We spent five days in our new favorite city: Blue Ridge, Georgia! Today I’m sharing my travel guide for this charming American town on the Appalachian Trail!

Hey friends! We recently returned from five days in Blue Ridge, Georgia, and I wanted to share my Blue Ridge travel guide with y’all today! We had such a blast and it’s left us yearning for more small town America trips, so be sure to let me know in the comments below – where should we road trip to next?

how to get there

We bravely drove the ten hours down from southeastern Michigan to Blue Ridge – with a 3 1/2 year old and a 1 year old! The drive was not too bad, and we managed to do it in one day, although if Benji had been younger it would have been more of a challenge (similar to our road trip to Florida last summer). If you’re further away or don’t feel up for the driving challenge, you can fly in to Chattanooga (CHA) or Atlanta (ATL), and rent a car or Uber. However, I highly recommend having your own vehicle, so I would recommend getting a rental car if you don’t drive yourself. This is very much a driving vacay, as there are a lot of fun things to do but there isn’t a great public transportation system in the area.

where to stay

This is definitely an airBNB/VRBO kind of trip! We stayed in this gorgeous 3-bedroom VRBO right on the river, and I loved how secluded it was. There are a ton of rental houses available in the area, and I would highly recommend finding somewhere with a beautiful view and possibly a hot tub. We also loved the fact that we had a fire pit right by the water – it made for some delicious s’mores with a great view!

where to eat

With only three days and lots of fun activities planned, we tried to minimize how much we were eating out. Plus with our beautiful VRBO we ended up cooking at home multiple meals. Here were a few highlights from our trip:

• Iron Bridge General Store & Cafe: An unassuming little general store with fantastic breakfast at a great price! I especially loved my breakfast burrito. Peruse their merchandise while you wait, and then head across the street to check out the views from the bridge afterwards!
• Mercier Orchards: Below I included some information about everything else that Mercier Orchards has to offer, but they also have an in-store cafe that is cooking up some delicious southern lunch dishes! I had their fried chicken salad and it was perfection, with lots of fresh fruit from their farms!
• Harvest on Main: With a wall full of accolades, this highly rated restaurant definitely delivers! Southern-inspired global cuisine: exactly what we were looking for on our trip down south.
• The Pasta Market: My favorite from the trip! They have a dine-in area inside and outside, but they also sell fresh and dried pastas, charcuterie board “to-go” boxes, focaccia and more goodies to create your full at-home meal! We picked up some focaccia, fresh tortellini, and sauce and had this for our last meal of the trip.

what to do

• Mercier Orchards: Mercier Orchards is somewhere you can spend literally the whole day! There is so much to do, see, buy and eat, no wonder it was so busy every time we went! First off the merchandise: they sell everything from fresh fruit to home goods to delicious jams, honeys, and ciders. Don’t walk past the entryway without grabbing a cart because you will definitely want to pick up some goodies! Don’t miss: the pie counter in the back. The cookies and creme is where it’s at, but the blueberry was another personal favorite! There is a cafe (mentioned above) for more breakfast/lunch type food, and they also do U-pick fruit seasonally throughout the year. We arrived during blueberry season and had a blast picking fresh blueberries with the kids. Let me tell you: there is nothing as deliciously plump and juicy as a perfectly ripe blueberry eaten just after being plucked from the bush 😀

• Blue Ridge Scenic Railway: This was probably the overall favorite of the trip! The Blue Ridge Scenic Railway is a 4-hour round trip scenic railway through rural Georgia from Blue Ridge to the twin towns of McCaysville, Georgia and Copperhill, Tennessee, which are basically the same town but split on the border between Georgia and Tennessee. The trip is about an hour to get to the towns, and then you have 2 hours to walk around, grab some food and shop before heading back home. We were lucky enough to sit in the very last indoor car and because the last car was an outdoor car that they didn’t sell any tickets for, we got to sit inside or outside based on our preference. I would recommend outside seating, although of course take weather into account.

• Wine Tasting: We checked out Bear Claw Vineyards one afternoon for a wine flight after lunch and the views were spectacular! I loved this for a kids activity too because their outdoor patio features a plethora of games for kids to keep them occupied, and they also have lots of indoor board games for rent too! We also heard good things about Serenberry Vineyards but didn’t have time to check it out.

• Hiking: There are a ton of trails and places to visit here for the outdoors-y type! We headed over about 30 minutes to Long Creek Falls to check out the amazing waterfall there, which did not disappoint! The hike was about an hour round trip. Go early to beat the crowd and get a photo while no one else is there!