Helen, Georgia Travel Guide

Last month Shane and I spent a weekend for our anniversary in the town of Helen, Georgia. Never heard of it? Neither had I before my friend told me about it in March. As soon as I saw photos of the town and saw it wasn’t a far drive, I knew we had to go. It was going to give us a taste of traveling to Europe when we are unable to do so - as it is a replica Bavarian town. Except in the North Georgia Mountains.

Arrival

You’ll definitely need a car to get there although you may not use it a lot once there. Helen sits in the North Georgia mountains along the Chattahoochee River (and in the forest of the same name). It’s a 3.5 hour drive from Charlotte, 2.5 from Chattanooga and only an hour and a half north of Atlanta. So if you aren’t in driving distance, your best bet will be to fly into Atlanta and rent a car to drive to Helen. Helen is a small and very walkable town so once you park at your hotel, you may just leave it there when exploring close to your accommodations. And unlike actual Bavarian towns, it’s actually pretty flat. Rideshares also seemed non-existent but that might change as it gets busier in the summer. I don’t think it was due to the pandemic because Georgia pretty much was acting like they’d never heard of Covid.

Downtown Helen

Stay

We stayed at the Helendorf River Inn as it was walking distance to just about everything downtown. There is also the Valhalla Resort on the edge of town (and you wouldn’t want to walk to/from) but the views are beautiful and it’s out of the hustle and bustle of the town. One thing to note is that their resort is adults only. There are a mix of small independent hotels and chain hotels in downtown but due to the city ordinance, they all look like Bavarian buildings. So the Holiday Inn Express will still look like a hotel in Bavaria. There are also vacation rental options throughout the area - definitely some closer to the trails and waterfalls than downtown. We did see some sitting along the river so we’ll be looking into those next time!

The view of the Chattahoochee River from our room at the Helendorf Inn

See

There is plenty to do in Helen whether you want to be adventurous outside or not. 

If you’re into the outdoors, you can float down the Chattahoochee on a tube and the stunning  Anna Ruby Falls is only a 15 minute drive away. It’s a short, but steep, walk to the waterfall. The entire area is filled with almost a dozen waterfalls with trails leading to them as short as a quarter mile and as long as 3.5 miles. Less than an hour towards I-85 is Tallulah Gorge State Park. It has some easy trails with dramatic views and more difficult ones leading down into the gorge (we went by there on our way back to Charlotte). And about an hour north of Helen is Brasstown Bald, the highest point in Georgia. On clear days you can see four states (GA, TN, NC & SC) and possibly even the Atlanta skyline! There are also lots of family friendly activities including mini-golf, gem mining, horseback riding and the Georgia Mountain Coaster.

Views along the trail leading to Anna Ruby Falls

If indoor activities are preferred (or needed due to weather) you can visit the Folk Pottery Museum of North Georgia at the Sautee Nacoochee Center where you can learn more about the history and culture of the area.  There is, of course, plenty of shopping in the area too. There are a lot of touristy shops but if you look hard enough you can take home some locally made goods or some fun finds that have been imported directly from Europe. If you happen to be an 80’s kid like me, you may find it amusing that just a very short drive from Helen is Cleveland - home to Babyland General Hospital where Cabbage Patch Kids originated from. And, you can stay indoors by visiting some of the wineries and breweries in the area - and wineries actually happen to outnumber the breweries. Habersham Winery is a mile from downtown and the closest. They offer tastings and wines by the glass. They have a small gift shop along with a nice outdoor area.  Tantrum Brewing is the lone close-by brewery but being a Bavarian influenced town, there are lots of brew pubs in Helen - like every 20 feet (our favorites are listed below). If you want to try multiple wineries and want someone else to do the driving, my friend who recommended this town took a Winery Tour with VIP Southern Tours and raved about how fun it was. 

Habersham Winery is just outside of downtown

Food & Drink

German Food. Need I say more? After our travels abroad, Shane and I take the opportunity to get authentic food from Europe whenever we can so we were delighted at all the German options in Helen. I was also pleasantly surprised to find Oktoberfest brews on tap at several locations despite it being April. 

For Brew Pub/Garden spots, we enjoyed the Alpine Brew Deck. They had good beer options and their outdoor covered seating that overlooked the Chattahoochee - so even if it’s raining you can be outside.  The Troll Tavern is across the street from the Brew Deck and also along the river but I’d skip it. The food was mediocre and despite still being in a pandemic, the staff was not wearing masks (and this was before any mask regulations came out regarding vaccinated people).  

Views of the river from the Alpine Brew Deck

King Ludwig’s Beer Garden (as in King Ludwig of Neuschwanstein Castle) was in the middle of downtown and had a great beer garden area that was surrounded by German style buildings which helped with the Bavarian feeling. 

For German food options we enjoyed Bodensee until we ate at Hofbrauhaus. Their pretzels are flown in from Germany and while my pork schnitzel was good, it was the German Potato Salad (warm with bacon just like Munich) and the spätzle (German mac & cheese) that made the meal for me. 

All the restaurants had something for everyone even if they were German based. I sadly didn’t get to try the Village Crepe Haus as they didn’t open before we left for the weekend. It will be high on the list for our next visit. For a quick breakfast and good coffee definitely go to Yonah Coffee right in the middle of downtown. Another German option is Hofer’s. Their pastries were so good and we desperately wished we’d brought a cooler so we could stock up on the German sausages they sell. Shane settled for some German chocolate instead. If you want a really nice meal away from the touristy parts of Helen, head to the Valhalla Resort. They have the Sky Bar and two restaurants. The Sky Bar had a Georgia wine option (surprisingly hard to find in restaurants there which was puzzling) and amazing views of the surrounding mountains. We ate in the Caledonia Dining room which also had mountain views alongside a fireplace for some nice ambiance. The food was spectacular and the staff were super nice and amazing. The owner happened to be there and sent us over a bottle of prosecco so we were full and happy when we left.

Mountain views from the Sky Bar at the Valhalla Resort

All in all we had a super fun weekend and I’d love to go back next time we’re itching to go to Europe. But we didn’t go long without being reminded that instead of Bavaria you were in the good ole South by all the tourists. The town was literally built for them and you see that in the types of shops and the seemingly out-of-place margarita deck that has prime riverfront property. I wanted Helen to have a backstory like a German immigrant moved there and built the town but, it was just a failing logging town wanting to get people there. So they changed the town ordinance to build everything like Bavaria (even the Wendy’s!) and it was a success. But as touristy as it can be, the German food and beer options, the abundant wineries and not to mention, the spectacular natural beauty, make Helen worth the visit.