A piece of junk mail led this homesick Coloradan to her new favorite mountain town.
It started with a mailer: a 9 by 7 glossy postcard in the mailbox of my South Florida condo. On it was a picture of a log cabin nestled in a forest with a silhouette of the Blue Ridge mountains hovering majestic in the background. North Georgia was calling. I answered.
A few months later I was on a plane to Atlanta where I rented an SUV and drove two hours north to a charming mountain town called Blue Ridge that quickly reminded me of Estes Park, Colorado, the Rocky Mountain getaway I grew up summering.
Saltwater taffy and homemade ice cream shops dot Main Street. A rock shop (Pezrok) encourages children to turn a crank to crack open geodes to ogle crystals. Huck’s General Store sells nostalgic candy from barrels, quirky gifts, jarred goodies and glass-bottled sodas. The Blue Ridge Scenic Railway loads passengers into open-air cars to ride through the woods along the Toccoa River where tourists float on innertubes downstream. In the summertime the railway also offers rail bikes: four-person electric bike cars that cruise along the tracks.
Blue Ridge has something Estes Park doesn’t: Southern charm. There’s Mercier Orchards, the roughly 300-acre farm that pulls guests behind a tractor to go pick seasonal fruits (apples, blackberries, blueberries and strawberries). There’s the homestyle restaurant, aptly named Southern Charm, located in a vintage yellow house that serves up fried chicken, sweet tea and collard greens. Mountain distilleries and wineries introduce out-of-towners to Appalachian moonshine, peach brandy, hard cider and wine all made from local Southern fruits.
I fell in fast love with Blue Ridge; so much so that I bought a tiny cabin on my first visit. Some (my mother) might call it impulsive. I called it adventurous.
For the next two years, I set out to explore.
Hiking came first. Blue Ridge is close to the Southern terminus of the famed Appalachian Trail. For waterfall hikes (my favorite), I suggest Fall Branch Falls (accessed via the Benton MacKaye Trail), Amicalola Falls (great for families because it has a visitor’s center and paved walkway to the base of the falls) and the most challenging of the three, Tobacco Pouch Trail (be ready for a real thigh-burner). For treks to viewpoints, try Preacher’s Rock and Stanley Gap.
For a more leisurely day on the water, visit Lake Blue Ridge or Carters Lake. Both rent pontoon boats (half-day or full-day rentals). For a Margaritaville vibe on Lake Blue Ridge, hit Happy Hour at the Boat Dock Bar & Grill where live music plays most weekends.
Tubing is a must during the Spring and Summer. There are two rivers to float — the Toccoa River and Cartecay River. Both are equally beautiful. If you choose Toccoa, two riverside stops are worth your time: the Toccoa Riverside Restaurant (with its multiple tiers of outdoor patios) and the Iron Bridge General Store & Café (a more casual stopover where you can get a cold drink and bite to picnic along the river’s edge).
By far the most unique adventure I stumbled on near Blue Ridge was Project Chimps, a nonprofit animal sanctuary with more than 100 chimpanzees rescued from research labs. Take a tour of the facilities to observe the chimps lounging, playing and munching.
For nighttime entertainment, Blue Ridge has the classic Swan Drive-In movie theater and a community theater with surprisingly fantastic productions.
Of course, no vacation is complete without culinary excursions, and Blue Ridge has shockingly good restaurants for a small town. Grace Prime Steakhouse is at the top for its memorable dishes, fine-dining setting and impeccable hospitality. The Black Sheep has a whimsical outdoor patio built under a 200-year-old Oak tree. Ferraro’s Kitchen, launched by a Miami restaurateur, features freshly pressed pasta and contemporary Italian fare. Harvest on Main is a cozy place for a farm-to-table supper in a rustic dining room.
Though Blue Ridge doesn’t boast the Rocky Mountains like my beloved Estes Park, it does possess all the delights to deliver a magical mountain escape, plus a side of Southern charm.
