Day Trips from Helen, Georgia

Start at Anna Ruby Falls at 9 AM, before the lot fills. The paved trail is 0.4 mile each way to the twin falls (Curtis Creek about 153 feet, York Creek about 50), with a couple of short, steep pitches. Leashed dogs are permitted. For a second stop, Dukes Creek Falls is 2.2 miles round trip with views toward Mount Yonah, and Raven Cliff Falls is a longer 2.6 miles each way with a creek crossing that can run calf-deep. Both are on GA-348 and are paid per vehicle ($4 and $5). Wear real shoes; the Forest Service posts a caution about waterfall dangers at Dukes Creek.

The Welcome Center's wine and brewery list includes Habersham Winery, Creekstone Winery and Vineyards, Kaya Vineyard and Winery, Sweet Acre Farms Winery Tasting Room, Yonah Mountain Vineyards and R.M. Rose and Company Distillers. Habersham Winery says it has made Georgia wines since 1983; its tasting room is open Mon-Thu 10-6, Fri-Sat 10-8 and Sun 10-6, and tastings end 30 minutes before closing. Yonah Mountain Vineyards is at 1717 Highway 255 South, Cleveland (706-878-5522). If you'd rather not drive, the same list names tour operators: Elite Excursions and Wine Tours, North Georgia Wine Tours, and VIP Southern Tours and Georgia Wine Bus (706-348-8747). Call each tasting room for current tasting prices. More in our Habersham wineries guide.

Hardman Farm State Historic Site (143 Highway 17, Sautee Nacoochee; 706-878-1077) covers 173 acres with an 1870 Italianate mansion, the Nacoochee Dairy barn (1910 to the mid-1920s), a stretch of the Unicoi Turnpike and the gazebo-topped Nacoochee Mound, which the site says was probably used long before the Cherokee lived in the area. The mansion's Anna Ruby Nichols is the woman Anna Ruby Falls is named for. Grounds admission is $7 and mansion tours are $13; tours run Thursday to Saturday, hourly from 10 AM. The 1-mile Helen to Hardman trail gets you there on foot.

In Dahlonega (about 40 minutes), the Gold Museum State Historic Site sits in an 1836 courthouse on the square and tells the story of America's first major gold rush, which came about two decades before California's. Adults pay $10 (seniors $7.50, ages 6-17 $7); it's open daily and closed Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day. Parking on the square fills on busy weekends. See the Dahlonega guide.

The zip line tour at Unicoi State Park has three levels. Book at unicoizipline.com or call 706-878-2201.

Weight limits apply (50 to 285 pounds for males, 50 to 250 for females at Levels 1 and 2; 90 pounds minimum at Level 3). The Welcome Center's family fun list also names Nacoochee Adventures. For tubing, Cool River Tubing charges $14 Monday to Friday and $16 on weekends and holidays (2026), and Helen Tubing is at 9917 Hwy 75 N (706-878-7465). The daily tubing season runs Memorial Day to Labor Day; call ahead for fall weekends.

The 40-mile Russell-Brasstown loop starts and ends in Helen and passes the Brasstown Bald turnoff. For Vogel, take GA-180 (Wolf Pen Gap Road), a road State Parks recommends for fall scenery.

The Blue Ridge Scenic Railway departs from 241 Depot Street in Blue Ridge and runs a 26-mile round trip along the Toccoa River to McCaysville, Georgia and Copperhill, Tennessee. The fall season runs September 19 to November 3, 2026, and the winter season starts November 5. Choose the 2-hour express (select dates) or the 4-hour extended trip with a 2-hour layover. Tickets are sold on its site; call 877-413-8724. From Helen it's about 1 hour 20 minutes to Blue Ridge, so make it the main event of the day. Clayton is about 55 minutes away; see our Clayton guide and Helen vs Blue Ridge.