Explore Helen & More

≈ 10 minutes

A full Bavarian village dropped into the North Georgia mountains — cobbled streets, timbered facades, and the Chattahoochee running right through the middle of it. Come for the pretzels and the beer halls, stay for the river walk and the candy shops. It's charming without trying too hard, and it's your closest stop for groceries, dinner and last-minute anything.

≈ 5 minutes

Five hiking trails, a quiet lake, and the trailhead for Anna Ruby Falls — twin waterfalls dropping 153 and 50 feet, reachable by a paved half-mile path that most kids and grandparents can handle. Start with the 2.5-mile Lake Loop if you want easy; take the 4.8-mile Smith Creek Trail if you want to earn the view.

Good to know: $10 parking pass per vehicle for the park, plus a separate $3 per-person fee at Anna Ruby Falls (free under 16). Bring a card or small bills.

≈ 10 minutes 

The most Helen thing you can possibly do. Float the Chattahoochee on an inner tube with a cooler tied alongside — a lazy hour and a half, or the long two-and-a-half-hour ride if you're in no hurry at all. Tubes, life jackets and the shuttle back are all included, so you park once and forget about it.

Good to know: Roughly $10 for a single tube, $15 for a double, $5 for a cooler tube. Weekends get busy — go early. Water shoes are a very good idea.

≈ 15 minutes

The quiet one. Nearly 6,000 protected acres with 28 miles of trail and almost none of the crowds you'll find at Unicoi. Dukes Creek runs through it — a catch-and-release trout stream that regularly gives up rainbows and browns over 20 inches, and one of the best-known fly fishing waters in the Southeast.

Good to know: All visitors check in at the Visitor Center. Trout fishing is October–May, Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, by reservation only — 15 permits per session, and they book out four to six weeks. If fishing is the plan, call 706-878-3087 before you book your stay, not after.

≈ 8 minutes 

One of Georgia's oldest and largest wineries, making wine here since 1983, and it's practically around the corner in Nacoochee Village. Tastings are complimentary, the tour is self-guided, and they'll sell you cheese and crackers to build a picnic out of. An easy, low-effort afternoon — and the shortest drive home afterward.

Good to know: Open daily. No reservation needed unless you're a group of ten or more.

≈ 10 minutes 

September 10 – November 1, 2026

The longest-running Oktoberfest in the United States, and the reason Helen books out months ahead every fall. Live oompah bands in the Festhalle, dancing that goes later than you'd expect, and a whole town leaning into it. The parade kicks things off Saturday, September 12 at noon on Edelweiss Strasse; the run closes out with a costume party on Halloween night.

Good to know: Thursdays–Sundays September 10–27, then daily October 1 through November 1. Doors at 6pm on weekdays, 1pm on weekends. Fall dates at Monarch's Roost go first — book early.

≈ 10 minutes

Not a tourist stop — a real grocery, run by the same family since 1973, at the corner of Main and Yonah. This is where you go for the week's provisions, but you'll leave with more than you planned: homemade pies from the bakery counter, Black Angus steaks and chops from the meat case, and a German beer selection better than most bars.

Good to know: Open 7am daily. Our pick for the first stop on your way in — stock the kitchen before you ever get up the mountain.

≈ 10 minutes

Schnitzel, sausage, spaetzle and a half-liter of something German, in a room that fully commits to the theme. It's the Bavarian dinner you came to Helen for, and it holds up — big portions, long hours, and a pub side that stays lively.

Good to know: Open daily, 11am to 9pm (10pm Friday and Saturday). Weekends and all of Oktoberfest are worth a reservation.

≈ 10 minutes

A tiny shop on South Main doing one thing properly: locally roasted coffee — the beans come from Because Coffee — and gelato made by hand. Order the cortado. There are only a few seats inside and a couple of tables out front, so it's a grab-and-go more than a linger, but it's the best cup in town.

Good to know: Tucked beside The Mason Jar Shoppe, across from the Georgia Mountain Coaster.