Panola Mountain State Park in northern Henry County received a statewide award in late August at a conference in Savannah hosted by the Friends of Georgia State Parks & Historic Sites.

  The Best Year-Round Programming Award was bestowed upon the Stockbridge facility, located off Hwy. 155 just south of the DeKalb County line, for its extensive lineup of offerings for visitors throughout the year. Other nominees for the award included Tallulah Gorge, Fort McAllister and Chattahoochee Bend state parks.

  According to officials, Panola Mountain offers more than 30 ranger-led programs and hikes each month, including such unusual activities as glow-in-the-dark archery. The adult summer camp, in a single two-day period, includes opportunities for sleeping in a tree canopy, kayaking and canoeing, bouldering, fly fishing, archery and open-fire cooking. The park also offers what is called one of the most creative July 4 programs in the metro Atlanta area, with spectators watching area fireworks from atop the park’s granite mountain, a 100-acre outcrop similar to Stone Mountain but smaller and more pristine according to park officials.

  Visitors to the park can picnic while children blow off steam on the playground. There are opportunities for geocaching, orienteering, birding and tree climbing. A paved trail is open for biking, roller blading, jogging and dog-walking, while forested fitness trails are open for hiking and running.

  Reservations are required for ranger-led hikes that teach about the rare plants and animals found in the habitat surrounding the granite outcrop, whose ecosystem can be seen just as Native Americans saw it centuries ago.

  Panola Mountain State Park is part of the Arabia Mountain National Heritage Area, one of only three National Heritage Areas in Georgia. This special recognition is based on what park system officials call “the park’s unusual natural beauty and intriguing cultural changes.” Panola has also been designated a National Natural Landmark.