Daytrip to see fall foliage in North Georgia

Old Sep 22nd, 2004, 12:10 PM
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Daytrip to see fall foliage in North Georgia

My husband and I are interested in taking a daytrip this fall from Atlanta up into North Georgia to see some nice fall foliage. Anyone know of any good spots that are within a two-hour drive of Atlanta?

We'd like to incorporate a picnic and some easy to intermediate hiking into this daytrip. From doing some research on Georgia state parks, Amicalola Falls, Vogel and Tallulah Gorge look particularly interesting. I'd love to hear any feedback on these parks or others in the area.

And finally, can anyone recommend a cozy but casual restaurant in any of these areas to complete our day? Thanks!!

(Oh, and by the way, in case anyone else is looking for information on Georgia state parks, their website - www.gastateparks.org - provides a weekly update on fall foliage!)
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Old Sep 22nd, 2004, 12:50 PM
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I'm partial to the Tallulah Falls area (being from up that way). Once you pass the falls on 441, there's a turnoff to the Jane Hurt Yarn Interpretive Center on the right. There you can get passes to hike in the gorge. They limit the number of passes given out each day so you need to head up early (www.ngeorgia.com/parks/tallulah.html for more information).

Just north of there is a road to the left that will take you beside the Tallulah River (towards Tiger) then, taking another left, you drive along Lake Rabun, my favorite lake! There are some beautiful homes and a number of waterfalls in the area (Minniehaha is one that comes to mind - spelling is probably not right).

If you want to spend the night, there's a very old, cool hotel on the Lake Rabun road - Lake Rabun Hotel. We've stayed there many times and love it! They serve a great breakfast and have a restaurant that also serves dinner (http://www.lakerabunhotel.com/hotelinfo.html)

There's an antique store across the street from the hotel along with a local pizza place. If you have time, we really enjoyed renting a boat for the day (we rented a pontoon boat) and driving around the lake gauking at the million-dollar homes.

As you drive on along the road, you'll eventually come to Seed Lake and then Lake Burton. On Lake Burton near the fish hatchery is LaPrade's - the very best family style restaurant around (http://www.hemc.net/~laprades/food.html).

Back towards Clarkesville, on the Soque River, is The Mark of the Potter (http://www.markofthepotter.com/). They sell pottery from local artists. The road they're on is one of the prettiest I've ever seen. At one point, you have to forge a creek that crosses the road.

Hope you have a great trip!
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Old Sep 22nd, 2004, 02:24 PM
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Wow, Parker! Thanks for the detailed reply!
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Old Sep 23rd, 2004, 05:34 AM
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Another suggestion for an overnight trip is to drive to Amicalola Falls, park, and hike to the Len Foote Hike Inn. It's a five mile hike to the inn through beautiful woods!

Once there, the inn has rustic rooms for two with bunk beds built in. There's a separate bath house, a dinning hall, and finally a game house all connected. The price per night includes dinner and breakfast and the food is fabulous! Homemade breads, stone-ground grits, beautiful salads, etc. If you say two nights, they'll pack you a picnic lunch, and you can hike another five miles to the Southern Terminus of the AT. Here's their website: http://www.hike-inn.com/
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Old Sep 27th, 2004, 01:07 PM
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My favorite drive has always been 197 north of Clarkesville with a stop at Mark of the Potter and then on to 76 east into Clayton. Another option would be to turn off 197 just north of Batesville and drive by Lake Rabun.

www.markofthepotter.com

If you do go to Unicoi, Hwy 356 dead ends into 197 at Batesville.

Just a bit north of Batesville, you may want to stop at Burton Gallery. If you are hungry, stop at Pazzo Pizzeria and Italian market for great al fresco dining.

If you don't try Pazzo, the pizza place at Lake Rabun Parker is talking about is Louie's on the Lake. LaPrade's is closed - the whole place (marina included) has been sold to developers.

You could do the rim hike at Talluah Falls or head up to Black Rock Mountain SP and do the Tennessee Rock Trail (approx. 2 miles).

In any case, traffic coming south on 441 will be killer. I would recommend you go ahead and eat dinner somewhere up there and then come home. Buck Creek Tavern is probably the priciest in town and you will swear you are in Buckhead. Everything is great though. Mama G's is good family style Italian. The Thai restaurant is pretty good. Isabelle's at Tallulah Falls is nice too.
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Old Sep 28th, 2004, 11:41 AM
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Just thought I'd let you all know that we visited Amicalola Falls State Park this weekend. Wow - gorgeous!! The leaves are only just beginning to change colors, so we didn't see too much fall foliage, but the waterfalls and the rest of the park were just beautiful. Plus, we were lucky enough to have absolutely flawless weather (a day before Tropical Storm Jeanne rolled through). We spent the day exploring the hiking trails in the park and ate a picnic lunch at the top of the falls. It was a very enjoyable day! And it definitely sparked our interest to see more of North Georgia. Next stop: Tallulah Gorge!
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Old Sep 28th, 2004, 12:18 PM
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The leaves are just beginning to change. Just a bit of gold and red. Check out this website -

http://www.fs.fed.us/conf/fall/falcolor.htm

Peek weekends are predicted to be the 3rd or 4th weekend in October.

The Forest Service says there is 10 to 15 percent fall foliage above 3000 feet, but that would only be Brasstown Bald and Black Rock Mountain State Park (that I know of).

I agree with Meredith - it was a gorgeous weekend. We spent Sunday on Lake Burton. For those headed to the North GA mountains, that may be a nice alternative to driving with all the other tourists. Rent a pontoon or ski boat and take your picnic on the boat see the mountains from Lake Burton or Rabun. It was a warm, sunny day with virtually no boats on the water. Paradise!
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Old Sep 29th, 2004, 05:09 AM
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Gracieb - I'm crushed! LaPrade's is closed??? What's the world coming to? We recently ate lunch at the Dillard House and it didn't hold a candle to my memories of the food at LaPrade's.
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