Clayton, Georgia

Clayton is the county seat of Rabun County, about 45 minutes east of Helen on US-76. It sits at roughly 1,900 feet of elevation and has a year-round population of about 2,000, but the town punches above its weight when it comes to food, outdoor recreation, and cultural life. The downtown has farm-to-table restaurants that would be at home in a much larger city, galleries worth browsing, and a Saturday farmers market.

The area around Clayton is where you find some of the most dramatic natural features in northeast Georgia. The Chattooga River, the Wild and Scenic River made famous by the film Deliverance, runs along the Georgia-South Carolina border east of town. Tallulah Gorge is 20 minutes south on US-441. Black Rock Mountain State Park, Georgia's highest state park, is just north in Mountain City. The Foxfire Museum, which preserves Appalachian folk traditions, sits south of town. Clayton makes a good base for exploring all of it, or you can cover the highlights in a long day trip from Helen.

Downtown Clayton has come a long way from the isolated mountain crossroads it was for most of its history. The town sits where five old Cherokee trails once crossed, and the modern highways still follow roughly the same paths: US-23/441 running north-south and US-76 running east-west. Today the downtown blocks have art galleries, a wine and craft beer tasting room, locally owned shops, and several restaurants worth driving to on their own merits.

For food, Fortify Kitchen and Bar is Clayton's top restaurant, regularly recognized on OpenTable's "Best of" lists for its farm-to-table cooking with locally sourced ingredients. Stekoa Creek does chef-driven steaks and seafood. The Vandiver is another upscale option with good ambiance. For casual meals, Sunday Diner serves Southern comfort food all day, and The Rusty Bike Cafe (open 7 AM to 3 PM daily at 677 Highway 441 S) is popular with the motorcycle crowd. The Saturday farmers market runs during the warmer months and is a good reason to visit on that day.