The Blue Ridge
I Show My Friends

The first thing I tell people is that it’s more than just Blue Ridge. The town is one of several good ones clustered together up here. Blue Ridge itself is the anchor, with a train running through the center of downtown and shops that are almost all mom-and-pop, from the olive oil company on down. Nothing is franchised. It gives you that hometown, Hallmark-movie feel people travel a long way to find.

Step outside the town and the whole area opens up. If you love being outdoors, you have miles of hiking trails off Aska, tubing, water sports, and the lake. If that’s not your speed, there’s trout fishing, apple orchards, and vineyards. And you get all four seasons here, with cooler mornings, cool summer nights, and a beautiful fall.

But the part I love most is that you can just sit and be part of nature if you want to. Have a cup of coffee on the porch in the morning and listen to the birds come alive. In the evening, grab a favorite libation, sit by a fire, and watch the day go flat as the sun sets behind the ridge.

Be present, and keep an open mind. It’s more than being in the town of Blue Ridge. It’s going out and exploring. When I have clients in town, I tell them to drive around, get a little lost, and have no itinerary. That’s when Blue Ridge does its best work. People come upon the vineyards, the orchards, waterfalls, running streams. They round a corner and there’s a long-range mountain view. Be open-minded, and be ready to have your mind blown.

One practical note. Blue Ridge is a dry town. The restaurants serve alcohol, and you can buy wine and beer in the grocery stores, but for your house you bring in your own booze. Stop in Ellijay on the way in, about 15 to 20 minutes out, or in Blairsville or McCaysville. Ellijay is a slightly different town, also getting popular, a little closer to Atlanta, with beautiful property of its own.

My pick is Martini Mountain Downtown. It’s a loft, centrally located downtown, that accommodates four. More like a luxury loft, honestly. It sits on the third floor, with a full kitchen, a living room, two full baths, two bedrooms with king beds, and a beautiful wrap-around balcony that brings in everything downtown has to offer.

If you have more than four people, or you want a home outside of downtown, I’d start on Airbnb, so you’re helping the individual owner directly. The bigger rental companies aren’t bad, and Escape to Blue Ridge lists plenty of properties at different price points. But I’d go straight to the owners when you can. The homes taken care of by individual owners are usually manicured and kept a little better.

You can book Martini Mountain Downtown here.

It depends on who’s coming in. A couple gets different tips than a family. Here’s where I actually send people.

The Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

Great for families. The train leaves right from the middle of downtown and takes you to McCaysville, where you’re dropped off to spend some time and check out the shops and the lifestyle before it heads back. It gives everyone something to do and shows off a little more of the area.

For the details: it’s a 26-mile round trip along the Toccoa River, and the extended tour gives you about a two-hour layover in the twin towns of McCaysville and Copperhill, which straddle the Tennessee line. The depot dates back to 1905 and the excursions have run since 1998. You can choose a climate-controlled vintage car or an open-air one. Take the open air if the weather’s good, and reserve ahead in the fall.

Mercier Orchard

Go to the bakery first. They have some of the best, most decadent pastries, just absolutely delicious. Then, if you want to take it a step further, do the walk around the orchards. Say it “Mer-see-AY” if you want to sound like a local.

The Merciers started the farm in 1943 with 27 acres, and four generations later it’s grown to around 300, with more than 40 varieties of apples along with peaches and berries. Here’s a fun one: it’s the only orchard in Georgia that grows, presses, ferments, and cans its own hard cider, so the farm winery is worth a stop too.

A vineyard afternoon

There are quite a few in the area. I’ve been to Bear Claw, and to Rue Vineyards over in Ellijay, which is beautiful, with miles and miles of mountain-range views as far as the eye can see. One insider tip: if you’re going to the vineyards, get a car service or a driver. You want to enjoy yourself and not worry about the windy roads of the mountains.

Main Street and Layers

If you have the time, walk East and West Main Street downtown and enjoy the different shops. The one I always give a plug to is Layers. It’s home furnishings, but not your typical home store. The items are ones there are only a few of, so you’re getting something with real uniqueness and style. You feel elevated the minute you walk in. It’s owned by a very good friend of ours, Joe Faba of Faba Design, a designer out of Miami, and it changes as the seasons do. Walk every room, and if you’re looking for something specific, introduce yourself to a salesperson. Tell them Thomas sent you, and they’ll help you find it.

Grace Steakhouse

This is the one I send couples to. It’s centrally located downtown, just walking steps from the Martini Mountain loft, and it’s first-class service all the way. It’s not just steak either. They have an amazing chef and amazing food. Reserve in advance, because it fills up fast.

For what it’s worth, the room is known for its 45-day dry-aged prime steaks under chef Daniel Barron, with a deep wine list to match. Two things most people don’t know. There’s a separate bar downstairs, almost like a speakeasy, with its own set menu. You enter through the back, and you can ask about it when you’re there. And I’m a founding member of the Celeste Club from when the place first opened, so if you let me know you’re going, you can be presented that evening with a beautiful handcrafted signature knife for your steak or fish.

Black Sheep

Grace and Black Sheep are the bookends of Main Street, owned by the same owner. Black Sheep is a little more laid-back, but still great food, great libations, and a great atmosphere. It opened back in 2013 in the historic Butt House on West Main, does a New American, locally sourced menu, and keeps a Wine Spectator–recognized list if wine is your thing.

Bigfoot Biscuits

Right down from Black Sheep, and my pick for breakfast. Huge, massive, beautiful buttermilk biscuits, served with all different styles of tater tots.

Harvest on Main

Another good one for breakfast and lunch. It’s farm-to-table on Main Street, and they lean on local producers, including Mercier Orchards and Springer Mountain chicken, so a lot of what you eat was grown or raised nearby.

Mountain Mamas

The coffee shop I love, and also great for breakfast. Great coffee, great teas, and great breakfast sandwiches. They even have mushroom coffee, and things you wouldn’t think they’d have. They always open at seven.

Here’s a simple way to frame the weekend if you like a plan to lean on:

Time	Do this	Note
Saturday morning	Coffee at Mountain Mamas, walk Main Street	They open at 7; downtown is quietest early
Saturday midday	Scenic Railway to McCaysville	Drops you off to explore the shops
Saturday afternoon	Mercier Orchard bakery, then the rows	A couple of miles from town
Saturday evening	Dinner at Grace Steakhouse	Reserve ahead; ask about the downstairs bar
Sunday morning	Slow start, then Bigfoot Biscuits	Get up early for the fog
Sunday midday	Lake Blue Ridge or a vineyard	Rent a pontoon, or hire a driver for wine

The beautiful thing about the outdoors here is that there’s something for everyone, and I mean everyone.

Just being in it

If you only want to enjoy it, take a stroll or a Sunday drive, sit on the deck of a beautiful home, and watch the sunset and the leaves change through the seasons. That’s a real activity up here, whether people admit it or not.

Trails off the Aska Adventure Area

If you’re more of an enthusiast, there are miles and miles of walking and hiking trails through the national forest off the Aska Adventure Area, which sits on the land between the Toccoa River and Lake Blue Ridge. For a stronger workout, that’s also where the mountain biking is.

Lake Blue Ridge

The lake is massive for anyone who wants to spend the day out on a pontoon or a speedboat. To put numbers on it, Lake Blue Ridge is a 3,290-acre reservoir, about 11 miles long with 65 miles of shoreline, most of it wrapped in national forest. It was created by the Blue Ridge Dam, built on the Toccoa back in 1930, and the TVA has run it since 1939. That national-forest shoreline is why it stays so quiet and green.

The Toccoa River and the Swinging Bridge

On the water, the Toccoa River is huge for rafting and tubing. For a little more adventure, walk the Toccoa Swinging Bridge, going side to side. It’s a genuine landmark: at 270 feet it’s the longest swinging bridge east of the Mississippi, strung across the river deep in the Chattahoochee National Forest. Say the river’s name “tuh-KOH-uh,” while we’re at it.

Fishing, and the Trout Capital of Georgia

For those who just want to be near the water, there’s the fishing. This corner of Georgia is trout country. Blue Ridge is the Trout Capital of Georgia, and there’s a trout festival every year, right alongside the apple festival and the rest.

And nothing beats a beautiful vineyard on a cool fall evening, with the fire going, a bold glass of red wine, and those tannins settling into your soul while you stare out at the leaves changing. Leaf chasers come from all over the country for it. That’s a Blue Ridge experience. If the lake or the mountains are part of what you’re looking for, browse Blue Ridge listings here.

People always ask what the best time is, and honestly there’s never a bad one. It depends on the type of visitor you are. Here’s how the year plays out at a glance:

Season	What it’s like	Best for
Winter (Jan–Feb)	Cold but rarely snowed-in	Cabins; the Fire & Ice chili cook-off
Spring (Mar–May)	Everything blooms; the train restarts	Orchards, spring-break trips
Summer (Jun–Aug)	Warm days, cool nights; lake season	Pontoons, fishing, the marina
Fall (Sept–Nov)	Crisp, colorful, alive	Leaf color; the town at its best

Winter

Winter gets cold, but it’s not unbearable. There might be snow, but rarely a true snowed-in day, so you can still get out. Most people come in winter for that whole cabin, cottagey experience, with the fireplace going, soup on the stove, and cold weather outside. In February they even do the Fire and Ice chili cook-off, so there’s always something going on.

Spring

Spring is beautiful, when everything starts to blossom and bloom. It’s a popular spring-break time, the orchards open back up, and the train starts running again in March on a very cut-back schedule.

Summer

Summer is one of the two biggest times of year, and it’s every single activity. The lake is huge, with fishing, pontoons, and a marina that’s open from April through the fall, with one restaurant right on the water.

Fall

And fall is probably the Super Bowl of the year. The leaves change, there’s a crisp coolness in the air, and it’s just a fun time to be in and around Blue Ridge. If you can only come once, this is when.

A few things you’d only hear from a local.

Gem mining

You can pan for gems along the Toccoa River. It’s a fun thing to do, and there are a few flume-style spots set up for it around town where you buy a bucket and sift it through the running water. You may find something of value, you may not. That’s part of it, and kids love it.

The early morning

Get up early with a cup of coffee, especially in the summer when the mornings are cooler. Seeing that fog sit in the valley and feeling the briskness of the morning is amazing, and it’s a gem most people sleep right through.

The towns nearby

They’re all magical and close by. Mineral Bluff has absolutely beautiful long-range views, a little further out from downtown. Ellijay is 15 to 20 minutes out, another cute small town. And Blairsville is another nice one.

Standing in two states at once

McCaysville sits right on the Tennessee border with Copperhill, and there’s a blue line painted down the middle of the sidewalk marking the exact state line. You can stand with one foot in Georgia and one in Tennessee for the photo everyone takes. It’s also, quietly, a real estate story. Tennessee has no state income tax, so that line matters for more than pictures. But that’s a conversation for another day.

I’ll be honest about the pattern I see, because it happens all the time. People come for a weekend, catch one foggy morning on a porch, and start wondering what it would cost to own a place up here. It’s exactly how it started for me in 2018.

None of that needs to be part of your visit. Come for the trip first. But if the place starts feeling less like a stop and more like a possibility, that’s the part I can help with.