The places that don't make you apologize for the kids. Restaurants with crayons that aren't an afterthought, parks with shade and bathrooms, the ice-cream stop with the line on a hot Tuesday.
A family-friendly, casual restaurant on Kowaliga Marina Road — a longtime Lake Martin institution, no reservations taken.
A state park on the lake's western shore, seven miles south of Alexander City — the largest state-operated campground in the United States, with 626 sites, 157 of them waterfront. A swimming beach, boat ramp, fishing pier, and pontoon and jon-boat rentals round it out.