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I’d heard people rave about the quaintness of the Blue Ridge Mountains for years. We’d spent the summer rambling around Gulf Coast beaches, East Coast NSB and South Carolina. I decided that we were due for a Blue Ridge Georgia mountain vacation! Apple barns, scenic views, Ellijay Ga, Blue Ridge Ga, Downtown Blue Ridge Ga restaurants and shops were all part of Day one!! Enjoy all the photos, videos and FAQs throughout and the link to each place at the very end
A Blue Ridge Mountains Vacation
The Blue Ridge Mountains actually stretch all the way to Pennsylvania as a section of the massive Appalachian mountain range. As we made our way from Atlanta, the beautiful backdrop of these “blue mountains” covered by tall trees made us all take notice.
This trip to the Georgia mountains was a bit of a sporadic trip without a lot of research. Blue Ridge, Georgia is known by some as Georgia’s favorite mountain town. And now I know why. There are breathtaking views, hiking trails, waterfalls, beautiful mountains, and the friendliest of people. Here’s what we got into on our first day…..
APPLE BARNS
We neared Ellijay, the “Apple Capital of the World,” and I started to see the tin roofs and redwood buildings of Apple Barns. Our first stop was at Penland’s Apple House, a family-owned store since the 1930s. They had me immediately as I got out of the truck with an old-fashioned red tractor out front and all of the homemade goodies they had inside.
The second apple barn that we visited was The Red Apple Barn. Outside they were boiling peanuts. Inside, there were several varieties of apples, jellies, syrups, and pies for sale. We went home with a peach hand pie.
DOWNTOWN BLUE RIDGE GA
I was chomping at the bits to check out the quaint little Downtown Blue Ridge Georgia. We pulled right into a convenient parking space and quickly checked out the Blue Ridge Ga restaurants that were on the main street and the next street over.
Hansens Grill looked really cool but we chose the restaurant on main street, Harvest on Main. A barbecue sandwich with homemade coleslaw, steak sandwich, and a huge caesar’s salad was brought to the table quickly – and they were all incredible!
After lunch, we walked around the charming streets of downtown Blue Ridge. We strolled through boutiques, classic mountain town stores with “lodge-style” furnishings, clothes, and gifts. You know what I mean… all the buffalo print with bear and moose accents. My favorites were all on the main street:
- The Bear Store
- The Chocolate Express
- Tupelo Tea
- Blue Ridge Cotton Company
- Huck’s General Store
- Gather
We even found saw BIGFOOT hanging out in a Downtown Blue Ridge store!
Parallel to the main street downtown is the historic depot for the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway. This iconic heritage railroad runs once daily for a four-hour, 26-mile roundtrip journey along the Toccoa River and through the Chattahoochee National Forest. More about this railway in the next post!
ELLIJAY GA
Ellijay, Georgia is about 15 minutes outside of Blue Ridge, Georgia. We decided to end our Day 1 exploring with a few shops in Ellijay. This area has all the shopping and restaurants that you could ask for. I was excited to visit “A Taste of Amish,” but was a little disappointed. I’ve been in many Amish stores and to Amish country and I wasn’t too impressed with this one.
Our evening ended at “Bigun’s Barbeque,” a barnlike restaurant between Jasper and Ellijay. There were country touches all around this adorable BBQ joint with license plates on the wall and local homemade jams and jellies for sale. The excellent service and yummy food make up for the priciness. So we returned for lunch another day as well.
FAQS
The Smoky Mountains are part of the Blue Ridge Mountain Range but are located in Tennessee and North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Mountains run through parts of Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and West Virginia.
Across North Georgia – much of it in the Chattahoochee National Forest.
They got their nickname from the blue haze that can be seen in the air from a distance.
Yes. Many hikers report seeing them throughout the year because apparently, those in the Southeast don’t fully hibernate. Incidents are very rare, however, and are more populated further north in the smokies.
Around 1700 feet.
It’s beautiful all year round, honestly. September can still be warm. October and November are the favorite months for many visitors. Apple season (what this area is known for) is technically August through December. Tubing and rafting are most popular in the summer months. Most tubing companies close out tubing for the season on Labor Day each year.
Stay tuned for the next posts about our Blue Ridge Mountains trip where I’ll share our cabin rental details and ideas for other Blue Ridge Ga cabin rentals as well.
- Penland’s Apple House: 41 Talona Spur, Ellijay, GA
- The Red Apple Barn: 3379 Tailscreek Road, Ellijay, GA
- Harvest on Main: 576 E Main St, Blue Ridge, GA
- Blue Ridge GA Gov: 480 West First St, Blue Ridge, GA
- The Chocolate Express: 634 East Main St, Blue Ridge, GA
- BigUn’s Barbeque: 362 Carns Mill Rd, Talking Rock, GA
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Published on HuffPost, Okefenokee Living Magazine, and more, Shan is a Family Travel Journalist with a passion for helping women lose the overwhelm of planning family-friendly trips in the south. She shares travel reviews & insider secrets that Women REALLY want to know about Georgia, Florida, & the Carolinas vacations.
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I never even thought about the Blue Ridge Mountains in other states!! I went to college in Virginia, right next to the Blue Ridge Mountains but I guess I didn’t realize how big they are.
Author
That makes me feel better, Dora! I thought the same thing about Georgia. Be sure to come visit us further south some time!
-shan
Very informative! I have never heard of these mountains. I bet the views are amazing during a hike. I live all the cute smal shops you found as well. Great post.