Definitely a unique experience. We actually had the builder and owner give us a tour. It's was a 2…read morehour tour but we felt like we got the VIP experience. You could certainly go in, run around, look at the castle in 15 mins, but we wanted to understand the art, the reason behind the build and just learn a few things. Santa was there for pictures and it's neat that you can rent a room IN the castle. We weren't able to view those rooms but, I believe there are pictures online. Maybe we will come back and stay! You can't see the castle upon arrival, they take you in a bus up the hill so, I liked that it didn't ruin the surprise. They had little Tiaras for purchase and they give you a small prize when you complete the word puzzle they hand you. And event here would be cool. It would also be great if they had more drink or snacks for purchase but imagine that's in the works!! This was a costly project so, it will only get better!

So this was the second year for CastleFaire and it was even better than last year. It's not a huge…read morefaire by any means but it's growing. And well, you can't beat having it in a castle! Their location causes some logistical issues you don't have at most faires as there is no parking field. Most people have to park offsite and catch a free shuttle to the bottom of the mountain, then they drive you up to the castle. For those of us in full costume, the shuttle buses do add a level of complication we aren't used to but is definitely worth it If you like the Renaissance faire type events you need to go check this event out.

Great food tour to get you acquainted with the history and food of Helen! Heather was a great…read moreguide! There was a lot of food:) please go hungry:) It was about 4 hours long.

I was looking for something different to do while visiting the area and found this food tour. The…read morereviews are great so I went ahead and signed up. Jim was our tour guide and knew so much about the history of Helen. We had one other couple with us that were married the day before and we were celebrating 25 years of marriage. They were great people and we all enjoyed the yummy food that was served at five different locations. If you are in the area highly recommend this tour.

Stopped in on a whim and just caught a guided tour heading out...so glad we did. Faye was our tour…read moreguide and she moved at a good pace and had some interesting history to share. The house is preserved to it's original state as much as they could (they've added electric lighting, etc) and there's lots of art and personal items to check out. Great way to spend an hour or two if in the area on a nice day. You will walk outside for a good portion of the tour so dress appropriately! There is a lovely gift shop that I'll keep in mind if I'm ever in the area and need a little present or hostess gift :)

Our tour guide Lisa was amazing! We enjoyed her so much! She shared so much interesting information…read moreon the history of the property. When coming to Helen make sure to take visit to Hardman Farm & if you are lucky Lisa will be your tour guide!

Eduardo picked us up from our Airbnb on time with a clean super comfortable van. He was extremely…read moreknowledgeable and passionate about wines. He enhanced the experience at each winery. I know what you're thinking .."Georgia wineries? No thank you!" Don't be so quick to judge, it's better than you think. If you are a "omg, please God don't give me a muscadine grape" this can be your tour. We had three ladies on our tour who are very into wines and who have traveled the world doing wine tours, while we didn't go home with a case of wine, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of North Georgia wineries. The wine tasting experience was comparable to the others in the world, we enjoyed our experience.

Wonderful time!!! Santa Lou was the best driver!!! He was fun, knowledgeable and also our…read morephotographer for the day! I'm already looking forward to the next tour, and we will be requesting Santa Lou! Highly recommended!!!

Venue Smithgall Woods State Park ( Smithgall Cottages) 5 out of 5 stars…read more After copious amounts of research and several venue tours, we decided on Smithgall Woods state park, and more specifically the cottages as the venue for our wedding on June 8th. We just have to say we loved the team we worked with at Smithgall, mainly Todd, Patty, and Art. Todd at Guestservices was simply fantastic! As he will be quick to mention "the venue sells itself", however having him as our man on the inside was a pretty huge selling point on its own. He was with us every step of the way to answer our plethora of questions, work with vendors, and generally keep our minds at ease. Honestly, I doubt the wedding weekend would have gone as smoothly and been as much of a success had it not been for Todd's guidance and cooperation. The venue is magical. I know how that sounds, but it's the truth. It's tucked away deep in the beautiful North Georgia mountains, surrounded by a lush forest teaming with wildlife. This majestic property consists of five "cottages", in quotations because they are more like log cabin style mansions. The two largest being; the expansive 4 bedroom 4.5 bathroom cottage called the Smithgall Cottage, and the even larger 5 bedroom 5 bathroom Dover cottage. The Creekside Cottage is 3 bedrooms, and The Laurel and Garden cottages are one bedroom cottages with hot tubs on secluded side porches. All the cottages were clean, modern, and a huge hit with our guests. We were able to house both our families, close friends and wedding party all on the same property. Which saved us a great deal on lodging. Which after factoring in the cost of rooms made this one of the more affordable wedding venues out there. Also you get it for the whole weekend!!! We used the Smithgall Cottage for our wedding location due to the large wrap around porch and decks, and also due to the picturesque, covered foot bridge under which flows a gorgeous champion trout stream. We had some difficulty deciding where on this property to hold our ceremony because it is simply lovely all over. Unfortunately, the record rainfall that weekend made the decision for us. Even though the storms limited our use of the enormous field in front of the Dover cottage, and the gardens next to Smithgall we still were able to comfortably host our 50 or so guests and dozen vendors, at the Smithgall Cottage and our ceremony and reception went along wonderfully. We would highly recommend this venue to anyone wishing to have a once in a lifetime event at a once in a lifetime location.

I came here to see the covered bridge, but discovered they have so much more…read more THE SCENE Smithgall Woods may not be someplace Georgians are familiar with, unless you are an avid hunter or trout fisherman. It was once private property that was gifted to the state by conservationist Charles A. Smithgall Jr. in 1994. A large section still remains private property for the Smithgall family, but what was gifted is a treasure trove of beautiful mountains, streams, meadow fields and wetlands. I began my solo hike around 12:15pm from the Visitors Center. There I was given a map and a few brief highlights of points of interest, like the waterfalls and gold mine. I then set off one what turned out to be a 4.5 hour adventure. Probably not the smartest of ideas since I had surgery just three weeks ago. But I was tired of resting around the house and desperately wanted to get out and do something. Besides, nature brings a calmness to my inner being and allows me to relax my mind in ways I just can't at home. It was a perfect day with perfect temperatures for hiking. In my entire time there, I only ran across one other human. ----- THE HIKE Inside the Visitor's Center is a gift shop and small wildlife museum of the nature plants and animals. I walked down the paved Tsalaki Trail towards the Cathy Ellis Trail (approximately 2.6 mile away). The trail starts off as a fairly steep incline. Along the way I saw a sign saying "caution - bees". I thought that was a curious warning until I noticed the white honey bee houses in the woods nearby. Next came the wetlands with a one mile looping trail and a boardwalk into the marshes. Here you have a strong possibility of seeing a beaver at work on a dam. I decided to save this area for my return hike and I'm glad I did. My energy on the return leg was running very low and I needed the benches here for a nice long rest. I reached the covered bridge about 37 minutes after leaving the visitors center. It was a real beauty made in the simple Town Lattice style. The memorial plaque at the entrance was titled "Bay's Bridge In loving memory of 'Bay' Elizabeth Smithgall Watts", whom died the year the land for the state park was gifted. It crosses the amazing mountain stream known as Duke's Creek. The creek from here will be a large part of your journey. The trail turns to gravel just past the bridge. MARTIN'S MINE was one of the first Gold mines in Georgia. Most of the mining occurred from 1829 to 1935. By the 1840's most of the easy gold was gone and hard mining began. Miners dug tunnels and shafts to remove ore from deep underground. You can still see some of the entrances and shafts. The trail is well marked with numbers, so be sure to pick up the Mining Trail brochure at the Visitor's Center to help you decode the locations. There is a spur trail off the Martin's Mine loop that takes you to a waterfall used for hydraulic mining, which began in the 1850's. It is an uphill hike, but the waterfall is very nice. Back on the main trail I traveled another 1/2 mile to Cathy Ellis Trail. This 1/2 mile trail starts off uphill, but once you reach the shelter it's all downhill from there. The trail ends at the beautiful Chunannee waterfall (which means friendship). Lots of vegetation on this portion of the hike. This land was once the home of Lucy Bryant, a Cherokee Indian widow whom was granted this 640 acre parcel in the Treaty of 1817. But by 1839 the Trail of Tear forced all Cherokee Indians off their land to relocate in Oklahoma. They curiously chose to name the trail after a 19 year old girl who fell over a waterfall in a different county altogether instead of the Indian widow Lucy. I don't get that, but whatever. The waterfall here is beautiful. I sat here about 25 minutes resting and admiring its beauty and feeling sad for the ancient Cherokee Indian nation. I arrived here approx. 2.5 hours after I began my journey from the visitors center. NOTE: Prior to arriving at the Cathy Ellis trail there is another steep incline, similar to the one near the Visitor's Center. ----- FINAL THOUGHTS In total I hiked approximately 7.5 miles today. I would normally have done this in probably 3 hours, but I tried to go at an easier pace since I'm still recovering from surgery. I allowed myself plenty of places to sit and rest, the most enjoyable of them being the waterfall on the Cathy Ellis Trail. Smithgall Woods State Park is indeed a wonderful place for those who love nature and peaceful hiking venues. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND giving them a visit.

Roads are well maintained the staff is friendly and helpful and all of the facilities we used were…read moreclean and in good condition. There is a children's park on site. Tons for families to do here and worth the stop to enjoy!

I stayed in barrel cabin no. 1. It was grungy and reeked of old bacon grease. The comforter had…read morebrown stains. The stove was dirty. I wiped the kitchen counters with disinfectant wipes and they turned brown. The bottom of the dishwasher cutlery basket was broken in multiple spots. The kitchen had cobwebs attached to the wall and light fixture. The coating on the cookware was so scratched, it was unusable. Overall, the park looks unkempt and neglected. It is managed by Coral hospitality. I've never seen such a neglected Georgia state park.

Had such a fun time with Groovy Buses! They were so accommodating when we had to make last minute…read morechanges to our reservation. We ended up switching both our location and time of pickup 2 days before and they were completely fine with it! They also were so fun! They let us connect to the aux and play our music. And also had a fun neon sign we could personalize for our ride. I would definitely ride with them again! I highly suggest them!!

Super fun time on the Groovy Bus! Highly recommended!read more

We used DahloneGO for our wedding this summer and would not have had a better experience!! Everyone…read morewe spoke to was so sweet, knowledgeable, professional, and accommodating. They took wonderful care of us and our loved ones and made sure everyone got home safely after a lively reception! I would absolutely recommend them to anyone getting married or needing a dependable driver up in the Dahlonega area!

This team was absolutely WONDERFUL to work with. They spent countless preparation meetings working…read morewith me for my wedding and then also a wine tour with all of my out of town guests the next day! They were flexible and made the weekend run seamlessly. We had a slight issue with exhaust on one of the buses on my wedding night, but we're quick to make up for it and provide different buses the next day for our wine tour. They were the SWEETEST abs definitely plan on using them again for our next wine tour! HIGHLY RECOMMEND!!