My First Real Fall: Exploring Blue Ridge, Georgia

I’ve spent my whole life in Florida, where fall is just a slightly cooler version of summer. So, when my boyfriend and I decided to plan a vacation, I knew I wanted to go somewhere and get the full fall experience, changing leaves and all.

After plenty of research, we settled on Blue Ridge, Georgia. It had the small, mountain-town vibe with an adorable downtown area and plenty of outdoor things to do. It was perfect and after a few days there, I can’t wait to go back. It was probably my favorite vacation I’ve ever been on!

These are some of my favorite things we saw on our trip:

Fall Branch Falls: I am not a hiker, but the hike to Fall Branch Falls was SO worth it. Located on Stanley Creek Road in Cherry Log, GA , less than 15 minutes from downtown Blue Ridge. The hike was about 20 minutes each way, mostly uphill on a dirt path. The waterfall is beautiful and a must-see destination.

Toccoa River Swinging Bridge: Located on the Benton MacKaye Trail over the Toccoa River, the swinging bridge is a beautiful suspension bridge with an amazing view of the Toccoa River. It was a rough road to get to the trail that led to the bridge (about three miles of driving uphill on a gravel road,) so if you have the option to drive a truck or SUV I would recommend it.

Mercier Orchards: This is an absolute MUST in Blue Ridge. Mercier Orchards family-owned apple orchard has been operating for 75 years and has every apple product you can think of plus a variety of other homemade products. They also have U-pick events (we went too late in the season but they have them for most of the fall). They have an amazing hard apple cider and wine tasting that I highly recommend.

Fall Leaves: The views while driving through Blue Ridge were absolutely stunning. While driving to many of the places we visited we saw stunning leaves in every shade of red, orange and yellow. The mountains and rolling hills were beautiful. Here is a list of some places for a scenic drive.

Downtown Blue Ridge: Downtown Blue Ridge has a cool, artsy vibe with tons of great shops, restaurants and bars. You can visit the Historic Blue Ridge Depot, which was built in 1906 and still has trains come and go. My favorite shops were Huck’s General Store and The Sweet Shoppe. If you go to The Sweet Shoppe get the Ooey Gooey bar; it’s a brownie base with cheesecake on top and it’s delicious!

We tried lots of yummy food while we were in Blue Ridge. Here are some of our favorites:

Masseria Kitchen & Bar (Italian)

Blue Smoke World Famous BBQ (Southern BBQ)

Blue Jeans Pizza & Pasta Factory (Italian)

Fightingtown Tavern (American)

By the way, if you’re looking for a place to stay, the Blue Ridge Lodge by Comfort Inn & Suites was amazing! It had an amazing view of the Blue Ridge Mountains and the rooms were really nice. Plus they had a delicious complimentary breakfast every day!

I can’t recommend Blue Ridge enough. Going in the fall was such a great idea and I can’t wait to go back!