Photo Credit – @rapidarod_photo – Helen, GA U.S.

Growing up I went to Helen, GA many times with my Boy Scout Troop. I always enjoyed my time at this Bavarian inspired town, but I found a completely different appreciation for the town as an adult. This quaint little town is nestled in the mountains of Northern Georgia about an hour outside of Atlanta.

I decided to introduce it to my boyfriend at the time, future husband, as part of his 30th birthday celebration. We stayed there for a week. Honestly, week was a little over kill. A long weekend would suffice fine if you plan on going.

One of the things we did was go mountain biking. We rented our bikes from Woody’s Mountain Bikes and they dropped us off at the entrance to one of the fire roads to the Appalachian Trail. The road was a little flooded in some areas, but that is okay. We made the most of the situation and got some pretty cool pics.

After our incredible, adrenaline pumping bike ride down the mountain, we decided to amp up the adventure and we went to Sun Burst Stables. Where we got to go zip lining through the trees and in the forest outside Helen. One of the zip lines went through an old structure and created this cool tunnel. After that it would be pretty hard to top, but then we came to a zip line that went over a lake and in the lake was a fountain that shot the water up into the air, where you could even flip upside down as you went through it.

Once we finished zip lining we then went on a four wheel expedition with Sun Burst Stables. We got to go around the farm and see a host of unique and ordinary animals. Of course we got to stop and pet the animals as well as feed some. However, the coolest part of the expedition was the muddy trail climb up the mountain to get a scenic overlook of the farm and forest.

After all of this adventure, on the way back to Helen we came across a vineyard that was open for wine tasting. So we decided to stop in and ended the day in sitting on the porch of the home on the property overlooking the vineyard and forested mountains beyond, while eating cheese and trying the different wines made by Sautee Nacoochee Winery.  We even got souvenir wine glasses.

After all of this what do you do, of course you go hiking to see amazing waterfalls. The most well known water fall in the area is Anna Ruby Falls. The trail is completely paved to the waterfall and there is a deck that is the observation point for the falls. The falls here are amazing, but it is pretty crowded. On our first day in Helen we went to the local supermarket called Betty’s Country Store. It is exactly as the name portrays it. We got all of our snacks and lunch materials for our hikes, but while we were there we found this brochure called 20 Favorite Walks and Hikes in the Northeast Georgia Mountains. We did many of the hikes and saw amazing water falls but my favorite was Desoto Falls.

There were so many levels to it and the hike to the falls was interesting as well. There were many stream crossing and you had to either get wet or try to cross on these fallen trees. I did not fall into the water, however, my husband did. LOL.

After a week of hiking and adventure and as our trip came to an end we spent the last day wondering through the different shops in the town and of course my husband got some amazing shots of the river with the town as a backdrop and I just have to share them. Until next time, keep wandering and enjoying life!!!

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