A Bavarian Holiday in North Georgia

If you’re looking to add a little extra twinkle to your holiday season, consider a December weekend getaway to Helen, Georgia. Nestled in the Chattahoochee National Forest a couple of hours north of Atlanta, this recreated Bavarian village is something of a winter wonderland this time of year with its towers and turrets bedecked in white lights, polka music filtering out into the streets, and its scenic location along the slowly meandering Chattahoochee River.  You can read all about it in the December issue of Disney’s FamilyFun in my latest travel article, “Spend a Day in Helen, Georgia.”

Dukes Creek Falls

Of course, there were a ton of things that didn’t make the editorial cut, including the steep (on the way back) but lovely hike to Dukes Creek Falls, a double waterfall near Helen that, in winter, is half frozen.  It is perhaps not as startlingly beautiful as the more popular and accessible twin falls of Anna Ruby, but you won’t meet a soul on this trail…not in December anyway.

Heidi, already an experienced hiker at age two

While my suggested itinerary in FamilyFun is focused on what to do with the kids in tow, be sure to pick up a copy of Blue Ridge Country in July for a very adult itinerary for the lovely mountains of North Georgia, as I take you on a tour of the region’s best wineries and waterfall hikes.  Just make sure you hike before the wine tasting….

Helen after dark