturing system.

Another arboretum grows in Brooke Street Park where a concert might just pop up under the covered bandstand. These five acres behind City Hall include a landscaped spring, concrete walkway, open lawn and a dozen trees which flower in the spring. Parking’s free, and so are the restrooms on the first floor exterior of City Hall.

4. Honors for Vets

Veteran honors include Walk of Memories  — the only memorial of its kind in Georgia. Eight thousand bricks form the tribute pathway with the names of veterans, family and friends who served. The names of all Georgia residents killed in service in World War II or later are inscribed. A separate section is reserved for those who served in the military and survived. A tank, gun and helicopter are on display in the American Legion Post 201 memorial.

Another Alpharetta tribute to veterans is the seven-foot bronze memorial titled “The Defenders” behind City Hall in Brooke Street Park. City Hall is also the spot to find the history museum.

5. Stroll the Alpha Loop

Free in Alpharetta adds an Alpha Loop close in community.
Alpha Loop is the great name for an Alpharetta walk through residential pretty places too. Photo credit: Awesome Alpharetta

Alpha Loop is ready for walking and biking, and it’s also a work in progress. Stroll the paved mile connecting downtown Alpharetta and Avalon, complete with permanent public art sculpture.

6. Step Back in Time

Seventy people tell their stories of community through a kiosk in the Old Milton County History Museum inside City Hall. Exhibits from Cherokee original residents to today’s high tech exuberance round out the history. The history walk with 25 architectural sites adds more context with a print brochure and easy-access web version. Another seven history sites are a short drive from downtown.

7. Bike the Big Creek Greenway

Free in Alpharetta certainly means family bike rides.
Miles and miles of paved paths for families to ride their bikes in Alpharetta. Photo credit: Awesome Alpharetta

The Big Creek Greenway meanders 10.2 mostly level miles through a flood plain. Twelve-foot wide paved pathway plus a half-mile wood chips path welcome mountain biking, walking, running, biking and inline skating. Songbirds, wild turkeys and deer use the Greenway too. Check Parks and Recreation social media for possible flood closings.

8. Geocache in Alpharetta

To geocache, all you need are the Alpharetta zip codes (30004, 30005, 30009, 30022, 30023) to access hidden treasure clues along the Greenway and in downtown. Plug Alpharetta coordinates in to the geocache app on your device: N 34&<76; 04.242 W 084&<76; 17.78  Treasures include patches, beads, pins and stickers. Maybe even  the patented Geocaching Travel Bug which can be registered and followed  from other caches to other people.

9. Go Window Shopping

Avalon and Alpharetta welcome window shoppers for free looks into the latest duds and necessities. While looking, consider the fact Avalon was designed for sustainability as an 86-acre community with 500,000 square feet  of retail. Places to live, play, work, dine, shop and visit were all part of the master plan.

10. Check out the Arts Center

The Play Me Again painted piano here is a baby grand! Invite yourself to play and then peek in working artist studios. Free rotating gallery exhibits are a focus plus paid events in the black-box theater.

Plus Music Events and Festivals

Tallying a total would be tough because many free events come in seasonal categories (like every Friday night or each Saturday morning).

SheBuysTravel Tip:Check the web for Alpharetta and Avalon music city details.

Free in Alpharetta can include outdoor concerts in spacious parks.
Big lawns, bandstands and lots of music are one way Alpharetta likes to shape its personality. Brooke Street Park and Arboretum behind City Hall  holds free summer concerts. Photo credit: Awesome Alpharetta

 

 

Filed Under: Georgia Vacation Ideas, Southeast Vacation Ideas Tagged With: free

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