Treehouses Are Popping Up Around Atlanta
Trees Atlanta’s new TreeHouse, backing up to the Atlanta Beltline, hosts environmental programs for kids and is the jumping off point for their Junior TreeKeepers Summer Camp.
A number of Atlanta playgrounds now have treehouses, including Chastain Park’s newly renovated playground. The treehouse was created in memory of Summer Dale, a Chastain Park teenager who died of cancer in 2012. A bridge from an adjacent hill provides universal access and inside has areas for wheelchairs.
The Urban Tree House at Bessie Branham Park in Kirkwood is an enormous platform, built in cooperation with the USDA Forest Service and shaped like the United States, and is a popular spot for birthday parties.
The Atlanta Botanical Garden has also unveiled plans to nestle a treehouse-styled play structure, including climbing net and “nest,” between two pre-Civil War oaks in its Children’s Garden (part of the garden reopens in early June, but the treehouse section won’t be finished until late June or early July). In the meantime, the garden’s Canopy Walk lets you get a bird’s eye view of Storza Woods while keeping you on firm footing.
Atlanta Botanical Garden
1345 Piedmont Ave., Atlanta. atlantabg.org; 404-876-5859
Chastain Park
135 W. Wieuca Rd. NW, Atlanta. chastainpark.org
Bessie Branham Park
2051 Delano Ave., Atlanta. 404-371-5010
Build Your Own Treehouse
An iconic way for kids to commune with trees is in their own treehouse. Leslie and Bill Clark decided to build one as a surprise Christmas gift for their grandkids, Topher, 10 and Ashley, 13.
They got most of their construction info and design inspiration online. They also made some adjustments to fit the kids’ Forsyth County neighborhood’s protective covenants, and built it on stilts to avoid damaging the 100-year old oak tree.
You can order your own detailed building plans from websites like TreehouseGuides.com. A number of books have also been written on the subject, including Black & Decker’s The Complete Guide to Treehouses by Philip Schmidt and Tree Houses You Can Actually Build by David and Jeanie Stiles.
Treetime Under the Stars
Spend an evening communing with trees with one of these fun experiences:
“ZZZs in the Trees” Canopy Camping. Rock to sleep in your own “tree-boat” at this overnight climbing campout at Panola Mountain State Park Sept. 10. gastateparks.org/PanolaMountain
TreeTop Camping. Schedule your own, all-inclusive overnight retreat in the North Georgia mountains. DancingWithTrees.com; 706-778-8847.
Night Climbs. Take on the challenges of TreeTop Quest Buford with only moonlight (and your headlamp) to guide you. Private group booking; ages 12 and older. TreeTopQuest.com; 404-277-6113.
