Autumn
time of year
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Clarksville, Ga looked interesting when we drove through so we stopped to take a short walk around town
It seems like a very cute mountain town even though everything but the candy shop and a delicious smelling pizza place were closed for Sunday.
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We passed a sign for Hardman Farm Historic Site…
and stopped in to check it out. ($12/person to do a self-guided tour). Hardman Farm is an historic 1870 homestead of a well off family. We visited the store but skipped the tour.
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We checked into Quality Inn in Downtown Helen
($75/night). It’s the cheapest place we could find in town. A little rough around the edges but just fine if you’re looking to save a little money like we are.
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Dukes Creek Falls Recreation Area
Chattahoochee National Forest, Ga.($4/car). 2.3 total miles out and back, 337’ elevation. An easy walk down to two very pretty falls that converge at the bottom.
6.5
difficulty: 3.5
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After a short rest at the hotel we went for an evening walk around Helen, Ga
Helen is a touristy mountain town styled after Bavarian Alpine Villages. Helen is best known for their extremely popular Oktoberfest celebrations which were thankfully over. I think it’s doubled in size since we were here last about 8 years ago. There’s so much to do now; ropes courses (I really want to do the Cool River Adventures course when it reopens in the spring), zip-lines, tubing in summer, an alpine coaster, hiking, fishing, shopping. It was very festive with Holiday lights. A very talented musician was playing a soprano saxophone in the middle of town and mixing a jazz style with traditional Christmas music. We found a little restaurant with warm apple strudel and ate it out in the cold with a hot coffee. On the way back to the hotel we bought an oatmeal raisin cookie the size of my head (to split) from Betty’s Country Store. It was baked to perfection with the raisins slightly caramelized – I think it was the best oatmeal raisin cookie I’ve ever eaten!
https://www.coolriveradventures.com/
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