In Mountain City, the truly unique Foxfire Museum preserves the pioneer culture of the southern Appalachian Mountains. The museum was started back in 1966 by high school students looking to preserve cultural memories made by friends and neighbors for their school's "Foxfire Magazine"; the students organized to purchase the museum property in 1974. The museum grounds house a grist mill, a chapel, antique housewares, crafts and farm equipment. Visitors can tour over 20 log cabins at the museum, some of which were built in the early 1800s. Admission to the museum comes with a souvenir tour booklet, which leads guests on a self-guided tour of the grounds. The museum also houses an artist-in-residence who gives spinning, knitting and weaving demonstrations.
Foxfire Museum and Heritage Center
200 Foxfire Lane
Mountain City, GA 30562
706-746-5828
foxfire.org
For year-round argi-tourism entertainment, the Hillside Orchard Farms hosts family-friendly activities that let guests get in on the fun of farming. In the spring, the farm hosts a planting festival complete with wagon rides, plowing, exhibits and agricultural demonstrations. At Easter time, the farm holds an Easter egg hunt complete with a bunny petting zoo and a visit from the Easter Bunny. The farm also offers guests the chance to pick their own blackberries and strawberries right out of the fields during the summer months. In the fall, Hillside hosts the Fall Farm Festival during which visitors can experience sorghum cooking, hayrides and a haunted corn maze.
Hillside Orchard Farms
18 Sorghum Mill Dr.
Lakemont, GA 30552
706-782-2776
hillsideorchard.com
The two-mile long, 1,000-foot-deep gorge at Tallulah State Park attracts thousands of visitors to Rabun County. Visitors can obtain a free permit to hike down to the gorge floor or walk the overlooks along the rim to admire the Tallulah River and Waterfalls. For a more impressive view, visitors can brave the suspension bridge, which sways 80 feet above the gorge floor. True daredevils can check out the ranger-led Full Moon Suspension Bridge Hike, which is held by the Tallulah Rangers several times throughout the year. Other activities at Tallulah Gorge State Park include GeoCaching, fishing, kayaking, bicycling, picnicking and seasonal Whitewater and Aesthetic Water Releases.
Tallulah Gorge State Park
338 Jane Hurt Yarn Dr.
Tallulah Falls , GA 30573
706-754-7981
gastateparks.org
