Brasstown Bald – Highest Point in Georgia

Worth the drive and the hike!

 For this week’s mini-uno-day-cation we traveled to Brasstown Bald mountain which is the highest point in Georgia.  It is in North GA closest to the towns of Hiawassee, Young Harris and Blairsville.  From the mountain’s peak you can see Georgia, Tennessee, North Carolina and South Carolina.  People say you can see the skyscrapers of Atlanta from here but it wasn’t quite clear enough for us on this day.

This journey begins with single step and about a thousand turns.

It took us almost 2 hours to get here from our house.  The drive is BEAUTIFUL and very, very curvy.  If you aren’t comfortable driving in steep, curvy, mountainous conditions you should let someone else do the driving because there is no other route.  You’ll be happy you came this way.  It’s a woodland wonderland.

There are two ways to reach the summit.  You can ride in a shuttle or walk the relatively short distance of 6/10ths of a mile.  Bah ha ha ha ha!  I made that hike sound sooo easy.  A little over 1/2 a mile.  BIG DEAL, right?  Yeah.  I can make it sound EVEN EASIER…it’s paved the whole way.  Ahhhh…I’m leaving something out.  Hmmm…what was it?  Oh YEAH!  IT’S STEEP!  I wanted to say REALLY STEEP but that depends on your perspective, endurance and fitness level.  If you are not in good health, take the shuttle to the top.

It looks like an easy path but...it's VERY STEEP.

 It’s a very interesting walk.  You’ll see rhododendron and a variety of hardwood trees.  As you ascend you’ll notice a dwarf forest of red and white gnarled oaks.  It’s reminiscent of a Disney enchanted forest.  Somewhere out there, there must be a tiny dwarf house and a big Snow White.  Truly, if an apple had rolled out of the forest onto the path I would have taken off screaming.  LOL!  Well, after I gathered enough breath from panting up hill.  Embarrassing.

Three of my favorite peeps.

 We finally made it to the top!  AND…this week DH came with us.  YAY!

I didn't know there was that much water in this area. Cool!

 From the top we see this.

The shuttle coming up the mountain.

 Here comes the shuttle.  Remember you can ride the shuttle to the top OR walk.  Walk it if you can.  It’s very nice.  There are also benches at intervals along the path.  I made use of MANY (maybe all)  of them.  Sad but true.  Hey, I still made it!  LOL!

It is astounding, the great beauty that is our world.

 Not only do you get to enjoy these lovely views, there is also an excellent, small museum at the summit.  Be sure to explore it too. 😉  For my crafty friends, there are quilts on display in the center of the museum.  There’s also a book about those quilts that you can look through.  Kids will enjoy the stationary TRAIN in the museum as well as the log you can pretend to saw and the big bear (stuffed but real).  There are 2 animatronic rangers that regale you with some ranger history at the push of a button.

The admission for the 5 of us was $9 and that included parking, the hike and the museum.  We also spent money on another magnet.  You know we like to do that. 😉

While in the Blairsville area we went to the Union County Farmer’s Market and really enjoyed ourselves!  I’m trying to buy more things from local farms and farmers.  It’s something that is becoming more and more important to me.  I have 2 reasons: I want to support my local economy.  I want to know where my food came from (when I can).  I have a deep respect and appreciation for people who work the land.

These boys have a good sense of humor!

 On the way home I stopped at the Mountain Fresh Creamery because we needed milk and I figured they had some!  LOL!  Not only did we get milk there we got eggs, meat and ice cream.  That night we had hamburgers using their meat and they were delicious.  The milk and eggs were great too.  Our entire breakfast the next morning was from the farmer’s market and the Creamery.  That made me happy. 🙂

Here’s a site that might help you find locally grown food in your area.

Here’s a link to this summer’s mini-uno-day-cation’s so far.

Have a great week!

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4 Comments

  1. Kathleen P says:

    Absolutely breathtaking! You Georgia folk have us Michiganders beat with them there big mountains. We only have the Porcupine Mountains & Mt. Arvon in the Upper Peninsula hovering around 1,958-1,979 feet high. Yours are 2 & 1/2 times higher than ours. Joy, you are the bestest Super Tour Guide ever!

  2. sewsweetncrafty says:

    Wow, this place looks beautiful. Can’t believe I didn’t know about it. I lived in Atlanta for several years and now I’m bummed I missed this piece of the great outdoors :0(
    Thanks for sharing these awesome pics.

    Sew Sweet N Crafty
    SewSweetNCrafty.blogspot.com

  3. Do you live in Georgia? We were at Brasstown Bald the weekend that it was 106 degrees in Atlanta. The elevation made a bit of a difference in the temperature but not enough to encourage us to climb to the top. The gift shop people shared that the air conditioners in the shuttles were struggling so we are going back when it’s cooler. We did get some lovely pictures of the mountains from the parking lot 400 and something feet below the summit. I love the twisty turny curves and the road signs warning of what shape you next curves will be. I want to stop and get some photos of the signs, even.

    1. Hi Lisa!
      I do live in Georgia! 🙂 Wow, that 106 degree weekend was waaaay too hot to walk to the top, that’s for sure. We were there the weekend before that or I would have just been a puddle on the walking trail. LOL!
      ~Joy~

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