Look at this view! Do I need to convince you why you should go visit? It's so peaceful and…read morebeautiful.

Another beautiful Georgia State Park, we spent most of the day exploring this park, it's another…read moreexample of what the people of Georgia can be so proud of. The ammenties here are nothing less than outstanding with beautifully maintained hiking trails and meticulous maintained common areas. We spent a week in the area and only sampled a small part of what's offer here but it definitely checks all the boxes for a return trip. The staff here was so gracious and was quick to answer all our questions and provided some helpful tips to make our visit enjoyable and was eager to share the history of the area. The landscape is a drastic change from what we experience in our home state of Florida with the higher elevations and moderate temperatures and humidity which made this visit special and a real treat I can't wait to return...

Amazing views, and worth the drive up, but... oh, that road. Took my Jeep Gladiator and drove up to…read morethe top. For the last mile, in first gear the whole way. One close call: someone in a giant GMC SUV had trouble maintaining lane in a curve. Not for the leaden footed drivers. We parked at the first parking lot, which was pretty full, but after the steep, short walk up the remainder, found 3 more spots up top. It's worth checking. The views were spectacular. Our 16 year old dog had some trouble with all the steps, but managed it. Also, more graffiti than you're likely to see in any one place, but climb those stairs, get above the graffiti, and it's worth every step!

The views from the top of Bell Mountain are spectacular! The drive up the mountain is not for the…read moreweak either. My husband and I took some great photos, but at the very top deck I could barely stand still due to all of the gnats flying around!! (Nov 1)

Nice little playground for getting our kids' energy out on a long car trip. There's a shaded…read morepavilion in the back of the park, which is a nice respite from the otherwise unshaded playground. Well maintained bathrooms.

This was definitely a different landscape for us and we loved it. We were happy we had a four wheel…read moredrive because the drive here is not paved at has steep hills. When you get here there is no signage at all. You just drive and look for it. There is really no parking except for parking on the side of the creek. There are areas for people to camp but they are not defined. We drove as high as we could and someone else driving down. They told us to follow them to one of the falls, but there was not much of a fall bc of the lack of rain. We had also parked at the spot they pointed to us for a break from the uphill steep drive. We went down more and parked by the creek and went down to see the water. When we got there, we looked up and saw the fall, but it was a bit of a distance for us to drive back to, plus we would have to walk over rocks to get to it. I didn't get to take a pic but it was pretty. We did like this trip, but I think I wished I could have seen more. The day before we went to the Edge of the World in Dahlonega and enjoyed that more.

Place was beautiful, but it kinda sucked that the upper falls are closed due to some construction…read moreto the trails. It really doesn't tell you anywhere either, you just find out when you get there. Place is so amazing though!

He came here late August 2026. The website said it was only…read moreopen until 5:00 p.m. We got there right at 4:30 and the guy said we could stay as long as we want because the arm to get out will open automatically. We paid $6 per person to get in we were able to check out the gift shop a little bit before it closed at 5:00 p.m. we walked up to the falls which is not paved but it's not a bad walk at all once you get to the top they Have some wood walkways that take you closer to the falls. I loved it because we were basically the only ones out there until another couple showed up and they helped us take photos of each other so that was good. We stayed for about 20 minutes and then headed back. I must see if you're in this area.

If you are visiting Helen, GA, be sure to place visiting Ruby Falls at the top of your list…read more Honestly, this was the best part of our stop in Helen. You gain access to the falls through Unicoi State Park & Lodge. Anna Ruby Falls are nestled in the Chattahoochee Oconee National Forest. It's about a 5-minute drive uphill through the park and once you reach gate to the Unicoi State Park there is a $6 per person (per carload) fee. Once past the gate they have a Visitor Center with a large parking lot, a clean restroom, and gift shop with some refreshments available. On the back side of the visitor area lays a massive patio overlooking Smith Creek. There is a wooden boardwalk to the right that follows the creek down for a short walk but it comes to an end and you must turn back; this area was really buggy (they kept going for my eyes). If you go to the left of the main entrance, you will start walking upward the trail to Ruby Falls. The path is not paved and there is no boardwalk leading to the falls until you are within a 200' or so of the falls. However, the path is wide and clear of most debris so you could get a stroller through here but I wouldn't recommend it because you will have to really work at it. It's a 1/2 mile walk to the falls and it's a continuous uphill climb to 219 feet of elevation. Once you do get to the boardwalk there are stairs leading upward to platforms where you can take photos and achieve better views of the falls. Note: You can bring your dog but they must be leashed. Anna Ruby Falls are stunning; they are essentially two separate creeks crashing down; Curtis Creek - drops 153 feet and York Creek - drops 50 feet, they come together to form Smith Creek which flows through the south of the mountains and into the Chattahoochee River. There are plenty of wonderful photo op areas here and it's a great way to get away from the touristy downtown area of Helen and experience the natural beauty Georgia has to offer. Nancy and I came late in the day, about an hour and a half before close and there was only one other couple up here with us, so we basically had the whole place to ourselves at one point so this was a magical experience for us. Anna Ruby Falls was the most memorable experience we had while in Helen, GA. I highly recommend going if you happen to be traveling through the area.

I came here on a very hot summer day with the plans to see some waterfalls. We got here around…read more8:30am which I believe is when the park opens. We took the South Rim (At least I think it was the South Rim) and went to all 5 viewing points which is a flat walk and a round trip of about 1.5 miles. Then we went down into the Gorge which includes 1,099 steps (actual staircase) to the bottom and of course that many steps back up. You can't go all the way to the Gorge floor without a permit but that just means you can only walk down 1,089 steps to a platform. There are plenty of places to stop including a very cool suspension bridge that overlooks Hurricane Falls. This was pretty tough for a 50-year-old fat boy like me but it's doable if you can simply climb stairs. The views are amazing and worth the quads burning for the next 3 days. The visitor's center is really nice. There is of course a gift shop. a huge display of taxidermy of all the local wildlife and a very nice museum that goes through the history of the region. The most important part is they have air conditioning. Suck it up, take the stairs and buy the t-shirt saying you did it when you are done.

The visitor center is phenomenal! Movie was down for some reason. The gift shop has loads to choose…read morefrom and the rest rooms were clean and there were many stalls available. There is almost a museum quality to the taxidermy animal scene they have in the middle of the room and along the walls. Truly a special visit! The hike to see the inspirational point and the swinging bridge wasn't too strenuous for my 4 or 5 year old for people's reference when considering it. We are an active family who hikes etc. There were a lot of warnings but we found it wasn't as bad as it seemed.

Great place! The guy at the visitors center was really nice and gave us information about the…read moretrails! The trails are very nice, and you can see lots of things along the way! 10/10

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.

Yessssss! Beautiful…read moretrail, beautiful waterfalls.... Be careful because there are many tree roots and rocks. It was definitely worth the 1hr drive from Gwinnett.

Such an amazing hike! It was a very easy 2.5 miles back and forth total! We brought our dog and it…read morewas very friendly for him, there's some trails you can take for more adventure and it's absolutely so much fun! We came at 8am, the trail was empty, I recommend a good early sunrise adventure with friends to beat the crowd! 20/10 recommend :) Parking is only $4!

We came up here on Mother's Day, and it happened to be the last day of their festival, celebrating…read morethe peak for rhododendrons bloom. Their owner/manager, Catherine, gave my mom and I a wonderful tour in their golf cart. Mom says it's her favorite place in the world!

Worth seeing! Beautiful gardens on the lake and the lady who runs it is so nice and helpful. They…read morehave live music/special events, I'll plan to come back

Run to Black Rock Mountain State Park! From the moment we arrived at the visitor center, we enjoyed…read morebreathtaking views. The views throughout the park are epic and the hiking is superb. Jack the gentleman at the entrance was beyond helpful and likely saved us from our own demise. As we were wandering about, he kindly interjected and offered us a map along with some detailed instructions regarding the various trails. We then explored a few trails to include the Ada-Hi Falls Trail and the Tennessee Rock Trail. We enjoyed all the views but would recommend a walking stick. The guide shop at the visitor center has some great merchandise including many items from local businesses. Furthermore, the prices were fair.

What a beautiful campground, especially in October when the leaves are changing…read more Each reserved lot has access to electricity, a picnic table, and a nice fire pit. Dogs are more than welcome. In fact, most of the people there brought one or two dogs. The lots vary in size from canvas tent and car all the way to travel bus. It's great for a weekend trip away from the city noise!