Georgia Mountain Vacation -Nothing but Fun

Georgia mountain vacations are fantastic, as the mountains are beautiful and there is so many things to enjoy. My husband and I love to spend some time in the Blue Ridge Mountains when ever we can. We don’t exactly rough it. There are numerous Georgia Vacation Rentals, as well as, Georgia vacation packages. We have found a wonderful log cabin to rent in Blue Ridge that has a fully ready kitchen, fireplace, outdoor grill, indoor Jacuzzi, porch with swing, beautiful scenery and the living room has a TV with DVD player so you can stay in if it is raining and watch movies. We have spent time in Blue Ridge in every season and have always had a wonderful time. There are also vacation condos available.

When we stay in the cabin we do a lot of hiking in the mountainous area that is right by the cabin. One of the great perks of staying in this lovely cabin is the location to many very interesting small towns and the “take you breath away scenery”. There are gorgeous water falls nearby if you don’t mind a little hiking.

We usually try to drive to Ellijay, GA on the way to Blue Ridge. Ellijay is the apple capital of GA and a growth area for wineries. This is a very popular tourist spot in the fall of the year because they have every kind of apple you can think of, and they have apple festivals the first two weekends of October. Our favorite store in Ellijay just happens to serve apple fried pies with hand churned vanilla ice cream. It is a “Died and went to Heaven experience”.

There are several attractions near Ellijay as well. Amicalola Falls State Park, located in Dawsonville, GA, is absolutely beautiful. I have hiked up to see those falls in my younger days but probably wouldn’t do it now since arthritis has decided to come and stay. The scenery, however, is splendid and well worth the hike.

Amicalola is a Cherokee Indian word meaning tumbling water and when you see the falls you will understand the appropriateness of this name. There is also Carters Lake, Fort Mountain State Park and the Chattahoochee Forest in the Appalachian Mountain Ridge which is over 750,000 acres.

By the time we move on from Ellijay we are ready to get to the cabin and unload our clothes and groceries. We buy a lot of wonderful food to last because there are not many great grocery stores nearby. You are definitely in the country. You might as well have a good meal. I mean you are on vacation. We get settled in and love to sit in the swing on the porch and listen to the birds, see rabbits and sometimes we see a doe or two

We plan ahead where we want to go on any given day and if you like outdoor activities there are plenty. There is white water rafting, kayaking, tubing, boating and fishing, tennis, horseback riding and there is a scenic train ride from Ellijay to Blue Ridge. The white water rafting on the Ocoee River is the place where I was swept out of the raft and bounced from rock to rock until I was finally rescued. I wrote another hub about that experience several months ago. If you do want to eat out there is The Pink Pig Barbecue Restaurant in Cherry Long run by a couple that offers delicious food

Helen, GA, is another interesting town to spend the day. It has an alpine design to its building which gives the town a quaint look, and there are numerous shops for anything you can think of if you like picking up some souvenirs.

There are also numerous attractions, like Charlemagne’s Kingdom which gives you a unique trip through Germany in an Alpine Model railroad layout, in HO scale miniature Charlemagne's Kingdom is designed for people for all ages. All of the buildings are actual replicas of buildings existing in Germany and there are over 5000 hand painted figures, over 400’ of railroad track with computerized trains and hot air balloons. Needless to say this is a delight for adults and children. You can also see the scenery in a hot air balloon ride over northern GA. Helen hotels and restaurants are also plentiful.

Anna Ruby Falls lies in the heart of the Chattahoochee National Forest. The quietness of the area is broken by the thundering water that flows over the cliff where the Curtis and York Creeks merge together. This water fall is not as difficult to get to but it is also beautiful. The water from Curtis Creek drops 153’ and the water from York creek falls 50 ‘ to form the twin water falls and eventually ends up in the Chattahoochee River. You can rent a tube from the Cool River Tubing and float for 2 and 1/2 hours down the river on your back in the right season.

And the last small town I will describe is Dahlonega, GA. Its fame is based on the old saying of: “thar's gold in them thar hills and we invite you to see for yourself!” Gold was discovered in 1828, in north GA on Cherokee land. Within months there were hundreds of men searching and thousands of miners descended on Georgia within a year. The US Government established a gold coin mint in Dahlonega by 1837. Georgia coins from that time period are still in high demand by collectors. Most of the miners left for California’s gold within 10-12 years. There are places set up where you can pan for gold and also go visit a gold mine and you will probably find a little bit of gold but the amount is more like souvenir these days.

As you can see the mountains in Georgia are beautiful, and there are numerous things to do to suit anyone's taste.  Its a great place for a family vacation or just a couple. They have flea markets and sell all types of unusual things.  The campsites are beautiful if that is what you like. The people are friendly but you can sure find solitude if that is your desire.  I would recommend spending some time checking out these little towns as they are interesting and unique.  I only covered a few of them so it is up to you to start planning your vacation.