Columbus: Culture, Whitewater and Nature

Columbus, Georgia, offers a range of ways to combine outdoor activities, local history and art during your stay. RushSouth Whitewater Park puts whitewater and kayaking at the center of the experience, while the Columbus Museum explores the history of the Chattahoochee River Valley. Nature trails, exhibits, a botanical garden and the RiverWalk round out these highlights. If you decide on your interests in advance, you can plan your days in Columbus around them.

Whitewater and activities at RushSouth

RushSouth Whitewater Park is home to the world’s longest urban whitewater course. If you’d like to include kayaking in your stay, you can take guided kayak tours or freestyle kayaking lessons there. Two zip lines connect two states; the park also has a splash pad and an interactive playground. You can choose activities based on the kind of experience you’re looking for: a guided tour, a lesson, a zip line or a play area.

Regional history and culture

The Columbus Museum’s regional history exhibits include more than 14,000 artifacts and objects from the Chattahoochee River Valley. Their origins give the collections a clear regional focus; educational programs and art activities for visitors of all ages broaden the focus on regional history to include other learning and art topics. The Springer Opera House adds to this cultural offering as the State Theatre of Georgia and a National Historic Landmark. Today, it offers docent-led historical tours by appointment. If you’d like to take one, arrange it in advance.

Nature trails, wildlife and a garden

Oxbow Meadows combines nature trails with formal and informal programs on the region’s ecology and natural history. Indoor and outdoor exhibits include live reptiles and fish. Depending on your interests, a visit there can focus on a walk outdoors, a program or the exhibits. At the Audubon Bird Garden, visitors can observe a wide variety of bird species. The Columbus Botanical Garden covers 36 acres; visitors can walk along the Joann Holt Walking Trail. The differences are clear: Oxbow Meadows focuses on ecological and natural history topics and live animals in exhibits, the Audubon Bird Garden on bird-watching, and the botanical garden on its grounds and named walking trail.

RiverWalk and seasonal market

You can explore the Chattahoochee RiverWalk in different ways, too: on foot, by bike, on roller skates or on a scooter. This means your choice here is about how you get around, while the museum’s facilities or Oxbow Meadows’ exhibits offer other kinds of day activities. This is a practical distinction to consider if you’re deciding in advance whether you’d rather be on the move or explore regional topics through exhibits and programs.

At Market Days on Broadway, local farmers and farmers who use organic practices sell produce. The seasonal schedule may change, so check the dates if visiting the market is important to your trip. For getting there: Columbus Airport serves the Columbus, Georgia, and Fort Benning area.

For an overview of the wider area: Muscogee.