Included with GeorgiaRoam+Georgia Highlands College Campus Tour
Paris Lake, pine woods, and a wetland boardwalk south of Rome
Self-guided walking tour in Rome · 0.8 mi · walking · ~1h 15m · 6 stops
The Tour
Georgia Highlands opened in 1970 as Floyd Junior College, the two-year school named for Floyd County; it became Floyd College in 1987 and Georgia Highlands College in 2005 as it grew into a regional multi-campus college. Its original 226-acre Floyd campus sits six miles south of downtown Rome off U.S. 27, wrapped around Paris Lake with a protected wetland and boardwalk behind it. This walk covers the academic core, the lake, and the campus observatory. Note: building coordinates are placed within the verified campus footprint (GHC's individual buildings are not individually geolocated in open map data).
Georgia Highlands College Campus Tour is a self-guided walking tour of Rome, built around its campus side. It's one of 3 Georgia Roam tours in Rome — each a different route through the city, on your own schedule.
The walk covers 6 stops over about 0.8 miles and roughly 1 hour 15 min, entirely at your own pace. Each stop's story unlocks on your phone the moment you arrive — GPS-triggered, hands-free, no guide and no tour group to keep up with.
What you'll see
The original Georgia Highlands campus feels less like a commuter school than a lakeside park. It sits six miles south of downtown Rome, and its low academic buildings gather around Paris Lake, framed by pine woods and athletic fields. This walk covers the working core of the college, where Floyd Junior College welcomed its first students in the early 1970s.
You'll see the main student-services building where new Chargers begin, and the science building whose labs launch the college's summer geology trips to Wyoming. There's also a lakeside arts building with a gallery and an auditorium. The highlight is out back: a 20-acre protected wetland crossed by a 1,200-foot boardwalk with observation platforms, which doubles as an outdoor classroom. Near the fields, the small Bishop Observatory hints at the stargazing possible in the dark skies of rural Floyd County.
The walk is under a mile on paved paths and boardwalk and takes about an hour at an easy pace. Mornings and late afternoons are best for wildlife on the wetland, and spring brings the most activity. Parking is on campus off U.S. 27 (Cedartown Highway). The Georgia Roam app tells each stop's story as you arrive.
Georgia
