Helen is Perfect for Your Weekend Trips in Georgia!
About 93 miles from downtown Atlanta, or 127 miles from downtown Chattanooga, Helen is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains, a perfect place for your weekend trips in Georgia!
For the small size of this town, 2.09 square miles and around 550 permanent residents, this town really packs a punch. The charm sucks you in and the fun makes you stay, Helen is perfect for a LONG WEEKEND getaway!
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Fast Fact: A weekend in Helen is like a weekend in Bavaria!
- This is a fantastic Bavaria-inspired Alpine town right in the middle of the north Georgia Blue Ridge Mountains, complete with Bavarian-style buildings, cobblestone walkways, festivals, outdoor recreation, vineyards and wineries, and a lot of good eating and drinking!
- The town transitioned to its Alpine self beginning in 1968 with the remodeling of the fronts of some of the town buildings. Three local businessmen felt their small, plain town needed improvement and sought the help of a local artist. Turns out they were a pretty smart bunch because now Helen is one of Georgia’s more popular tourist destinations. If you take a trip to the town Welcome Center you can find some very telling before and after photos of the town’s transition. According to some locals, the town has profited quite well from the transition, and I would say the rest of us benefit as well from its fun, unique atmosphere.
Four Worth your Time and Dime Points of Interest:
There are so many shops in this small town you could, and probably will, spend hours moving in and out of stores and finding items from around the world. Bring a budget and some muscle to carry your bags! But here are some other things to do in Helen:
1
Oktoberfest! If you love a great Oktoberfest, why not love it in a pseudo-Bavaria, Helen is famous for its yearly Oktoberfest! Love a good German celebration, but not sure you want to deal with the crowds Oktoberfest brings? Take a trip to Helen to celebrate Fasching, a German Mardis Gras. Helen also hosts a
Christkindlmarkt in November and December, BINGO at the Festhalle, and a variety of other festivals and celebrations throughout the year. You can find all you need to know here!
2
There’s a small collection of businesses on the outskirts of town that you are definitely going to make a point to visit. Habersham Winery is a wonderful place for an afternoon of wine tasting. The winery sets next to Nacoochee Village Antique Mall and across the street from Jumping Goat Coffee Roasters and
Nora Mill Granary. All four of these businesses are fantastic, with the Granary and the Coffee Roaster being my favorites. I bought an embarrassing amount of stuff and have zero regrets – fantastic!
3
Hofbräuhaus Restaurant – This Riverfront Bavarian-style restaurant is all you could hope for in a Bavarian town, complete with German food, a variety of beer, a patio with fantastic views, and live music on the weekends. They call themselves a “GI Germany Pub” with the goal of giving you the feel of an American Pub that you would find on a military base in Germany.
4
Outdoor adventure can be found right at Helen’s doorstep. Helen is home to the Georgia Mountain Coaster alpine coaster, a 4-minute, winding coaster ride down the mountain. To be perfectly honest, for hardcore coaster enthusiasts this may not be the most adrenaline-pumping ride, but come on – it’s a coaster in the Blue Ridge Mountains! Also at your fingertips in Helen you’ll find tubing on the Chattahoochee, hiking Anna Ruby Falls, fishing, ziplining, and camping. It’s almost a one-stop-fits-all sort of town!
Five Things to Know Before You Go:
- The town is pretty strict about open containers, which means there is no walking on the streets drinking your beer or wine. So finish your beer in the beer hall in which you buy it, but since the halls are all so lively this really shouldn’t be a problem.
- Oktoberfest brings an insane amount of people to a relatively small town. If you like drinking beer amongst massive crowds, Oktoberfest is your speed. If you like festivals but not a copious amount of people in a small space, maybe consider visiting during Fasching instead, the numbers are much smaller.
- Internet and cell phone data service can be poor all over town, and the more people there are in town, the worse it gets. This fact was verified by several of the locals and held true with multiple service providers.
- Know before you go and check the Chamber of Commerce website to be aware of what activities may be going on before you plan your weekend trips in Georgia to this small town.
- Also, there is plenty of paid parking for most times of the year, although if you come during their more popular festivals, Oktoberfest and Fasching, you may be a bit more challenged to find parking. This is just another good reason to either stay in Helen and walk around this very walkable town or come early and stay late! Also, as this town has one main road through it, be prepared for a bit of a traffic nightmare if you are coming and/or going during their festivals.
More Photos From Around Helen:
