Loved this playground so much. Easy parking. A walking trail next to it, big and little kid…read moreequipment, mostly fenced in, restrooms, and a pavilion with tables. Negatives were all of the litter as well as the teens (after the high school across the street let out, they flicked to the park in large numbers) that were loudly fighting and swearing at each other at the restrooms next to the playground. I support and applaud them using a public space instead of getting into trouble elsewhere, but wish they would go to the other side of the park away from the playground swarming with young kids if they are going to fight and cuss. The women's restroom was out of order, which was also a bummer. We will definitely be back here whenever we visit Ellijay . We will just go well before school dismissal. :-)

We were in Blue Ridge visiting an exhibit at the Blue Ridge Arts Association and stopped by The…read moreLilly Pad right after. It was our kiddos' first time fishing and they had a great time. It's catch and release we only caught one, but it was still a fun experience and a great memory for the kids. Staff was great, especially Nikki. I love that you pay once and can come back all day!

A little smaller than it appeared online. Our kids enjoyed the gem mining but the medium bucket…read moreonly took 2 kids about 15-20 minutes. A great set up and a good amount of gems but just not much dirt.

Found in the Chattahoochee National Forest is the Cohutta Overlook. We paid this hidden in plain…read moresite overlook a visit while driving into the city of Ellijay from Fort Mountain State Park. Being a shade under 5 miles from Fort Mountain along GA-2/GA-52, i'm hesitant to say you can't miss this area because you can. Only a sign and a road going into a wooded area are all that alerts you. I'd advise you to turn on in. This lone road has parking spots along it, and loops around back out to GA-2/GA-52. Very close to the entrance of this road is a very small dirt trail, marked by a small wooden sign listed as "overlook", that goes up. Yea it can be sketchy looking, but if you head on up the trail, you'll be met with a stone circular clearing that gives you a nice view. On a clear day, it's beautiful, and while I wasn't here at night, I can only imagine that stargazing here at night must be out of this world. The actual trail is barely a quarter of a mile and is more a nature walk than any sort of a hike. There are a few wooden/stone stairs, but practically anyone can make it to the top. Very little foot traffic here, as my girlfriend and I had the place to ourselves for several minutes, which was nice. There is no physical address, but there are coordinates entered (34.785218, -84.626853). Nice little find that you probably weren't looking for. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

April 4, 2014, Tony and I was driving the back roads of Georgia on our way to Helen, GA to visit…read morethe Bavarian Village. We passed Fort Mountain State Park, which we love by the way. We visited there a few weeks back, but this time ON TO HELEN....on down the road towards Elijay, Ga I noticed a sign "COHUTTA OVERLOOK"...I said...BRAKE..side trip.. My husband is used to this..that is why I travel the back roads so I can find interesting sites, old homes and buildings and overlooks...I do this quite regularly...Glad I am the driver. I also Brake for Yard Sales...lol I drove out the side road and parked along the narrow ONE WAY road..and we started to climb up the side of the small mountain via a trail and some stairs...its a nice little HEART POUNDING hike..but once you are at the top...oh WOW !!! the View is AWESOME...STUNNING..the adjectives keep going on, on and on...You have to take the 10-15 minutes out of your schedule to check out this great vista. I loved it. I took several photos ( of course ) And AGAIN..I can't say it enough....FREE FREE FREE !!!!

Such a cool forest. Hiking and all kinds of nature. Deer bear geese ducks hawks. And running…read morerivers. Beautiful sunrises and sunsets. It's so beautiful watching the fog lift in the morning and the early morning frost melting away. And the outside cooking adds so much to the experience.

The river is beautiful, but there is no public hiking trail here. We drove here for 15 minutes only…read moreto find there was nowhere to park or hike. Private homes only.

December 13, 2020…read more Approximately 8 miles north of Elijah, GA on highway 76 shortly before entering the town of Cherry Log, you'll turn right onto Rock Creek Connector which takes you to a regular looking two lane road called Rock Creek Rd. Almost immediately upon making the right hand turn on Rock Creek road is the sign "Rich Mountain Wildlife Management Area" and my cell reception (meteo PCS) dropped again. Following Rock Creek Road eventually turns into a crushed gravel road with a stream running next to it and past several farms including a small horse farm. This was my third time to this area in the past month, and thankfully my final time. My goal was to summit Tickanately Bald, a peak that was nearly 4000 ft tall and nestled 0.7 miles south of Rich Mountain. This time I went up FS295 to the end and hiked the rest of the way. The 4000 ft challenge led by the Appalachian Trail Club has less than 10 members who have ever climbed all 32 peaks. And there is a good reason why. You might think...hey, these peaks aren't Mt Everest. What's the big deal? You wouldn't be wrong, however, plan accordingly, if you want to attempt it. Be warned: this activity is not without risk. Climbing walls of vegetation only to encounter brambles that want to cut you, is definitely not everyone's cup of tea. In many cases, there is no good footing. Especially after a rain. Stream crossings or hopping is a skill and balancing yourself across rocks to ford a small spring also is an art form, especially if your heart is pounding out of your chest from climbing 1000 ft. And finally, it's very easy to get yourself turned around. If your phone dies, runs out of battery, or you simply smash it while slipping on a patch of leaves covering a slick rock, well you are SOL, especially without cell phone service to call for help. And better have a back up plan. Don't go out there without a secondary GPS device. Pack water, pack a snack. Put something on your windshield in writing notifying people you are out for a walk and expect to be back. Give someone a clue where you are going too. Weather can change quickly, and the terrain difficult to navigate. While these mountains aren't huge, they are still fairly remote compared to the usual urban park you may have encountered. Plan ahead an be safe! Suffice it to say, I had fantastic weather. (Winter is the best season to get out and conquer your Georgia 4K peaks! And Limited Vegetation). I brought my phone and my GPS watch and a bottle of water and although the distance to the peak was 2.5 miles I gave myself 6-7 miles and plenty of daylight to climb this peak by leaving at noon. FS295 is approximately 4 miles from the beginning of Rock Creek Road and begins steadily up for 2 miles right at the Hunter Checkin Station. It's fairly navigable and I managed it in my Prius at 4-6 mph! There are a couple of nice choice camping spots along the way. At the top, I parked and ran 1.2 miles down to Little Rock Creek. From there I picked a line and started hiking up, and pretty much kept this up for 1300 ft or 1.5 miles till I reached the top of Rich Mt where there is an old chimney from an old house that once was. There is no benchmark (the geodesic marker often installed by the US Forest Service to denote the high point) to be found anywhere on Rich Mountain, unfortunately. There is an old unmaintained trail to the West (facing south) which leads you directly to Tickanately. Unfortunately, I went down the wrong side of Rich Mountain and had to adjust. Translation...climb back up to the top of Tickanately, then stumbled upon the path which I took back to Rich, before descending the same 1300 ft I had climbed----this time it was weeeeehaww and nimbly bounding down hill till I got back to Little Rock Creek. The total elevation gain was 2400 ft in 2.5 hours and my glutes got worked big time. The feeling of accomplishment was overwhelming. Seven 4K peaks done and 25 to go!

We initially found another gem mining place close by. Both options had great reviews but Aska…read moreMining Company was rated slightly higher so we opted for Aska. THE PRICING: I really appreciate that they cater to all budgets by providing a WIDE range of options - buckets range from $10 to $100. We opted for the mid-ish range $35 bucket and crossed our fingers. THE PROCESS: Pick and pay for your bucket, walk outside to find your little sifting station. Shovel a few scoops of sand into the sifter and dip it into the water to separate small particles from large stones, fossils, shark teeth, etc. The gems/fossils seem to magically appear as the small bits of sand is washed away. The kiddos in our group ranged from 11-14 yrs and all left with nearly a full bag of treasures each. A ziplock bag along with a handy reference guide is provided to help identify your goodies as you're sifting. Overall, we were more than pleasantly surprised with the experience and buckets our kiddos selected and sifted through. Yes, the adults in our group even took turns sifting too! We would 100% recommend Aska. I'm kinda curious of the haul you'll get with the $100 bucket - perhaps that's a good option to share with a family/small group. THE STAFF: Friendly and funny. They literally walked us through the process and checked up on us a few times too. THE PARKING: We had no issues parking in front of the store but it's along a main road so keep your kiddos close if they tend to wander & scurry off. Although, you really shouldn't have that problem because I can almost guarantee those kiddos will be engrossed in the sifting. THE SNACKING: Iron Bridge General Store and Cafe is steps away if you're hungry before or after. You can also grab some souvenirs or supplies. TIP: According to their website, they also cater to groups and birthday parties. Enjoy!

We had an amazing time! This is a must do, the man who runs the store is so nice and the experience…read moreis so much fun. We got the $40 buckets and it is so worth it! My kids got so many amazing gems