Callaway Gardens, Pine Mountain, Georgia
Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia is a combination garden, golf, and spa resort spread across 2,500 acres.
It is another one of my favorite retreats especially during spring. Azaleas, magnolias, and rhododendrons mix with tulips and daffodils across the whole resort. Signs of rebirth and renewal surround you from the spring buds to the birds singing their praises for a warm season.
Each of my visits has been during springtime except the year I brought my mom for Fantasy in Lights, the resort’s renown Christmas light display. We have been visiting Calloway since the early 2000s and have seen tremendous growth from new hotels and spas to rental homes.
Our favorite activity is the Day Butterfly House. Filled with gorgeous butterflies, tropical plants and flowers, and a stunning waterfall, visiting is like traveling into a fantasy world. We have spent hours there - although it is very warm and humid in the butterfly area. Their website claims there are usually around 1,000 butterflies flying about daily. I can’t say I ever counted, but there are many and a plethora of types! There are 2 levels with a waterfall flowing from top to bottom, which adds to the tranquility. Thousands of tropical plants and blooms provide landing spots for the fluttering beauties to stop and rest. Don’t forget to walk around the outside of the stunning glass building; there are surrounding manicured and natural gardens, which entice the native butterflies and hummingbirds.
Another favorite has always been to walk on the trails. Azalea season has always been my mother’s and my favorite time to go. There are over 700 azalea varieties and over 4,000 plants covering the grounds according to their website. Even during busy seasons, like early spring and Christmas, we have never felt crowded on the trails. There have been people around, but we’ve always found plenty of quiet space for ourselves. There are a number of hiking and bicycle trails. Some are more secluded than others, and some lead to impressive sites like the chapel. No worry if you or a companion are less mobile; as mom got older we used the roads and parking lots to move from area to area rather than walk the whole thing.
The Ida Cason Callaway Memorial Chapel is sublime. I can spend hours looking at the stained glass windows. Reminiscent of 16th century chapels, built with local fieldstone and a variety of Georgia wood, it is one of the most quaint and peaceful places within the garden property. There is a custom built organ, but, unfortunately, I have never heard it. I will need to rectify that at some point.
If you’ve never been to Callaway Gardens, you should start with the Discovery Center. In addition to all the information you will need for your visit, there is information on the history of the gardens. I highly suggest the birds of prey show as well. Mom and I did it the very last time we went, and we were just as excited if not more than some of the children in the audience.
The first year we stayed off the property at a local motel in Pine Mountain. Since then, we have stayed at the Lodge and Spa. The rooms have always been more than comfortable and very clean. Breakfast at the inhouse restaurant, The Piedmont Dining Room, can serve as breakfast and lunch (at least it did pre Covid). My favorite lunch/dinner spot is The Country Kitchen inside the Callaway Gardens Country Store. The biscuits and muscadine preserves are mouthwatering. I would love to tell you about all the choices there are, but I can only speak to the catfish - I am OBSESSED. (I am currently sitting in a coffee shop in Connecticut; I just had a fabulous crepe; but - if I could easily get to the restaurant right now, I would make room for that catfish.)
The Christmas lights, Fantasy in Lights, was everything we thought it would be. I have been doing drive through holiday lights for over twenty years, and this is the best, and longest, I have ever done. An homage to the blooms and butterflies Callaway is famous for are interspersed with traditional Christmas and winter scenes. The tunnel of lights took our breath away. Before or after your drive there is a Christmas Marketplace where you can take pictures with Santa, have snacks, or do some pre or post Christmas shopping. The website mentions a new walk through light display at the same location of the marketplace. My only regret about doing Fantasy in Lights is that I waited too long. Mom and I had talked about it, but hadn’t done it until a few years ago. Unfortunately, that was my mother’s last Christmas in Florida. In the future, I will go in her honor, and I know she will be with me in spirit.
One of the biggest attractions Callaway has is world class golf. I cannot attest to the courses as I am not a golfer. However, I have many friends that travel from the Florida panhandle to golf there several times a year. The website also boasts ten tennis courts. (Funny story about me and tennis- I haven’t played since I was a kid; I had one of those cool rackets from the 1970s with an open area surrounding the net. I swung and couldn’t figure out where the ball went - it was stuck in the racket. I never really spent much time with tennis ever again.) The resort has added treetop courses and zip line attractions recently, which I, again, cannot speak for, but if they have put in the time and energy they have done to any other attraction there, I am sure it is fabulous.
While there, spend some time in downtown Pine Mountain. I have not been in a few years, but the town was full of delightful antique shops with reasonable prices the last time I was there. Mom and I also did a day side trip to Wild Animal Safari, which is one of my favorite memories ever! I had visited a safari with a friend, and I thought my mother would enjoy it. We laughed our way through the whole park. If you have never done one, rectify that as soon as you can - and make sure you buy lots of food, and follow the directions the attendants give you.
There are a number of other attractions to check out, which I haven’t done as of yet. I will only write about what I have seen and experienced myself, but when I spend some more time in the area, I will revise this post.
So, to end this long post...should you book a stay at Callaway? Most definitely! Choose your favorite activity and check out their website to see what is available.
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