Banning Mills: From Ghost Town to Adventure Center

Nestled in the heavily wooded Snake Creek Gorge, about 20 miles south of Douglasville in Carroll County, Historic Banning Mills is a beautiful rustic resort and conservancy that was once a thriving mill town and now boasts a variety of relaxing activities such as hiking, kayaking and horseback riding. 

It also has bragging rights to a not so relaxing activity which is best left to the not so faint of heart.

The “Screaming Triple Eagle” at Banning Mills is the world’s largest continuous zip line eco-canopy tour in the world.  The half-mile zip line can reach speeds up to 60 miles per hour as you “fly” through the tree tops, screaming being a popular option. 

Of course, if you prefer your activities on terra firma, you can hike along the creek or just take a walk along the old town roads that were once at the heart of the small, but very productive, mill town – home to one of the very first mills in the country to produce paper from wood pulp rather than cloth rags.

So productive was the small town – which had also produced the cloth used exclusively for Confederate uniforms – that the town already had electricity to run its mills by 1878.  There were even stores, schools and a post office to serve the population of around 3,000 residents.  And talk about self-sufficient – Banning Mills even had its own currency.

But as industry in the area gravitated to Atlanta, the mills, shops and businesses eventually died off, leaving Banning Mills a ghost town.

In 1997, Mike and Donna Holder of Kennesaw bought the 1,200 acres of protected land, cleared the overgrown brush and set out to build a country inn and retreat that would celebrate nature, history and education.  Soon their venture was a hit.  But a devastating fire on Thanksgiving night 2006 completely destroyed the main lodge.

However, an outpouring of community support gave the couple the encouragement they needed to rebuild.  Now they welcome thousands of students, corporate “team building” groups and adventure-seeking individuals to Banning Mills each year to enjoy the peace and tranquility, as well as the fun and adventure, of a region the Creek Indian nation once called home.

Historic Banning Mills is about an hour-and-a-half away from Norcross.   Just head south on Ga-400 until you get to I-285 East, then following the Perimeter around until you get to I-20 East. 

Take I-20 East to Douglasville, exiting on Ga-5 South (which will become Bill Arp Road) and continue on until you reach Whitesburg. 

At Whitesburg, take a right onto US-27/GA-16 and following it for almost 2 miles to Banning Road.  Turn right on Banning Road and travel about a mile until you reach Horseshoe Dam Road.  Turn right on Horseshow Dam Road and travel about a quarter of a mile (just past Hickory Bluff Road) to Historic Banning Mill.