THURS., OCT 19 thru SUN., OCT 22, 2023
We had a fun few days at Don Carter State Park in Gainesville, GA after traveling about 150 miles south from Asheville, NC. The park is named in honor of real-estate executive Don Carter who served on the Georgia Department of Natural Resources board for 29 years and worked to establish Lake Lanier’s first state park… which became Don Carter State Park.
After a rainy start, we had beautiful weather during our stay. It’s so nice to see fall color in the leaves after being out west last fall. Not that we didn’t love that! The main reason we’re visiting this area is to see the town of Helen, GA. But first things first… we tackled some chores like laundry and grocery shopping. Then on the second day, I did a 3.5 mile hike in the state park with Cheryl & Joe while Gary tackled a few more chores, and then we all enjoyed a campfire Saturday afternoon.
Asheville NC to Gainesville GA
On Sunday, October 22nd, (2023), first we visited Unicoi State Park and hiked to Anna Ruby Falls. Legend has it that a local confederate soldier found the waterfalls while horseback riding in the area and decided to give both falls the name of his only daughter, Anna Ruby. You climb a short half-mile paved trail and are rewarded with seeing twin waterfalls! One is 153 ft and the other is 50 ft. Such a pretty hike… particularly with the leaves changing color!
Afterwards we headed into the town of Helen, also known as “Alpine” Helen, which is a re-created Bavarian Village with a 2-month long Oktoberfest celebration… the longest celebration of its kind in the country! Amazing! This small town is the third most visited city in Georgia and gets over 1 million visitors a year. Our country never ceases to amaze! You can ride around town on their “train” for $10 a pop. We opted to walk! There were some great murals all over town, a nice park, and lots of Halloween decorations this time of year! We had “linner” at the Troll Tavern. German food, of course!
Read on if interested in how the town of “Alpine Helen” came into existence… Helen was a town down on its luck in the late 1960s. The Alpine Village idea happened when several local businessmen gathered at a riverside restaurant, looked out a window and took stock of their bleak hometown. During that fateful lunch it was decided that something should be done to clean up the town and attract tourists driving through on their way to the lakes and national rec areas nearby. One of the businessmen approached an artist, John Kollock, who lived in a nearby community and asked him to come up with some ideas on how to spruce up the buildings. Mr. Kollock took a look around the town and thought the buildings somewhat resembled an Alpine village similar to those where he had been stationed in Germany. He made colorful drawings of how the buildings and town could look. The businessmen loved his ideas, and they ran with it! By 1969 a group of 50 to 60 Helen residents started work to spruce up their town and win the State Chamber of Commerce “Stay and See Georgia” contest. The town won the competition, and they were written up in several newspapers and “Alpine Helen” was born.
It doesn’t hurt that the Chattahoochee River runs through the town offering a very nice backdrop! The town now boasts tons of German restaurants, lots of hotels and shops, and of course, Oktoberfest! A very enjoyable day!
Tomorrow we move on for a last overnight stay in Georgia before traveling into Florida.
