Experience Cartersville

Cartersville’s amazing Smithsonian Affiliate museums, its beautifully restored downtown shopping and dining district, and Georgia’s natural mountain wonders combine to welcome visitors to a destination worthy of frequent exploration.

Georgia’s Museum City

For those who love history, art and science, Cartersville and Bartow County offers eight museums with intriguing displays. Anchoring Cartersville’s downtown historic district is the Booth Western Art Museum, home to the world’s largest permanent exhibition of Western art. Galleries showcasing personal letters and portraits of every U.S. President and each major battle of the Civil War are surprises that introduce America’s story like no other museum.

More than two million people have visited the Booth’s sister Smithsonian Affiliate Tellus Science Museum, with an impressive campus and Observatory highly visible from I-75. For those seeking new discoveries, The Weinman Mineral Gallery displays one of the Southeast’s largest, most comprehensive collections of rocks, gems and minerals. The digital Planetarium, special Science Friday Nights and Lunch & Learn gatherings provide plenty of education cleverly disguised as entertainment.

Georgia’s Museum City added the Savoy Automobile Museum to its collection in December 2021, and it has become an iconic landmark at the intersection of US 411 and GA 20, just a half-mile from the Clarence Brown Conference Center. Other unique museums include:

  • Etowah Indian Mounds State Historic Site – This pre-historic Native American site thrived from 1000 A.D. to 1500 A.D. and is interpreted in the Etowah Archaeological Museum.
  • Allatoona Lake Project Mgt Office & Visitor Center – Portrays Allatoona and Etowah history including Allatoona Dam’s construction in 1950.
  • Rose Lawn Museum – Victorian House Museum of Rev. Sam Jones, who inspired the construction of Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium
  • Bartow History Museum – Local and regional history housed in Cartersville’s first Courthouse, circa 1869
  • Euharlee Welcome Center & History Museum – Introduces the 19th century town of Euharlee and its Historic Covered Bridge.

Inside and out, Cartersville is an ideal place to explore and Allatoona Lake, Etowah River and the surrounding shoreline are great places to start an adventure in between meetings or before that special event. Embark on 11 miles of hiking trails beginning with Pine Mountain Recreation Area. Gather a group of friends for a kayaking trip down the Etowah River or rent a party pontoon at Park Marina near Red Top Mountain State Park.

Maybe you prefer dining al fresco in downtown Cartersville and sampling some of the best local brews, coffee blends and Georgia grown wines. Foodies will want to share the tastefully crafted menus at downtown Cartersville’s many chef-owned restaurants. Then experience Cartersville After 8 for the best live music at your choice of 10 music venues including:

  • Drowned Valley Brewing Company
  • Archer’s Bar & Billiards
  • Old Havana Cigar Bar
  • Olive Tree & Vine & Southern Muggs Coffee Shoppe
  • The Local Bar and Grill
  • Sixes Tavern Bar & Grille
  • Tom’s Place
  • JZ’s Taste of Georgia
  • The Ascension Coffee House
  • Big Door Vineyards

In need of transportation for your guests? Rent our new Discover Cartersville 28-passenger shuttle bus.