Anyone in the N Atlanta area familiar with the Dahlonega area?
My wife has been wanting to visit the area & GA in general.
She wrote a book last year & based it in the area, so she also wants to see the area & if it meshes with her writing.

We did Hot Springs AR last year & found some good 'hiking' from the main street up to the Hot Springs tower & would like some of the same.

We're thinking Spring Break, which is mid-March.

We've got 3 kids, 2-11. Planned on trying to get down the Atlanta aquarium for a day while we're there, if we make the trip.

Any good parks, hiking, kid-friendly activities in the area?

Ranger school???

If you have time visit Stone Mountain. You can hike up the side of the mountain on a trail (not difficult) or take a gondola up to the top.

The World of Coca-Cola is worth a visit too.

Be sure to check out the U.S. Mint if you have a chance.

While I’ve never been there, I’m familiar with some of its history. Back in its day (1838-61), the US Mint established a branch Mint there and produced over $6 million in gold coin (294,000+ ounces, $565 Million today) because of local gold mining. Might give it a shot too.

https://www.dahlonega.org/thin...st&sort=qualityScore

The discovery of gold in the area was one of the factors in the “Trail of Tears” in 1835.

https://www.georgiaencyclopedi...chaeology/gold-rush/

There is plenty to do in N. Georgia. The town of Dahlonega is nice. Spend a day in Helen. Amicalola falls is a nice park with cabins, etc. Good hiking trails. Its the beginning of tha Appalachian trail. Also gold mine tours if you're in to that.

Enjoy!

I live there.
The first USA gold rush in 1835. Goldmines with tours nearby. A gold museum too. The Trail of Tears starting point is just south of town. The Bataan Death march to Oklahoma for Indians at the start of the gold rush.
Also have a bit of an interest in racing.
The Appalachian trail starts here and a number of local hiking opportunities.
I've never met them, but there are a number of notable Sigforum members in the area as far as I can tell.
If you decide to make the trip, feel free to contact me.
email in my profile.

There are a couple of nice wineries in the area.

https://frogtown.com/


https://threesistersvineyards.com/

Oldest is in college there. Nice town itself, a place to wander for a bit. As mentioned, wineries near, there’s outdoor things such as hiking, camping, river activities. It’s a college town, but it’s not crazy on the weekends, all the Georgia kids tend to go home. There’s a fair few international students, though.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Anyone in the N Atlanta area familiar with the Dahlonega area? Any good parks, hiking, kid-friendly activities in the area?

My youngest daughter graduated from UNG in May. I’ve never been in a a town where I felt more safe.
There are a number of very good local restaurants around the square, an Italian restaurant adjacent to the square and a great German restaurant NE of the square. The Chocolate store on the corner is awesome. Also a great pizza place (Gustavo’s) in the square. Bourbon Street Grille has some surprisingly sophisticated offerings. Shenanigans is a local Irish pub w authentic offerings. Capers is a bar on the square that has great appetizers.
If you want a good off campus breakfast spot Foot Hill grill fits the bill for that. There are others, but all I mentioned are very good.
That about covers the food….
Billy

It’s a fun area.

Lots of wineries to visit if you’re into that but probably not so much with children of course.

Lots of nice little towns Nearby.

“There’s gold in them that hills” is a saying rendered from that area in the SE gold rush days.

Toccoa, GA is also nearby. Nice. antiques, diners etc. theres a museum next to the train tracks with original barracks
(Reassembled from the pre-d-day barracks in England), stories and memorabilia related to 501St parachute division and others who trained at camp Toccoa just down the road. Mt Currahee is also there.

Of course, the traffic is horrendous the further south you get towards Atlanta. Travel that route at your own peril in the am or afternoon. It’s unbearable.

There are some river float trips there that your kids would enjoy. They originate at Helen. Helen is an overcooked town in a Bavarian style. Pretty schmaltzy imo. Ober Gatlinburg in TN is MUCH better in that regard.

quote:

Originally posted by 220-9er:
I live there.
email in my profile.

Will do.
We can get a beer & talk F1

Great little mountain town, one of my favorites. Downtown is nice, decent restaurants, decent shops. Friday night bluegrass jams on the square. Pretty good little brewpub.

Tons of great hiking. AT runs across Hwy 60 north of town about 15 miles. That's called Woody Gap. You could hike west to Gooch Gap (3.5mi). You could hike east the 1 mile in to Preacher's Rock which has a great view and then back out the 1 mile. Or you could hike east all the way through to Neels Gap, which is where AT runs across Hwy 19. And then countless other options within close driving distance... those are a few of my favorites.

The other big attraction in the area are the wineries. My favorites are Yonah, Kaya, and Wolf Mountain.

Marzy and Cockatoo live not too far, closer to Dawsonville.

I attended college there after the Army, graduating in 1996. A lot has changed since then so I’m sure I’ll be of little help but it’s a small N. Ga town. Cleveland, Helen, Gainesville and Dawsonville surround it. There used to be a big copper mine you could just walk into and explore. There used to always be 2-3 gunshots to visit. A decent one in Gainesville is The Foxhole, ask for Casey. Camp Frank D Merrill sometimes rewarding. I’ll always love that school. A scholarship to shoot on their rifle team was heaven.

Chance we may do spring break at home & maybe venture to GA for our anniversary.

How's the weather in mid July?

Hot usually and humid.
Where I am it’s 1450 ft. Above sea level so a bit cooler than the Atlanta area.
Mountains nearby too.
Spring and fall are the nicest weather.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:
Chance we may do spring break at home & maybe venture to GA for our anniversary.

How's the weather in mid July?

March here in the North Georgia mountains could still be pretty chilly, if not down right cold because of the humidity and winds off the mountains. However, the bluebirds are back early and the Wrens are nesting on the back porch, so I suspect we have an early Spring on the way.

Picnicking and hiking, just minutes from Dahlonega and Casa De Cockatoo is Amicalola Falls.

You can picnic on the top or at the bottom. Hike up or down.

Dahlonega is a tourist town with plenty of shops. Vastly superior to Helen. However Helen has a mall sized flea market. Helen well over an hour out of the way. Helen's shops are mostly the same foreign owned t-shirt shop over and over and over. However, there's a couple German restaurants where you can get a bratwurst sandwich and a beer, pretzel for the kids.

The Crissom Gold Mine in Dahlonega is a fun stop. If you plan in advance, I will meet y'all there to ensure you find all your gold in your bucket. It's on the way to Wolf Mountain Vineyards.

Casa De Cockatoo has a 50 yard steel range.

Mid July will be Texas hot. Miserable Texas desert hot. With humidity. Vietnam level humidity.

Adding context.
Compared to a hot/humid Houston summer/July

It is a beautiful area and you may even see some SF members in their natural habitat.