23 Best Sights in Central and North Georgia, Georgia

Ride the rails on a four-hour, 26-mile round-trip excursion along the Toccoa River. The trip includes a stop in McCaysville, smack on the Georgia–Tennessee state line. Several restaurants, shops, and galleries are open during the two-hour layover. The diesel engine train offers offers both open and climate-controlled Pullman cars. Premier class is available to those over 18 and includes snacks and a little extra TLC. The ticket office, on the National Register of Historic Places, dates from 1905 and was originally the depot of the L&N Railroad. If you want to do a little of the legwork, you may want to rent a rail-bike. A new offering for the railway, these four-person motor-assisted rail-bikes take you on a leisurely 5.7-mile round-trip adventure.

In summer you may want to consider the air-conditioned coaches.

In the Chattahoochee National Forest, Brasstown Bald reaches 4,784 feet, the highest point in Georgia. Below the bald is Georgia's only cloud forest, an area of lichen-covered trees often kept wet by clouds and fog. From the observation platform at the top of the bald on a clear day you can see Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. A paved but steep foot trail leads from the parking lot (where there are restrooms and a picnic area) to the visitor center, which has exhibits and interpretative programs. You also can ride a bus to the visitor center.

Located 4 miles southeast of Helen in the Sautee Nacoochee Center, this museum showcases a 200-year unbroken tradition of folk pottery in northeast Georgia (especially in nearby Mossy Creek and the Gillsville-Lula area). Part of the 5,000-square-foot facility outlines how pottery is made and how it was used for essential household purposes. Exhibits showcase a 200-piece collection donated to the museum, including the whimsical face jugs that have become an emblem of Southern folk art. Pottery-making demonstrations are frequently offered. Call ahead for dates and times.

Just outside the Athens city limits, you'll find this tranquil, 313-acre wonderland of aromatic gardens and woodland paths. It has a massive conservatory overlooking the International Garden that functions as a welcome foyer and houses an art gallery, gift shop, and café. There's also a 2½-acre children's garden with interactive elements designed to engage children through all their senses. New in 2021 is a porcelain and decorative arts museum featuring eight galleries of nature-inspired artwork.

This is claimed to be the highest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi, with waters plunging an eye-popping 729 feet through a cluster of seven cascades. The surrounding 829-acre state park contains a visitor center, lodge, and restaurant and is dotted with scenic campsites and cottages strategically situated near a network of nature trails, picnic sites, and fishing streams. The park also offers activities like ziplining, trout fishing, guided hikes, GPS scavenger hunts, and 3D archery. The southern starting point of the more than 2,193-mile Appalachian Trail begins near Amicalola Falls.

Housed in a converted mill in the Augusta Canal National Heritage Area, this museum traces Augusta's important role in developing Georgia's textile industry. The looms are still powered by the building's original turbines; they also provide the power to juice up the museum's Petersburg canal boats. Tours of the canal, usually one hour long, start here and are a fascinating trip through history. Guides are well versed in the passing sights, which include assorted wildlife, a working 19th-century textile mill, and two of Georgia's only remaining 18th-century houses.

At more than 3,600 feet, Black Rock Mountain is the highest state park in Georgia. Named for the black gneiss rock visible on cliffs in the area, the 1,743-acre park has 11 miles of trails, a 17-acre lake perfect for fishing, 56 campsites, a pioneer group campsite, and 10 cottages. The park offers majestic overlooks and a trail that leads visitors along the Eastern Continental Divide, from which water flows south and east to eventually reach the Atlantic Ocean, and on the other side, north and west to the mighty Mississippi River.

Take a guided tour of a real mine, which ceased operations in 1904. With 5 miles of underground tunnels, Consolidated is said to be the largest gold mine east of the Mississippi. Enter the mine (which has been reconstructed for safety), pass through a breathtaking stone passage, and then begin a descent of 120 feet into the mine's geological wonders. Knowledgeable guides expound on historical mining techniques and give demonstrations of tools, such as the "widowmaker," a drill that kicks up mining dust and caused lung disease in many miners. After the tour, guests are invited to pan for gold, prospector style, from a long wooden sluice. Gemstone mining is also available for an additional fee.

This 4,058-acre state park has a 17-acre lake with sandy beach, 14 miles of hiking trails, and 27 miles of mountain-biking trails. The gem of the park is a mysterious wall of rock, 855 feet long, thought to have been built by Native Americans around AD 500. Walk-in tent and premium tent/RV sites ($20–$37) as well as two- and three-bedroom cottages ($200–$230) are available. The park also offers a unique primitive site for camping with horses.

Set on the slope of Black Rock Mountain, this outdoor museum re-creates life in Appalachia before the days of electricity and running water. The museum features a collection of authentic and reconstructed log cabins, a gristmill, a blacksmith's shop, and an operating weaving workshop, along with tools and displays about life in daily life and mountain culture. The Foxfire organization was born in 1966 when students at the Rabun Gap–Nacoochee School wrote articles for a magazine based on generations-old family stories. Their excitement in chronicling life in the Appalachians has led to more than a dozen Foxfire books, which have sold nearly 9 million copies.

Designed to resemble a turn-of-the-century ballpark, sports enthusiasts will appreciate this shrine to Georgia sports and its Hall of Fame honoring more than 400 inductees. Exhibits, though dated, include a variety of artifacts and interactive, touch-screen kiosks and honor sports—including baseball, golf, track and field, and football—at all levels, from prep and college teams to professional.

Buy freshly picked apples (usually early September to late November) at this 80-acre farm. Homemade jellies, jams, breads, and doughnuts are available at the farm's market and bakery. On September and October weekends, the Apple Pickin' Jubilee features live music, wagon rides, apple picking, and other activities. There's also a petting zoo and a picnic area.

One of the six lakes built by the Georgia Railway and Power Company, this 2,800-acre lake is in the Chattahoochee National Forest. On the lake, at Route 197, is the Lake Burton Fish Hatchery, alongside Moccasin Creek State Park, which offers a boat ramp, fishing pier, picnic spots, and shady campsites. It also has trout raceways (used to raise trout from fingerlings) and a kids-only trout-fishing area. In extremely hot weather, the hatchery is sometimes closed.

One of largest in the state, this museum offers a wide variety of art and science exhibitions, a planetarium, mini-zoo with live animals, interactive Discovery House, rotating temporary exhibits, and nature trails to explore outside the building. The 44-foot full dome Mark Smith Planetarium was recently rebuilt and expanded, and now features state-of-the-art digital projection that truly brings the cosmos to life. Check online for the latest programs and offerings.

This family-owned apple orchard has been producing delicious apples and other fruits for more than 75 years. Apple season is typically from September to November, but even outside the season you can stop in at Mercier's huge farm market and bakery to pick up some of its famous fried apple pies and other homemade goodies. It's open every day of the week. You can also grab lunch in the deli and taste Mercier's own hard-pressed ciders in the farm winery. The orchard is especially buzzing with activity in the fall, when you can take a tractor ride and pick your own apples, and in the summer when blueberry season arrives. Call ahead to find out what fruits are in season and for the latest details on orchard events.

This museum at Robins Air Force Base has an extraordinary collection of 85 vintage aircraft and missiles, including a MiG, an SR-71 (Blackbird), a U-2, and assorted other flying machines from past campaigns. For a small fee, you can also take a ride on a virtual reality simulator as you navigate through outer space. The 51-acre campus also includes the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.

Made up of a dozen original and reconstructed buildings, this significant historic site allows visitors to explore the capital of the Cherokee nation on the land where the city once stood. It was here that the Treaty of 1835 was signed by a small group of Cherokee leaders, setting into motion the Trail of Tears. The only original building remaining is the Worcester House, a home and Presbyterian mission station. The Cherokee Council House and Supreme Court are reconstructions, as is the print house, where thousands of books translated in Cherokee and the weekly Cherokee Phoenix were published. Other buildings, including the 1805 Vann Tavern, were relocated to the site. A museum and film provide more insight on the rich history of the Cherokee in Georgia.

Originally opened in 1955, this is one of only five drive-in movie theaters operating in Georgia. You can take in a movie under the stars and fill up on corn dogs, onion rings, funnel cakes, and popcorn from the concession stand.

This museum honors Harriet Tubman, the former slave who led more than 300 people to freedom as one of the conductors of the Underground Railroad. The museum's signature piece is a large mural depicting several centuries of black culture. Permanent galleries are focused on African American inventors, Middle Georgia history, and folk art. Rotating exhibits showcase African American arts and culture.

Eatonton is the birthplace of celebrated novelist Joel Chandler Harris, of Br'er Rabbit and Uncle Remus fame. This museum, built from authentic slave cabins, houses countless carvings, paintings, first-edition books, and other artwork depicting the characters made famous by the imaginative author. It's on the grounds of a park. Note the museum closes for lunch from noon until 1 daily, so plan your visit accordingly.