Most Dallas GA things to do lists are three sentences long and end with a shrug. People assume Paulding County is where you live when you want more house for the money, and that everything worth doing is a drive east into Cobb or Cherokee.
Here is the flip. Paulding holds one of the best-preserved Civil War battlefields in the country, twenty miles of the Silver Comet Trail, a 26,000-acre wildlife management area, a working theater on Main Street, and a waterfall hike most people in Metro Atlanta have never heard of. The problem was never a shortage of things to do. It was a shortage of anyone writing them down.
Nicole France is a REALTOR® with RE/MAX Center and was the number one Paulding County REALTOR® for 2025. She works Dallas and Hiram every week, and this list comes from actually going to these places.
1. Walk the Battlefield at Pickett’s Mill
Pickett’s Mill Battlefield State Historic Site sits at 4432 Mt. Tabor Church Road, northeast of Dallas off Highway 92, and it is one of the best-preserved Civil War battlefields in the nation.
The battle happened on May 27, 1864, when roughly 14,000 Union troops under General Howard attacked about 10,000 Confederate troops under General Cleburne. The Union lost around 1,600 men and the Confederates around 500. What makes the site remarkable is that the ravines, earthworks, and wooded ridges still look much as they did.
The 765-acre site is open seven days a week from 9 to 5, with about four miles of trails and an 1800s pioneer cabin on the grounds. Georgia State Parks keeps the museum open Friday through Sunday. Leashed dogs are welcome on the trails. Admission is a few dollars, which is the best deal in the county.
2. Ride the Silver Comet Trail from the Hiram Caboose
The Silver Comet runs 61.5 miles from Smyrna to the Alabama state line, and twenty of those miles belong to Paulding County. That is the single biggest recreational asset in this part of Northwest Atlanta.
Start at the Hiram Trailhead, at mile marker 14.7, where an original train caboose sits in the parking lot and doubles as a station for the deputies who patrol the trail. Parking, restrooms, and water are all there.
The trail is paved, mostly flat because it follows an old railroad bed, and open to walkers, cyclists, runners, skaters, and dog walkers. It is largely wheelchair accessible. Head west and the surroundings shift from Hiram’s shopping corridor into genuinely remote country within a few miles. The county maintains trail information including the other Paulding trailheads at the Chamber of Commerce, Tara Drummond Park, and Rambo Road.
3. See the Pumpkinvine Creek Trestle
This one deserves its own stop rather than a mention inside the trail entry, because most people ride past without knowing what they are on.
The Pumpkinvine Creek Trestle was built in 1901 and restored in 1999. It rises 126 feet above the creek and stretches 750 feet across. You will find it less than a mile west of the Rambo Road Trailhead in Dallas.
Crossing it is the moment the Silver Comet stops feeling like a paved path behind a shopping center and starts feeling like something else entirely. West of the trestle, the trail runs into the remote sections of the Paulding Wildlife Management Area. Bring water and tell someone where you are going, because cell service gets thin out there and the trail is only lightly patrolled.
4. Catch a Show at The Dallas Theater
The Dallas Theater sits at 208 Main Street in the middle of downtown Dallas, and it runs a full announced season year after year.
The programming leans toward tribute acts, concerts, and touring shows rather than repertory theater. Popular acts sell out, and the room is small enough that there is no bad seat. Season ticket packages are available if you find yourself going more than twice a year.
The larger point is what the theater does for downtown. A venue that draws people to Main Street on a Saturday night keeps the surrounding restaurants and shops viable, which is exactly the pattern that turned other Northwest Atlanta downtowns around. Dallas has the bones. The theater is the anchor.
5. Hike to High Shoals Falls
High Shoals Falls, at 2184 High Shoals Road in Dallas, is the Paulding County attraction that surprises people most.
The hike runs roughly two miles round trip through a mossy creek valley, and it delivers two waterfalls rather than one, with the main cascade dropping about thirty feet. Primitive backpacking campsites sit along the route, which is unusual for a county park this close to the metro.
Wear real shoes. The path down from the parking area gets washed out in places and it is not a stroller route. Go after a good rain if you want the falls at their most impressive, and go early in the day during summer, because Georgia humidity turns a two-mile hike into a longer afternoon than you planned.
6. Visit the Museum of Flight at the County Airport
Paulding Northwest Atlanta Airport at 730 Airport Parkway is the first jet-capable airport built in Georgia in more than thirty years, and it is owned by the county.
Tucked inside it is the Museum of Flight, a nonprofit aviation and military memorabilia collection with indoor exhibits and outdoor aircraft displays. Hours run 10 to 4, Tuesday through Saturday. Volunteers staff it and they know the story behind every piece, including seating salvaged from the aircraft carrier Intrepid.
It is small, and that is part of the charm. You will likely have the place mostly to yourself, and the person showing you around will actually talk to you. For anyone with an aviation or military history interest, this is forty-five minutes well spent and it costs almost nothing.
7. Browse Main Street in Downtown Dallas
Downtown Dallas is compact, historic, and walkable in about fifteen minutes end to end.
Main Street holds antique shops, Main Street Markets, and local storefronts clustered within a block or two of the theater and the historic Paulding County Courthouse. Paulding Fine Arts, a short distance away, shows and sells work from local artists, much of it depicting places around the county.
Do not expect Woodstock or Acworth. Downtown Dallas is earlier in its arc, quieter on a weekday, and less polished. That also means the antique browsing is better and the parking is free and plentiful. Go on a Saturday morning, start at the courthouse square, and work your way down.
8. See the County Museum in the 1860 Schoolhouse
The Paulding County Historical Society and Museum is housed in the first schoolhouse ever built in Dallas, dating to 1860.
Volunteers run it, and the hours are genuinely limited: the first and third Saturdays of the month, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Check before you drive over, because that schedule catches people off guard.
Inside you will find artifacts covering the county’s Native American history, its Civil War years, and its transition from farmland to one of the fastest-growing counties in Metro Atlanta. For anyone who just moved here and wants to understand what this place was before the subdivisions arrived, an hour in that building explains more than any relocation guide. Admission is free.
9. Explore Paulding Forest Wildlife Management Area
The Paulding Forest and Sheffield wildlife management areas cover more than 26,000 acres of state-owned and leased land, and most residents have never set foot on it.
It is open for hiking, primitive camping, canoeing, birdwatching, and picnicking, along with hunting in season. Raccoon Creek holds one of the southernmost trout fishing opportunities in Georgia, which is a genuinely unusual thing to have thirty miles from Atlanta.
Check the Georgia DNR regulations before you go, especially during hunting seasons, and wear blaze orange in the fall. A WMA license is required for most uses. This is not a manicured park with restrooms and a playground. It is real backcountry, and having it in your county is a bigger deal than most people here realize.
10. Time a Visit Around Paulding Meadows
The Paulding Meadows Arts and Crafts Festival at Earl Duncan Park is the county’s signature annual event, drawing thousands for handcrafted goods, food vendors, and live entertainment.
It is not the only one. Dallas hosts a Christmas parade, seasonal festivals downtown, and a farmers market during the growing season, and Earl Duncan Park has also hosted bluegrass and music events over the years.
Dates shift year to year, so check the Paulding County events calendar or the city of Dallas listings rather than relying on last year’s post. If you are considering moving here and want to see the community at its most itself, plan your visit around Paulding Meadows weekend rather than a random Tuesday. You will learn more in three hours than in three drive-throughs.
What Buyers and Sellers Need to Know About Dallas and Hiram
Paulding County is among the fastest-growing counties in Metro Atlanta, and Dallas and Hiram are where most of that growth lands. That growth is the whole story for buyers and sellers here.
On price, Dallas remains one of the more affordable entry points in Northwest Atlanta. Buyers routinely find more square footage and more land here than the same budget buys in Cherokee or east Cobb. The tradeoffs are commute time and the fact that infrastructure is still catching up to the rooftops.
Two local details matter more here than anywhere else in this market. First, an Acworth 30101 mailing address does not mean Cobb County. Large portions of that ZIP sit in Paulding, and the county affects your tax bill, your school assignment, and your services. Always confirm the county on the tax record. Second, well and septic systems are common outside city limits, so budget for inspection and testing during due diligence.
School assignment varies by address, not by subdivision name. Confirm through the Paulding County school locator using the exact property address. If you are considering selling, start with a home value assessment, because pricing in Paulding has moved meaningfully over the past year.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dallas, Georgia worth visiting?
For a day trip focused on outdoors and history, yes. Pickett’s Mill, the Silver Comet Trail, and High Shoals Falls are all legitimately worth the drive, and Explore Georgia lists Dallas for exactly those reasons. Come for the trails and the battlefield rather than for shopping and nightlife.
What is the difference between Dallas and Hiram?
Dallas is the county seat, with the historic downtown, the courthouse, and the theater. Hiram is the commercial corridor, where most of the county’s retail, restaurants, and big-box shopping sit along Highways 92 and 278. Many residents live near one and shop in the other.
How far is Dallas, Georgia from Atlanta?
Roughly thirty miles northwest of Atlanta. Drive time varies enormously with traffic and your route, so if you are considering a move here, drive your actual commute at your actual departure time before you write an offer. That single hour of research prevents most relocation regret.
Thinking About Buying or Selling in Paulding County?
Knowing the trails is one thing. Knowing which streets are in Paulding versus Cobb, which lots are on septic, and which neighborhoods hold value is another. Nicole France was the number one Paulding County REALTOR® in 2025 for a reason.
Call or text (404) 867-3869 or reach out at nicolefrance-realestate.com/contact/. You can also see the areas we serve, read client testimonials, or learn more about Nicole.
Nicole France is a REALTOR® with RE/MAX Center serving buyers and sellers across Acworth, Kennesaw, Dallas, Cartersville, and Woodstock. Client Focused · Results Driven.