CALLAWAY GARDENS LODGE AND GARDENS 2024

Posted by Liz and John Attaway, 11/4/24

Callaway Gardens Lodge & Spa

Naturally, it’s Callaway! John and I recently went down to Callaway Gardens to enjoy their Pumpkins at Callaway and got treated to a weekend retreat in their “stay amidst the wonders of nature,” at the Lodge & Spa. It is a majestic mountain lodge with stunning waterfalls, carefully sculpted greenery, lake views, and walkable, relaxing grounds!

You walk up to the Lodge and are greeted with cozy mountain lodge vibes, soaring stone fireplace, and relaxing lounge. It all feels so natural, a rustic lodge, with modern touches! Up in the rooms, large, airy modern rooms open into spacious balconies to take in the beautiful grounds. When you walk in the bathroom is on the left with a walk-in shower, separate soaker tub make it an oasis. The comfy kind bed and seating area in the room is relaxing and you can open the drapes for views!

On the grounds, the Lodge at Callaway has two restaurants, Cason’s Taproom where we enjoyed their seared salmon and delicious cocktails, also the Piedmont Dining room for more formal affairs. They have a large pool and then trails down to Robin Lake Beach. It wasn’t the season to lounge at the beach or we would have!

Also, during our weekend stay at Callaway Resort & Gardens, we got to explore the gardens that come free with your stay! It is a whole world of butterflies to rustic chapels to breathtaking lake views to winding garden paths all in the Gardens at Callaway!

Butterfly Center & Memorial Chapel


Butterfly Center is my favorite spot in the gardens. A perfectly manicured grounds, soaring greenhouse filled with so many butterflies you’re surrounded by them! It’s like a tropical paradise inside. A must do there is to watch the butterflies hatching. My second favorite spot in the gardens is the Memoria Chapel. It is the place to reflect. Stone structure outside leads into a rustic soaring wood ceiling inside then surrounded and encompassed by detailed and beautiful stained glass. The entire building is surrounded by streams and a lake with beautiful yellow lily pads!

Discovery Center & Azalea Bowl

Discovery Center is for those that love learning! They have crawling bugs in one room, history of birds of prey, birding and plant education and more. But the grounds are just stunning, in the center it is all wood surrounded by their twinkling lights and lake views. Plus, they have multiple bridges and wooden walkways to explore the lake. When you get hungry, they have a cafe on site to enjoy a snack. I heard their French fries were really good! If you are looking for a scenic walk, go to the Azalea bowl! Unfortunately, there were no azaleas in bloom, I’d recommend going in Spring! But the walk through the wood was beautiful and they have a waterfall and lots of lake views!

Pioneer Cabin & More


The Pioneer Cabin is a fun quick stop to explore pioneer days. It is on the way to the Butterfly center, check this out! A rustic old cabin with pioneer history, clothing, living and sleeping area all set up like it would have been then! It was very cool to read about how they dropped the loom from the ceiling to sow! We’d recommend reading all of the information about the cabin to get the best experience. There is also the Overlook Azalea Garden we didn’t get to, and the property also has golf, Robin Lake near the Lodge for swimming in season, and Cason’s Garden (which was taken over for pumpkins at Callaway).

Pumpkins at Callaway

Life is gourd at Pumpkins at Callaway! The main reason John and I recently went to Callaway Resort & Gardens is their annual Pumpkins at Callaway. This is one of fall’s can’t miss events, so mark your calendars for next year mid-September through first week of November.

Save this agenda for your Pumpkins at Callaway trip:
Gardens by day:
🌲 Start at the Pumpkin tree for a photo op when the Robin Lake Beach opens for the day!
🛍️ Head into the large, big top for a little shopping, entertainment, and photo ops.
🌌 Take the trolley to Carson’s Garden to see the NEW Harvest Sky art instillation.
🌻 Take a trip through the sunflower field. It is gorgeous and I spent a lot of time watching the bees pollinate.
🎃 Enjoy the Garden of Giants (pumpkin). They are huge!!
🍺 Grab some refreshments from Carson’s Beer & Wine Garden! They have a great Sunflower cocktail and tasty bratwurst and peppers combo meal!
🌽 If you want to do Carsons’s Corn Maze, we recommend doing it at night instead! Now if you have kids, do it now. There are two, one is easier than the other and they have a map. Take a picture of the map!
Go back to Robin Lake Beach as the sunsets for Glow by night:
👻 Watch the Pumpkin tree sing Monster mash, Ghostbusters, and tell jokes! A must do!
🎃 Go through the mesmerizing Foggy Hollow! Hanging lights, carved pumpkins, glow in the dark animals, foggy creeks, and even smoke bubbles! The best experience they have!
⛳️ Enjoy mini golf? Do a round of unFOREgettable glow in the dark course!
🌽 Get back in the trolley to do Carson’s Corn Maze at night. They have pop music and fun lights!

Next up is their amazing Fantasy in Lights. We went last year and loved it!