Winter Break Activities for Kids in Atlanta and the Northwest Metro

Metro Atlanta families get two winter breaks, and they are nothing like each other.

December comes with lights, rinks, Santa and a city that has clearly made an effort. February comes with a full week off school, no holiday attached, and weather that is usually grey rather than properly cold. One of those weeks plans itself. The other does not.

We have been running Josh Powell Camp's Atlanta winter break camp through both of them for over fifty years, so we have watched a lot of families work out what actually fills a week here.

Most winter guides for Atlanta only cover the first one. Here are ideas for both, with a focus on the northwest metro corridor rather than a list of everything inside the perimeter.

Table of Contents

First, check which week you are planning for

Metro Atlanta districts close for roughly two weeks from Monday 21 December 2026, with students back on Tuesday 5 January 2027. The February break falls 15 to 19 February 2027 in most districts, though Gwinnett takes 12 to 16 February instead.

Full district-by-district dates are in our guide to when winter break falls in Georgia.

The four working days that are not really a break

Two gaps in this stretch catch working parents out every year.

School closes on Friday 18 December, but most offices run through to Christmas Eve. That leaves Monday 21 to Wednesday 23 December where school is shut and work is not.

Then Monday 4 January is a teacher workday in every metro district. Schools closed, offices firmly back open, annual leave freshly reset to zero.

If those four days need covering rather than filling, our winter break camp runs during both breaks with bus pickup from three Atlanta locations. If you are looking at the wider question of how to cover a school break week, we have a full breakdown of options and costs in our guide to fall break childcare in Atlanta, and most of it applies just as well to winter.

December: the easy half

Lights

The Atlanta Botanical Garden runs one of the largest synchronised light and sound displays in the country across its thirty acres, and it is the one most families do at least once. Book ahead, because the good evening slots go early.

Stone Mountain Park runs its Christmas programme alongside its snow play area, which is manufactured snow rather than the real thing but does the job for a five year old who has never seen any. Lake Lanier's light drive is the one to pick if you have a child who will not last on foot in the cold, since you do the whole thing from the car.

Closer in, Fernbank decorates for the season with trees and oversized snow globes, which pairs well with the museum itself on a day where you want indoors and outdoors in one trip.

Skating

A word of warning here, because this is where most Atlanta guides will lead you wrong. Several well-known rinks have stopped running. The Marietta Square rink, the rink at The Battery and the St Regis rink in Buckhead have all been discontinued in recent years, and plenty of listicles still feature them. Check the venue's own site before you drive anywhere.

The ones that have run consistently are Avalon on Ice in Alpharetta, Skate the Station at Atlantic Station, Skate the Sky on the roof at Ponce City Market, and High Street in Dunwoody. For the northwest metro, the covered rink at The Mill on Etowah in Canton is the closest, and sits by the river with restaurants around it if you want to make an afternoon of it.

Most of these run from mid-November to mid or late January. Exact dates and pricing change year to year, so confirm before booking.

February: the half nobody plans for

This is the week that catches families out. There is no seasonal programming to fall back on, the December attractions have packed up, and it is a full five days.

The good news is that the northwest metro is unusually well set up for it, because most of what works in February is indoors and open all year.

Skating that runs all year

The seasonal rinks are gone by February, but the permanent ones are not. Atlanta Ice House on Prado Lane in Marietta runs public sessions year-round, and Center Ice Arena on Roswell Road in Sandy Springs has a seventeen thousand square foot indoor rink. There is also an Ice Forum location in Kennesaw.

If ice is not the goal and you just want the children exhausted, Sparkles on McCollum Parkway in Kennesaw and Hot Wheels Skate Center on Farm Ridge Drive in Woodstock are both roller rinks, both indoors, and both cheaper.

History that children will actually sit through

The Southern Museum of Civil War and Locomotive History in Kennesaw is built around the locomotive from the Great Locomotive Chase, and it holds the attention of children who would walk straight out of most museums. It is a genuinely good rainy afternoon.

The Marietta Fire Museum is small, free and better than it sounds, with a horse-drawn pumper and a restored 1879 steam engine. The Marietta History Center sits just off the Square in a building from 1845, which makes it easy to combine with lunch.

Getting outdoors anyway

February in Atlanta is rarely cold enough to keep children inside all week, and a grey forty-five degree day is fine once everyone has a coat on.

Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park has trails at every difficulty level and is free. Red Top Mountain State Park in Acworth has lakeside trails and a visitor centre with live animals and taxidermy displays, which is a useful backup if the weather turns. Swift-Cantrell Park in Kennesaw covers forty-two acres with playgrounds, trails and a skate park.

Winter is arguably the better season for all three. No heat, no crowds, no mosquitoes.

When the weather genuinely will not cooperate

Andretti in Marietta has indoor karting, arcade and laser tag under one roof and will absorb an entire afternoon. Bowlero in Kennesaw has forty lanes. Catch Air in Marietta is better suited to the younger end, and Monster Mini Golf, also in Marietta, is glow-in-the-dark mini golf that works well for the five to ten age range.

Lake Lanier's snow play area has historically run into late February in recent years, making it one of the few December-style attractions still standing during the February break. Worth checking whether it is running before you write off snow tubing.

A few things that make the week easier

Do the outdoor things first. Atlanta weather in February is unpredictable enough that a clear day should be used rather than saved. The indoor options will still be there on Thursday.

Book December attractions weeks ahead. The lights displays and rinks sell out of the good time slots, particularly between Christmas and New Year.

Do not schedule every day. Five consecutive days of outings is expensive and exhausting for everyone. Two or three anchor activities across the week is plenty, with the rest left loose.

Check opening hours in February, not just in December. Plenty of places that run daily over the holidays drop to weekends only in February. It is the single most common way a planned day out falls apart.

For more ideas that work all year round, our guide to things to do in Atlanta with kids covers the wider metro.

Ready to plan winter break?

The December week mostly plans itself. February is the one worth thinking about now, while there is still time to.

Pick two or three anchor activities rather than filling all five days, check opening hours before you drive anywhere, and remember that the northwest metro has more going on in February than the Atlanta-wide guides suggest.

Questions? Drop us a note at Hey@JoshPowellCamp.com or call (678) 369-0780. We pick up the phone.

Frequently Asked Questions

• Is anything actually open during the February break in Atlanta?

  Yes, though the seasonal attractions have gone. Year-round venues carry the week: the permanent ice rinks in Marietta, Kennesaw and Sandy Springs, the museums in Kennesaw and Marietta, the state and national parks, and the indoor entertainment centres. The catch is that some venues reduce to weekend-only hours in February, so check before you travel.

• What is there to do with kids in Atlanta in winter that is free?

  Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield Park has no admission charge and has trails suitable for young children. The Marietta Fire Museum is free. Swift-Cantrell Park in Kennesaw and the trails at Red Top Mountain in Acworth cost nothing beyond parking. Several of the December light displays around town are also free to walk through, though the larger ticketed ones are not.

• Does it snow in Atlanta during winter break?

  Rarely, and almost never on a schedule you can plan around. Metro Atlanta averages a small amount of snowfall most winters, usually in January or February, and it typically melts within a day or two. If snow is what your children want, the manufactured snow play areas at Stone Mountain and Lake Lanier are the reliable version.

• How far in advance should I book winter activities in Atlanta?

  For anything ticketed in December, several weeks. The week between Christmas and New Year is the busiest of the year for family attractions in Atlanta, and evening slots at the light displays and rinks go first. February needs far less notice, since demand is much lower, but confirm opening hours rather than assuming.

• How cold does it actually get in Atlanta during winter break?

  Milder than most visitors expect and colder than most locals dress for. December and February daytime highs in metro Atlanta typically sit in the low to mid fifties, with overnight lows around freezing. That is comfortable for outdoor activity with a coat on, which is why the trails at Kennesaw Mountain and Red Top Mountain work well in winter. It is also why the outdoor rinks are enjoyable rather than punishing. Pack layers rather than heavy coats, since a fifty degree afternoon in full sun feels very different to an eight in the morning start.

• What works if you have children with a big age gap?

  Look for venues that run more than one activity under a single roof rather than trying to find one thing everyone enjoys equally. The indoor entertainment centres in Marietta and Kennesaw combine karting, bowling, arcade and laser tag, which lets a nine year old and a four year old have completely different afternoons in the same building. The Southern Museum in Kennesaw also handles a wide age range better than most, because the locomotive holds younger children while the exhibits hold older ones. Outdoor parks tend to be the great leveller: Swift-Cantrell has playgrounds and a skate park on the same site.

• Do Atlanta attractions stay open between Christmas and New Year?

  Most do, and that week is usually their busiest of the year. The common exceptions are Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, when many venues close or run reduced hours, and New Year's Day, when opening times often shift. Light displays generally run right through, but individual dark nights vary by venue. If you are planning something specific for the 26th to the 31st, book it, because walk-up availability in that window is poor.