By the OAR Team at Cedar Creek RV & Outdoor Center
We get the same question at the Cedar Creek general store more than almost any other: what is there to do in Cave Spring, and where should we eat? Usually it comes from somebody who booked a site for the creek and then realized there is a whole 1832 town sitting 2.5 miles up the road, about a four minute drive.
So here is the answer we would give you in person, written down. This is a small town, which means the good stuff is real and the hours are not always what the internet says. We have flagged what is open in October and what has already closed for the year, because that is the part most guides get wrong.
Start at Rolater Park
Everything in Cave Spring points back to Rolater Park, which is where the spring the town is named for comes out of the ground. The park took its current name in 1921, and the land under it has held a string of schools going back to the Cave Spring Manual Labor School.
The cave itself holds a steady 57 degrees year round. It is a short, easy walk in, not a technical cave, and kids do fine.
The catch in October: the cave closes for the season in mid-October and does not reopen until mid-April. In season it runs weekends only in spring and late summer, 10:30am to 5:00pm, with daily hours in the middle of summer. Admission is $2 per person at the door. If you are reading this on a fall trip, plan on seeing the park and not the cave.
The Water, and What People Believe About It
What does not close is the spring water spigot out front. It runs year round, it is free, and it is the reason a lot of people come here in the first place.
The town grew up around this spring in 1832 for the obvious reason that it never stops running and the water is clean. What came with it is the lore. Ask around town and you will hear some version of the same thing: the water is good luck, and if you drink it you will find your way back to Cave Spring. Whether you buy that or not, people take it seriously enough to act on it. On a decent weekend you will see cars pulled up with the trunk open and a dozen empty jugs going in one at a time, and folks who have been making the drive from Rome or Cedartown or Atlanta for thirty years.
Our guests do it too. Fill a jug on the way out and take the town home with you. Bring your own containers, because the store will not have them, and a few wide-mouth jugs fill faster than a stack of water bottles.
Free, year round, and reputed to bring you back. The cave behind it closes for the winter.
The Pool Shaped Like Georgia
Rolater Lake is a 1.5-acre spring-fed swimming pool built out of stone, cut in the outline of the state of Georgia. It is genuinely strange and genuinely great, and it is the thing guests photograph most.
It runs Memorial Day through Labor Day, Friday through Sunday, noon to 7pm. That is it. If you are here in fall you can walk the edge of it and look, which is worth doing, but you are swimming in Big Cedar Creek instead.
Where to Eat in Cave Spring, GA
This is the question we get most, and the honest answer is that the square has a handful of places rather than a scene. That is the appeal. Three are worth your time.
- Linde Marie’s Steakhouse on the Square. The sit-down dinner in town and the one guests come back and tell us about. It takes reservations, which in a town of 1,174 people tells you what you need to know. Call ahead on a Friday or Saturday.
- Local Joe’s BBQ. Georgia barbecue, counter service, the right call after a morning on the creek or the trail.
- Stage Coach Pizza Co. On Alabama Street, and the easy answer when you have kids in the truck and nobody wants to agree on anything.
Small-town hours move around, so call the morning of rather than driving in hungry at 8pm on a Tuesday. If everything is closed, the Cedar Creek general store has the basics and the grill at your site works fine.
The Square and the Antique Shops
Downtown Cave Spring is a walkable historic square with a gazebo in the middle and locally owned shops around it, heavy on antiques and home goods. It is a one to two hour walk-around, not a full day, and it pairs well with lunch.
Worth knowing while you are looking around: the Georgia School for the Deaf opened here in 1846 and shaped the town for the better part of two centuries. Several of the buildings you will walk past belong to that history. The state tourism office keeps a running list of what is currently open on the square.
An hour on the square is about right, and it pairs with lunch.
Trails, and Why October Is the Month for Them
Two serious trail systems sit within easy reach, and fall is when they are actually pleasant.
- The Pinhoti Trail. At over 165 miles it is the longest thru-trail in Georgia, running up Taylor’s Ridge toward Dalton and eventually connecting to the Appalachian Trail. Potts Hollow is the trailhead people use from here. You do not have to thru-hike it to get something out of it. A few miles out and back is a good morning.
- The Silver Comet Trail. 61.5 paved miles from Smyrna to Esom Hill at the Alabama line, where it joins the 33-mile Chief Ladiga Trail for roughly 94.5 continuous paved miles. Flat, shaded, old rail grade. The Cedartown Depot is the access point most of our cyclists use.
Both of these are miserable in August humidity and excellent in late October.
What We Actually Send People To Do
If you are staying at Cedar Creek and have one free day, here is the order we would run it:
- Morning on Big Cedar Creek, which runs through the property. Fall water is low and clear, and the fishing is better than it was in July.
- Drive into town, four minutes up the road. Fill your jugs at the spring, walk Rolater Park and the square.
- Lunch on the square.
- Afternoon on the Silver Comet if you brought bikes, or an out and back on the Pinhoti if you did not.
- Back to the site for a fire. On-site firewood only, and fires go in the designated rings.
Come in the Shoulder Season
October through early November is the best stretch of the year here. The humidity is gone, the bugs have given up, the creek is clear, and the town is quiet enough that you can park on the square without thinking about it.
See the property at Cedar Creek RV & Outdoor Center and pick your dates at our booking page. Full-hookup RV sites, tent sites under the pines, and the Bird’s Nest Lodge are all open through the fall, and the square is 2.5 miles away.
Cave Spring, GA FAQ
Is the cave at Cave Spring open in the fall and winter?
No. The cave closes in mid-October and reopens in mid-April. During the season it runs weekends 10:30am to 5:00pm in spring and late summer, and daily in the middle of summer. Admission is $2 per person. The free spring water spigot outside the cave runs year round.
Is the Rolater Lake pool open year round?
No. The Georgia-shaped, spring-fed pool is 1.5 acres and runs Memorial Day through Labor Day only, Friday through Sunday from noon to 7pm.
What restaurants are in Cave Spring, GA?
The three worth planning around are Linde Marie’s Steakhouse on the Square for a sit-down dinner, Local Joe’s BBQ for barbecue, and Stage Coach Pizza Co. on Alabama Street. Hours in a town of 1,174 people move around, so call ahead.
What is there to do in Cave Spring, GA besides the cave?
Walk Rolater Park and the historic square, browse the antique and home goods shops, fill jugs at the free spring, hike a section of the Pinhoti Trail, or ride the Silver Comet Trail from the Cedartown Depot. Kayaking and fishing on Big Cedar Creek are a few minutes away at Cedar Creek RV & Outdoor Center.
Can you drink the water from Cave Spring?
Yes. The spigot in front of the cave at Rolater Park is open to the public year round and is free. Bring your own jugs, and expect company on a nice weekend.
Why do people take water home from Cave Spring?
Local lore holds that the spring water is good luck, and that if you drink it you will come back to Cave Spring. People have been filling jugs and hauling them home for generations. The spring runs at a constant temperature year round and the spigot is free and open to the public.
How far is Cave Spring from Cedar Creek RV & Outdoor Center?
About 2.5 miles, or a four minute drive, from the property to the downtown square and Rolater Park.
