I have taken two different day trips up to the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Georgia since moving to the Atlanta area and decided to write about my experiences there. The first trip took me to Helen, Dahlonega, and Dawsonville, while the second took me to Tallulah Gorge. I did have plans to visit a few other places, but my plans didn’t exactly work out the way I had imagined. Here’s my story:
Helen
On the last weekend of May, I drove up to Helen, Georgia. This is a small town with a population of only around 546, but it has become the third most visited city in Georgia behind Atlanta and Savannah. What makes this town unique is that it’s designed to look like a Bavarian mountain town in Germany. Along the main street, all buildings have a German design to them making it a cool town to walk around and take pictures of. When I first arrived, it was early in the morning so nothing had opened up yet. So I decided to head over to Ana Ruby Falls.
The hike to Ana Ruby Falls is a beautiful trail that follows a river. It does go uphill, but it’s really not that difficult at all. I was actually cold when I visited because I didn’t consider the fact that it’s located at a higher elevation than Atlanta. When I reached the end of the trail, I was amazed at the view right in front of me. Ana Ruby Falls is made up of two different waterfalls side by side. And there are several viewing platforms to see the falls from, each offering a unique perspective. It’s hard to get both falls in their entirety in a picture. I stood here for a while, soaking in the view, before deciding to turn around and head back into the city.
As I arrived in Helen again, it was obviously more crowded this time around. I had heard of a popular restaurant called The Troll Tavern, located appropriately under a bridge. I found the bridge and walked under it to the entrance of the restaurant, and it’s located in a very scenic area along the Chattahoochee River where a few people were braving the cooler weather and tubing down the river. While here I tried a pretzel in beer cheese and bratwurst. The bratwurst was fine, but I was actually more impressed with the pretzel. I then walked around the city visiting the unique shops along the way. This is more of a touristy place for families, rather than a place a single guy would hang out at, so I didn’t spend too much time here. I did enjoy taking pictures of the Bavarian architecture though.
Dahlonega
From Helen, I headed over to Dahlonega. This town was known for having the first major gold rush in the United States before gold was discovered in California. When gold diggers left for California, this town almost became a ghost town, and it is still small to this day. But there are still some gold mines left behind that were operating up through the Great Depression. One of those is called the Consolidated Gold Mine, and you can actually tour the underground mines. I have toured caves before but never a gold mine, so I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.
The tour was actually really cool. Parts of it are obviously meant for kids, but it was interesting being able to tour these underground tunnels and learn about life in the gold mines during and before the Great Depression. The tour led us underground and through most of the tunnels, and we were even able to spot some gold in a couple places. It’s estimated that 80% of the gold in this mine is still there, but it’s not worth looking for it because it would cost more to dig and clean it than it would be worth. They make more money off of it by giving tours, so that’s what they do now. At the end of the tour, I had the opportunity to try panning for gold and found 3 (very tiny) gold specks, which they let me keep.
Dawsonville
I then drove over to the Dawsonville area, which is known as Georgia Wine Country. There are many vineyards in the area, and I did drive through one just to see it. But the main reason to come here in my opinion is to see Amicalola Falls. Amicalola Falls is the tallest waterfall in Georgia at 729 feet (compared to Niagara at 325 feet), and it includes 7 cascades. Trying to visit it was confusing because I couldn’t figure out how to reach the falls. I started hiking in the direction I thought I was supposed to go only to end up in a parking lot. It turns out that there are many parking lots along the trail, so you can hike as far or as little as you’d like. I had done a lot of walking already for the day, so I decided to find a closer parking lot.
From where I parked, I only had a short hike to the falls, and when I arrived, I was amazed at how beautiful it was! There’s a bridge that passes in front of the falls, allowing for an up-close view of it. I was kinda surprised at how many people were crowding onto the bridge and wondered how many people it can safely hold before it becomes dangerous. But I stayed at the bridge for a while because Amicalola Falls is really something special. There’s also a staircase leading up to the top of the falls, but be warned: this is very strenuous. Once I finally reached the top, there was a nice view with some mountains in the distance, but if you really want to see this view, you can just drive to it rather than take the stairs.
Tallulah Gorge
A month later, I decided to head up to Tallulah Gorge near the North Carolina line. I had a whole road trip planned in this region with Tallulah Gorge being the first stop. This gorge is 2 miles long and 1,000 feet deep. There are trails along the rim, but there’s also the option of hiking down to the gorge floor. In order to do that, you have to get a permit, and only 100 permits are given out daily. So I left early in the morning, wanting to be one of the first 100 there. When I arrived, there was a long line because they hadn’t decided if they were going to open the floor yet due to the rain that came through the night before. After an hour of waiting, they finally decided to open it up and started issuing permits.
The trail starts with a staircase that contains over 500 steps down into the canyon and views of a couple waterfalls. Then there’s a suspension bridge that crosses from one side of the gorge to the other. Then more stairs down to the floor. I then had to cross the river, hopping from boulder to boulder, in order to avoid the strong current of the river. Once across, the trail then follows the river for a while, though there’s not really a trail: you just find your own way basically by climbing on top of a bunch of boulders. Then there’s a slick rock portion that slants down to the river. The rocks here were so slippery I had to take my shoes off and use all four limbs to scoot my way across- and even then it was very difficult not to fall into the river due to the angle of the slope. There were a couple moments where I started slipping down and had to somehow stop myself. Falling in would not be good because there’s a strong current leading to several deadly waterfalls.
Once across the slick rock portion, I then started climbing across boulders again until I reached Bridal Veil Falls, the farthest you’re allowed to go within the gorge. Bridal Veil Falls is safe enough to slide down, so of course I wanted to try it. I slid down, and it was a really cool experience! But then I had to climb back up, and that’s where I ran into some problems. There’s a rope that you hold onto to climb back up this steep rock surface. The problem is, this surface is extremely slippery! I had no problem holding onto the rope, but I could not stand up on the rock without my feet slipping out from under me. I took several very hard falls, banging myself up each time, leaving bruises and scrapes all over my body. On my final attempt, I finally got going until my feet from out of nowhere shot out in front of me, and I didn’t let go of the rope, forcing my body to slam into the rock very forcefully, landing with all my weight on my elbow. I was able to pull myself the rest of the way by rope, but there was intense pain shooting through my arm, originating at my elbow.
I then found an area to lay down, and my arm was in so much pain. There was immediate swelling which made my arm look misshapen. I couldn’t bend it, and my hand was going numb. I really didn’t know what to do other than make a sling out of the long-sleeve shirt I wore into the gorge. I was bleeding from my elbow, knees, and feet, and my knees were turning different colors, but what I was most worried about was my elbow. I was laying there trying not to think about the pain when I suddenly remembered what they told me in orientation when getting my permit: the way out of the gorge starts with the most difficult quarter mile hike you’ll ever attempt. I don’t know how true that statement is, but there’s an 800-foot elevation gain in just a quarter of a mile, which means you’re basically rock climbing up the side of the gorge on your way out. There were some people that saw me fall and were determined to get me safely out of the gorge, so they told me to go with them when they leave.
I first had to cross the river again without falling back down the waterfall, and there were a few close calls as it’s extremely slippery. Then the climb began… Right at the base of the hike back, one lady saw me and told me not to attempt it because it’s too dangerous to attempt with only one good arm. Unfortunately I didn’t have a choice unless I wanted to call in a helicopter to come get me. So we started climbing back up, and this group of 8 were very helpful. One person had my backpack while 2 were helping me stay steady on the way up. Some areas were like large staircases, so those were easier to navigate than the ones that required more upper-body strength. It took forever for me to make it to the top, and I had to take several breaks along the way, but we finally made it! Obviously my road trip would not continue as I needed to get my arm checked out more than anything else. It turned out to only be a sprain, so nothing was broken. I really enjoyed Tallulah Gorge, minus the whole spraining-my-arm part.
Overall, North Georgia is a beautiful part of the country. It’s often overlooked for nearby Tennessee, but if you’re ever passing through, I’d recommend making a quick stop to see what this area has to offer. Thanks for reading!
Tyler's Travels 