Picnics, golf and great eats: Your city guide to Adams Park

Adams Park, located in Southwest Atlanta, is one of three neighborhoods that make up the affluent Cascade area. It is a trove of historic residences and pastoral beauty. Anchoring it is a public park spanning over 150 acres and offering outdoor recreational opportunities in the form of golf, a two-acre lake for fishing and paths constructed with distinctive stone bridges and walls.

The park’s design is the handiwork of William L. Monroe Sr., a landscape designer who had a significant hand in local features like Chastain Park. The stonework throughout the park — walls, bridges and culverts made of local granite — mirror those of other nearby locales, such as DeKalb County’s Glen Emerald Rock Garden. Adams Park’s naturalistic design is meant to draw the eye to its best features — its canyonlike garden and picnic area and its lake views — in the style the National Park Service and the Works Progress Administration typically used in the 1930s — the period of the park’s construction.

Key features include a stone stairway that descends over 80 feet and a stone walkway that spans a hillside for well over 300 feet. A stream runs through the park past picnic shelters and grills, and, in a signature of Monroe landscapes, it runs through specifically placed boulders. A picnic pavilion in the Craftsman style and complete with a fireplace anchors the canyon.

Outside the park, a generous offering of 1940s bungalows alongside ranches built midcentury. The wide selection of gracious homes, the recreation opportunities and a handful of wonderful local restaurants make Adams Park an increasingly sought-after place to live in Atlanta.

What can I do for fun in Adams Park?

Alfred “Tup” Holmes Golf Course: This 18-hole course is perfect for golf enthusiasts looking to hit a few with a generous view of the surrounding hills. Named after the man who led the movement in the mid-1950s to desegregate the city’s golf courses, this requires no prepaid tee times, and minimum age to play is 7. The course is open for operation from dawn to sunset every day.

Adams Park: Pack a picnic and grill out with the family: This is the perfect place to spread a blanket and enjoy a long afternoon among the sighing hardwoods. You’ll find it hard to believe you’re still in the city! And if you like to fish, drop a line in the lake while you observe local wildlife like geese, turtles and ducks.

Splash Island: This splash pad is the ultimate cool-off spot during a hot Atlanta summer. One of six splash pads scattered across the city, this one offers water cannons, a spray pool and a dumping bucket. It’s the perfect place to let the family run and play. It’s officially tied to the Adams Park pool, so there may be a nominal charge to use it.

Where are the best places to eat and drink in Adams Park?

The Beautiful Restaurant

As its name suggests, this eatery offers a beautiful tour of Southern soul food. Founded in 1979 with religious principles like love and concern for others at its core, this legendary eatery offers delicacies such as oxtails and rice, fried pork chops and shrimp scampi. Hearty sides like butter beans, yams and collards round things out. Follow your meal up with a fried pie — apple or peach.

Location: The Beautiful Restaurant; Hours: Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday - noon to 7 p.m., Sunday - 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Website: beautifulrestaurant-atlanta.com/

J.R. Crickets Cascade

Catch every minute of your favorite sports action while you enjoy delicious food. Wall-to-wall viewing while you down specialties like buffalo fingers and fries, ribs and shrimp and the grilled veggie wrap makes for the perfect kicked-back evening with friends. Try the sweet potato tots and or the onion rings to fill out your meal.

Location: J.R. Crickets Cascade; Hours: Sunday-Thursday - noon to midnight, Friday and Saturday - noon to 2 a.m.; Website: jrcricketscascade.com

The Original Maxwell Street

Burgers and hot dogs are the orders of the day here, with wildcards like the boneless breaded pork chop and the breaded fish sandwiches thrown in. Or really mix things up with the Maxwell steak cheese fries or the hot tamale. Accompany any of these orders with piping hot fries, and you’ve had the full experience!

Location: The Original Maxwell Street; Hours: open 24 hours; Website: theoriginalmaxwellstreet.com/atlanta

Big Daddy’s Cafe

Southern dishes with a dash of Caribbean flavor await you here. The curried chicken or meatloaf with rice, the oxtails or beef tips, or the tilapia or whiting all offer a big, filling meal. Pair them with sides like mashed potatoes, candied yams or creamed corn and top things off with banana pudding, red velvet cake or peach cobbler.

Location: Big Daddy’s Cafe; Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday - 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday and Sunday - noon to 7 p.m.; Website: bigdaddyscafe.com/

Barrio ATL

You’ll find great Mexican soul food here. A full taco selection runs the gamut from beef birria to fish to adobo shrimp and steak. Or go the salmon route with avocado ranch. Follow up your choice with a big slice of Oreo or turtle cheesecake, and you’ll have had yourself a full meal!

Location: Barrio ATL; Hours: Monday - 6-11 p.m., Tuesday-Saturday - noon to midnight, Sunday - noon-10 p.m.; Website: barrioatl.com