Buford: Local History, Arts and Performing Arts

Buford offers a range of ways to shape your stay: Buford Dam Park on Lake Sidney Lanier, theaters and event venues, and insights into local history. If you’re looking for a hotel in Buford, it helps to decide first what you want to focus on: time by the water, a performance or exploring historic sites. The following stops differ in character and give you a concrete basis for planning your trip.

Loop Trail and Swimming Beach

Buford Dam Park is located north of Buford Dam on Lake Sidney Lanier and provides access to a designated swimming beach. The Laurel Ridge Hiking Trail is a 3.5-mile loop with views of the lake and the Chattahoochee River. This lets you consider two different types of activity: visiting a designated beach and taking a loop trail with views of the lake and river. Trail conditions can change, as can beach access conditions. Check them before your visit.

Theaters and Events

The Sylvia Beard Theatre has 282 seats and a classic proscenium stage, suited to a wide range of performances. A proscenium stage is characterized by a clearly defined opening between the performance area and the audience. Town Park Amphitheatre serves as a venue for concerts, shows and festivals. The specific details therefore differ: the Sylvia Beard Theatre is described in terms of seating capacity and stage type, while Town Park Amphitheatre is described by the kinds of events it hosts. Programs and operations may change; check current dates for your planned visit.

Local History and Art

The Buford Museum is located on the ground floor of the Buford Community Center. Its collection includes artifacts, photographs and antiques, and reaches back to the region’s earliest known inhabitants, Indigenous peoples. The museum also includes historic objects from the founding of the city of Buford in 1872. The collection thus offers insights into different periods of local history.

Buford’s Historic Homes can be explored on a self-guided walking tour. You can get a free guide at the Museum of Buford. This tour offers a different way to engage with local history than looking at the museum collection. The Tannery Row Artist Colony is located in a historic Buford tannery building where shoes were once made in the early 20th century. Today, Buford artists open their studios to the public there. Visitors can meet the artists and see original works in progress.

The historic Bona Allen Mansion in Buford serves as a venue for private celebrations and weddings. If you’re planning a visit, confirm access in advance. This distinguishes the site, with its private-event setting, from places offering a described walking tour, museum collection or public artist studios.

Buford brings together a range of themes, without requiring every stop to involve the same kind of visit. As you plan, you can weigh time by the water, a performance, or access to local history or art. Keep in mind the guidance on trail and beach conditions, event dates, and access to the Bona Allen Mansion. This will help you shape your stay around the activities that are actually most important to your trip.

Discover more destinations: Snellville, Norcross, Suwanee, Lawrenceville.

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