Radium Springs Garden offers unique southwest Georgia experience
Former Albany casino site transformed into botanical garden attraction
By Jennifer Parks
Editor’s Note: Seventh installment in a series highlighting attractions in the Albany area
ALBANY — One of the best-kept secrets in southwest Georgia is Radium Springs Garden, which offers a sight unlike any other in the region.
The website www.exploresouthernhistory.com says the site was once known as a fishing and hunting area for the Native American population. The spring there also served as a popular community swimming hole, and in the early 20th century, it was developed into a resort that included a casino overlooking the spring.
While the Great Depression forced the resort to close down, it remained a swimming spot until Tropical Storm Alberto led to the Flood of 1994. Another almost as devastating flood came in 1998, and between the two disasters, the casino was deemed too far gone to save.
Today, the footprint of the casino remains to tell the story of the area. Radium Springs has been transformed into a botanical area that opened in 2010. There are gardens, walkways and kiosks, although swimming is no longer allowed.
The spring still pours out 70,000 gallons of clear, fresh water per minute at a temperature of 68 degrees from an underground cave. It is one of the Seven Natural Wonders of Georgia.
It has also been made available for wedding rentals and has a garden specifically intended to attract monarch butterflies.
“(The butterfly garden) attracts a lot of people,” Thomas Bruce, parks manager for Dougherty County Public Works, said.
Overlook Park is located adjacent to Radium Springs and includes fitness equipment, a walking track and picnic tables. Within the gardens, kiosks tell the history of the area — and occasionally someone will come in to watch the birds or feed the fish in the spring.
Radium Springs Observation Point, meanwhile, offers a unique look at the grounds.
Bruce said the spring itself is definitely the biggest draw to the park. The water, now owned by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, can vary in height depending on what the weather has been like — but there is plenty of natural beauty at the site even when the water is lower, given the gardens, trees and Spanish moss.
“One of the things people tell us when they find out they can rent the area out is that they didn’t know about it,” he said. “A lot of them say they don’t have to have a lot of decorations.”
The history lessons at Radium Springs include the impact of the flood itself. A marker in what remains of the casino building shows where the water peaked in 1994. Those who were here before the flood have a special appreciation for its historical significance. Some of the visitors to the gardens include those who used to swim there.
“People have a lot of memories here,” Bruce said.
The scenery alone does much to set the attraction apart.
“I don’t think (people) will see a spring quite like this (elsewhere in Albany),” Bruce said.
A new development that is expected to help bring attention to the Gardens is the anticipated Rails to Trails project. Bruce said that if the plan works out as intended, the trail should come right by the gardens — giving the park something to further capitalize on.
“That itself will pull and draw a lot of people on that trail,” Bruce said.
The park is located at 2501 Radium Springs Road and is free and open to the public Tuesday-Saturday from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and on Sundays from 1-5 p.m.
To learn more about Radium Springs or how to rent it out for an event, visit www.dougherty.ga.us or call (229) 430-6120.
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