Have you ever heard of Helen, Georgia? I never knew this town existed, and I’m so happy I do now. My best friend was planning to renew her vows and have the ceremony and celebration in Cleveland, Georgia. When she informed me of this, she told me it’s close to Helen, Georgia, and that is where I ended up booking a place to stay. I instantly started to research the area to find things to do and places to explore.
My family of five was all going to the vow renewal, and we were planning to stay only three to four nights. My children are 13, 8, and 6, so finding something for all of them to enjoy was a must. When I go on a vacation I love doing little hikes, finding water falls to go to, and finding hidden gems that aren’t congested with tourists. I feel like Helen, in and of itself, was a gem.
Helen is an alpine village right in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains with the Chattahoochee River running through. It was the cutest village. Imagine Frankenmuth, surrounded by mountains! That is exactly what it reminded me of. We were so excited to check out this town and I can’t wait to share some of the things we did and enjoyed. Keep in mind we did these things in two days; there was SO much more to do!
MUST-DO ADVENTURES
Georgia Mountain Coaster | 8409 S. Main St., Helen, GA 30545
The Georgia Mountain Coaster was so much fun and suitable for the entire family! From start to finish the ride is about four minutes long and can reach up to 28 mph. You control the speed, so it’s perfect if the younger ones get too scared.
The first ride is $16 per adult, $13 per child ages 7-12, and $6 per child ages 3-6; the second ride is half price. We definitely took advantage of that and went on the ride twice. They even take a picture halfway through of you on the ride. The kids absolutely loved this! I would recommend it over and over again.
Cool River Tubing | 590 Edelweiss Strasse, Helen, GA 3054
Twelve of us decided to go tubing down the Chattahoochee River, and with the hot Georgia weather, this is exactly what we needed. Cool River Tubing offers one or two hour trips. We opted for the one hour trip and that was perfect for us.
I won’t sugar coat anything, we worked more than we relaxed. We got stuck multiple times; however, we were all tied together, so that does play a factor into why we were continuously getting stuck. Nonetheless it was hilarious, fun, and something we won’t ever forget.
The views were beautiful and it seemed as if everyone but us was relaxing. I do recommend bringing water shoes and a waterproof pouch for your phones/wallets. Also, buy the $5.00 guiding stick they sell when signing up. It helped us get out of so many situations. I noticed that Cool River Tubing did offer ziplining as well.
Rock City | 1400 Patten Rd, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750
Fairy Land Caverns and Lookout Mountain were about an hour and a half away from Helen. We stopped here on the way down to Helen and I’m so happy we did. This place was like walking through a huge fairy garden.
It is atop Lookout Mountain and is a 4,100 foot walking, enchanted trail. Walking through the trails, it leads you too a 100 foot water fall, a 200 foot swinging bridge, the “See 7 States”, and Fairy Land Caverns. The “See 7 States” was remarkable–from this lookout, you can see Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, West Virginia, South Carolina, North Carolina, and Alabama!
From there you head to Fairy Land Caverns, which leads you through the caves with displays of fairy tale stories, nursery rhymes, and Mother Goose’s village. The price was $24.95 for adults and $14.95 for ages 3-12; it was a bit pricey but really worth it. I’m so happy we stopped here.
Rock City also offers restaurants and shops, however we did not explore any of them, as we were on a time crunch. I will be back to explore more of Rock city.
Toccoa Falls
I mentioned that we came to Georgia for a wedding, and I have to mention where the ceremony took place. The ceremony took place at the beautiful Toccoa Falls. If you ever decide to go here, please make the stop to see these beautiful falls. It was a very short walk to the falls from the parking lot. Toccoa Falls is located on the grounds of Toccoa Falls College. This is an absolute must and a perfect photo op for your family.
BONUS TIPS TO HELEN, GEORGIA
- With not a lot of time, I’m so pleased with everything we did. I’m anticipating our next trip to Georgia as there was so much more to see and do!
- A few things on my list that we did not get to were Helton Creek Falls, the Cabbage Patch Museum, and if you are into Stranger Things there are multiple filming locations within an hour to three hours from Helen.
Hopefully you found a new bucket list area to travel to. You will NOT be disappointed!
