Rael8l

Hi Guys,

We are heading to Helen, Georgia for Oktoberfest. We'll be going the second week in October for my birthday. Neither of us are drinkers. I wasn'sure if going on the weekend was a must. How many nights are suggested? Where are good places to stay? Good restaurants? What are must sees for the area? We just recently moved to Atlanta from NYC and this will our first trip to explore. Any help would be really appreciated.

Thanks!
Rachel

leahinsc

Rachel - you may want to do a search on Helen. If I remember correctly there was a lengthy discussion about it last year about this time. Personally spending one or two nights in Helen would be more than enough for me and I would quickly move on to prettier and more interesting less touristy areas like Dahlonega.

beentheretwice

One full day in Helen should do it. Drive up and spend the night, see Helen and then head out. Two nights, if you like the hotel.

padams421

Helen is a tourist trap. In October, it's a traffic-jammed, tourist trap. The town of Helen decided years ago to bring in tourist dollars by remaking their town into a "quaint German village". Think Epcot in the hills of North Georgia. It's actually kind of fun for a few hours, but that's it (especially if you aren't going to sit and drink beer all day). You should go, but don't plan on spending much time there. There are many nicer, better places to go in North Georgia.

starrsville

Stay 20 minutes in any direction from Helen and you are in an entirely different world. Go into Helen for the day if you must, but stay elsewhere. Mid-October will be beautiful - but make lodging arrangements fairly soon because places book up fast.

PLEASE don't make your first trip to the N GA mtns a Helen weekend!

Rael8l

Thanks for the information! Since Helen seems more like a short days stop are there any other towns you would recommend seeing or stopping in? Or even maybe staying a night in Helen and then moving on?

starrsville

My favorite area is Rabun County. Lots of rental options. I don't know your price range. You could go on hikes. See Tallulah Gorge. There are rustic cabins at Black Rock Mtn State Park - the highest park in Georgia. You may be able to still rent a pontoon boat on Lake Burton. Hike to waterfalls. Go to Helen for a day trip. Go to Highlands for the day if you are interested. Lots of good restaurant options in Clayton and Dillard. If you want traditional southern food - and LOTS of it, eat at the Dillard House. If you like to ride horses, they are several places - including at the Dillard House.

A VERY nice B&B in the area -
http://www.beechwoodinn.ws/

They feature wines from the area

Glen Ella Springs is another very nice place to stay - but can be a bit pricey and is more isolated.

starrsville

In any case, check out the Beechwood Inn's website for ideas of things to do.

Here's some of my restaurant suggestions from their list -

Buck Creek Tavern - a steak house in downtown Clayton. As good as a Buckhead restaurant. Check before you go about BYOB. They had a licensing snafu a while back - don't know if it has been sorted out.

Mama G's - NY family operated restaurant

Pazzo's - Italian al fresco restaurant out by Lake Burton - don't know if it will still be open in Oct.

at Lake Rabun - Louie's on the Lake - great pizza
Lake Rabun hotel - rustic hotel - restaurant with deck

Grapes and Beans - GREAT for lunch - best sandwiches anywhere - kind of a Northern California "hippie" vibe - Coffee & wine, hence grapes and beans. They have wifi now as well.

The Thai restaurant has closed. Family was in a bad car accident.

Oinkers - great BBQ

Miss Meg's - not much to look at but very good food. The new owners had been in the seafood business on the coast in Brunswick. They started seafood nights on Thursday night. No one expected it to take off. Wrong. They have GREAT seafood - fresh from the gulf -and that is ALL they serve on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. You won't find better seafood anywhere - and it is moderately priced. They also have GREAT (and cheap) breakfasts. Lunch is supposedly good, but I go to Grapes & Beans for lunch. I have friends that eat at Miss Meg's 4 times in a weekend when they come up to visit.

The two Mexican restaurants in town are very good - and authentic.

Plenty to see, do and eat in the area. If you go to Helen, take the back roads route via Batesville, the Sautee Nachoochee Valley. Beautiful countryside to drive in (it is leaf season after all) and neat little places along the way. If you take that route, you'll be driving through and past a big spread that Ted Turner owns - but you won't know it.

The little Batesville store is now a very good restaurant too. The favorite restaurant in the area of a little old lady from Buckhead and Piedmont Driving Club. If you see a Jag in the area, it's probably her.

Also, as you are driving around and like pottery, check out Mark of the Potter. Great pottery - and feed the huge rainbow trout.

Rael8l

Thanks Starrsville! The more I am reading about Helen the more I'm thinking it won't be our scene. The way it was described to me wasn't even close to the posts I have been sifting through the last few hours. It sounds like it might be fun for an afternoon but I don't think staying there is the best bet. The German aspect of Helen was appealing as my family is German and the food is something we enjoy.

Our price range is flexible. I'd prefer not to go above $200 a night. We were hoping for a long weekend trip to do some light shopping, sight seeing, nice meals, and some nature mixed in. We've had a horrendous move from Manhattan and we were hoping for a little escape to detox a bit. Anyways...keep the suggestions coming.

Thanks guys!

padams421

Rachel-
For a bit of Germany in Atlanta, try the Village Corner restaurant and bakery in Stone Mountain. There's also a German/European bakery on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard several miles outside 285, but I can't think of it's name at the moment. I'll repost if it come to me.
Welcome to Atlanta.

the_dude07

I have been through Helen numerous times, most recently this past Saturday. Notice I said through and didnt stop. Like everyone else on here has said, its a tourist trap. There is really nothing there worth stopping for. For me, what North Georgia is all about, is the beautiful hiking the area has to offer.

This past weekend I did 2 hikes, both what I would consider easy. Both hikes are located with 1/2 mile of each other and are easy to access out of Helen. Take GA75 north out of Helen for 1.5 miles. Take a left on to ALT 75. Go 2 miles Richard B Russell Scenic Highway. Take a right. You'll see the two seperate entraces for each hike.

The first hike was Raven Cliff Falls trail which is the 2nd entrance off of Richard B Russel Hwy. Its about 5 miles roundtrip and fairly flat. It ends at the falls...very scenic trail as you follow a creek the entire hike. The only downside is because its so scenic, I ran across about 30 people on the hike back out. The 2nd hike I did was Duke Creek Falls, which is the 1st entrance off of Richard B Russel Scenic Highway. Only about 2 miles roundtrip, this hike isnt as scenic and is a series of long switchbacks as you descend to the falls. Again, not a very demanding hike. There is an observation deck at the end where you can view the falls.

There are many, many hiking opportunities in the area. Check out this website for more hikes in Georgia http://georgiatrails.com/. If you have any questions, let me know.

Bubba2

Here's what I said on a previous post:
I agree with previous posters about Helen - it's a tacky tourist trap.
You might consider Dahlonega - short drive from Atlanta. Stop off at Tallulah Gorge State Park on the way - great scenery and a nice picnic area on a lake.
Lots of decent restaurants in Dahlonega. Lots to see in the local area -waterfalls, Brasstown Bald. For info, go to: www.dahlonega.org
I would make lodging reservations post haste as October is a busy time of year.
Have a great trip! You'll love it in the North Georgia mountains.

the_dude07

Brasstown Bald is, I believe, the tallest point in Georgia. The view from the top of Brasstown Bald is pretty incredible...you can see for miles on a clear day! Be prepared, though, for a steep 3/4 mile hike up to the top from the parking area and a definite change in temperature. I think there is a road that leads up to the top, which leads me to believe there might be a shuttle bus that takes people to the top.

I also did another hike here on the Jacks Knob trail, but again be prepared for some fairly steep terain. And to be honest it wasnt overly scenic although I did hear some gunshots from I'm assuming hunters across the holler.

The drive from Atlanta to Brasstown Bald once you get off 400 and into the National Forrest is also very scenic, much more scenic then driving up 985.

leahinsc

maybe not this trip but others if you are looking for German food...
Hendersonville NC - Haus Heidelberg
Black Mtn NC - Berliner Kindl
Asheville has Black Forest but I don't like it as much as the others.
I had the same thing happen with Helen. Someone told me that "Oh, if you like Germany you'll LOVE Helen." The best time I had in Helen was when my husband stopped there on an afternoon on our way into N. GA and to visit some wineries and I picked up some sandwiches and snacks and ate on a lawn (maybe the park or library) and then walked around and stared in amazement at all the tackiness and all the morbidly obese people eating tons of fake German food in front of the faux Bavarian houses. It depressed me.

starrsville

hey dude, Brasstown Bald is the tallest POINT in Ga - Black Top Mtn State Park is the highest PARK in Ga. The entire park is over 3000 feet high. Beautiful vistas - easily accessible by car. Picnic tables. Trails. Cabins. Campground. Very short walk to a waterfall. All at over 3000 feet elevation. The temps there are ALWAYS 10 to 15 degress cooler than Atlanta. The motto for Rabun County is "Where Springs Spends the Summer" and it's true. Even in summer, visitors bundle up in sweatshirts, flannel shirts or fleece throws. Lots of fun things to do in Rabun County.

philsbert1

North Georgia is beautiful. Helen is not. I agree wholeheartedly with what the other posters are saying. We hike frequently in N. Ga (Raven Cliffs is a really nice hike as mentioned) and we go to great lengths to avoid even getting near Helen.

Bubba2

At Brasstown Bald, there is a shuttle bus that goes to the top, but the hike is well worth the time and effort.

Another neat place in the area is Amicalola Falls State Park. I believe that the falls are the highest east of the Mississippi.

starrsville

Am Falls - highest in elevation or highest in waterfall height?

starrsville

Elevation of Brasstown Bald - highest point in GA - 4784 feet

Rabun Bald - the second highest point in Georgia (but not in Black Rock Mtn SP

Black Rock Mountain State Park, named for its sheer cliffs of dark-colored biotite gneiss, encompasses some of the most outstanding country in Georgia's Blue Ridge Mountains. Located astride the Eastern Continental Divide at an altitude of 3,640 feet, Black Rock Mountain is the highest state park in Georgia

http://gastateparks.org/info/blackrock/

Amicalola Falls SP - It’s easy to see why this is one of Georgia’s most popular state parks. Amicalola, a Cherokee Indian word meaning “tumbling waters,” is an appropriate name for these 729-foot falls ~~ the tallest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi River.

http://gastateparks.org/net/go/parks...D=64&s=0.0.1.5

So, I suppose, those are the answers...

Rael8l

My fiance has back problems so long hikes are out but it sounds like some of it will work. Are there any activities to do aside from nature oriented things?