Readers' Choice for Best Staycation goes to Cascade Nature Preserve

The cost of taking a vacation is at an all-time high these days.  Plane tickets are expensive and do not forget about those bag fees and every other fee they try to tax you with.  Plus, even though gas prices have stabilized in recent weeks, they still are incredibly high and keep some families from taking road trips for a vacation.

For this reason more and more people are staying home and taking .  The winners of our staycation competition all have a unique way of transporting you to another place.  Just like a vacation, a staycation should also give you a feeling of going somewhere new and different.

In our most recent Readers' Choice Poll for "Best Places for a Staycation", the winner is the !

This 120-acre preserve is one of 248 parks operated by the city of Atlanta's Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs. The pristine land includes a portion of Utoy Creek, walking trails and several picnic tables. 

In second place was the , which sits on 26 acres and has a variety of walking trails and activities for children.

In addition to serving as a meeting place for community organizations and environmentalists, the OAC includes a team-building roes course, children's playground, tree house classroom, 650-gallon freshwater aquarium and a community vegetable garden. A major focus of the site is youth environmental education.

Wrapping up third place was our great which is the largest indoor public community center in the Cascade area.

The center includes a large community auditorium, two conference rooms, two kitchens and a computer lab, multipurpose room, arts and crafts room, weight room, fitness room, dance studio, game room, gymnasium, locker rooms and a natatorium with Olympic-size and therapy pools.

Next week, Patch is looking for the "Best in Frozen Yogurt."
The voting begins at 9 a.m. on Monday.

Please leave comments below on some of your favorite yogurt and ice cream shops in SW Atlanta, so that I can include them in next weeks competition!