Family Fun in the North Georgia Mountains
North Georgia is full of wonderful sights & sounds, and quaint mountain towns dot the landscape and offer a great variety of family activities. If you’re planning a cabin vacation in the north Georgia Mountains this year, you have many different activities to choose from. Rosemary Lewis, frequent visitor to the north Georgia mountains, shares her unique perspective and a few family pictures. Here is her story.
Our family has been going up to the mountains for several years. My husband, John, and I usually rent a large house and the kids & grandkids come up for long weekends. Over the years, we’ve discovered some really neat places to go, when we can tear ourselves away from the cabin.
Our favorite destination is Horseshoe Bend Park in McCaysville, located right on the Toccoa River. There’s a small playground for the kids, a volleyball net, covered pavilions w/ plenty of picnic tables & grills, and clean bathrooms. It’s a great place to go tubing, kayaking, canoeing or fishing. The water is shallow along the edges for wading. Hopefully, the Blue Ridge Scenic Train will come by while you’re there & you can wave to all the passengers. All summer long on Thursday evenings, you can attend Pickin’ in the Park. Just bring a blanket & a picnic dinner & sit on the lawn to enjoy some of the best blue grass music around. There’s also a ballpark & maybe you can catch a game. All in all, it’s a good old-fashioned experience.
Everyone should ride the Blue Ridge Railway. The historic depot, built in 1905, is in downtown Blue Ridge. The 26 mile roundtrip takes about four hours. Reservations are highly recommended and be sure to get there early. There are many vintage climate-controlled cars, but it’s more fun to ride in the open cars where you’ll get the best views. Just wear layers of clothing, so you can peel off or add to, as necessary. The train winds along the beautiful Toccoa River & stops in McCaysville. If you have little ones, bring a stroller. There’s a 2 hour layover & you’ll want to walk around town. You can get lunch, icecream, stroll through the many antique shops, or walk over to the City Park & have a picnic. The park is on the other side of the river, down Market Street 2 blocks, with nice playground equipment & bathrooms, nestled under shady trees. When it’s time to depart, the whistle will blow & you can hurry back to the train. It’s a trip you & your children will always remember. Most days the train leaves Blue Ridge at 11:00 (Sundays @ 1:30). Special seasonal tours are available for fall, Christmas & Easter. The trip isn’t cheap, but there are discounts for kids, seniors & military. If you go on-line, you can find other discounts. Go to www.brscenic.com and call toll free (877) 413-8724 for reservations.
While you’re in downtown Blue Ridge, you might want to go to Huck’s General Store for some gem mining and miniature golf. We haven’t personally tried this yet, but when my friends raved about it, I knew it would be one of our first stops this summer. It’s not only fun, but very educational. Twenty-five dollars will get you a big bucket of dirt (which comes directly from Franklin, NC—the gem mining capital of the world!) Brett, the store owner, will show you how to “mine” the gems in your bucket. Each scoop of dirt you sift thru can contain emeralds, rubies, sapphires, moonstones, etc. And the store is full of toys & candy from days gone by. The kids will love it!
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We love to go tubing. If you drive out Aska Road to the Shallowford Bridge, there are 2 tubing companies that would be happy to rent you some sturdy tubes & lifevests, then pick you up down by the boulders a few hours later. Be sure to wear water shoes—not flip flops. The current is stronger than you think, & sooner or later, you’ll get in the water & lose a shoe. I’m sure there’s a cache of shoes swirling around just south of the boulders with my favorite red flip flop. I wouldn’t recommend this trip for kids younger than 5. My grandson, Ryan, had a ball when he was 5. But, the girls, at 1 & 3, screamed bloody murder. They later enjoyed tubing at the park much more, while riding with their parents for short periods. Remember to use lots of sunscreen & just enjoy the beauty all around you.
The Southern Tree Plantation, located near Blairsville, shouldn’t be missed. It is an active farm growing thousands of pumpkins & Christmas trees. It is open to the general public October to Christmas. Your kids can meet Buckwheat, the pot-bellied pig, Bo & Peep, the sheep, and Poncho, the donkey, along with many other friendly animals. There are pony rides, a sing-along marshmallow roasting, miniature train rides, & a wooden barnyard maze. But, the best thing to do is the hayride, which meanders over 60 acres of gorgeous mountain scenery. Be sure to go in October to pick out your favorite pumpkin, then return in December for a Christmas tree. You can cut your own, get a pre-cut tree, or get one B & B to replant at home. They offer 8 varieties of trees. For more information, call (706) 745-0601 or visit Southern Tree Plantation on-line.
Depending upon the ages of your kids, there are a ton of activities to enjoy in the North Georgia Mountains. The important thing is to have fun together. There’s just something about being in the mountains, away from our busy routines, that encourages us to give up our cell phones and computers and play games with our children.
For other suggestions, try—
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White water rafting on the Ocoee
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Bowling at Fannin Lanes in Blue Ridge
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Seeing new movies at the Old Swan Drive-in Theater (open every night)
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Horseback riding at Adventure Trails or Blanche Manor
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The Kangaroo Conservation Center in Dawsonville (Ryan loved it!)
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Burt’s Pumpkin Farm in Dahlonega
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Amicalola Falls
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The Swinging Bridge
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Boat & jet ski rental on Lake Blue Ridge (706) 632-2618
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Apple picking at Mercier’s Orchard (706) 632-3411
Our Family—The Summer of 2009
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