Things to Do in Ellijay, Georgia: A Complete Guide for Cabin Guests

Ellijay is a small mountain town with a lot to fill a weekend: family orchards, a walkable downtown square, tasting rooms, lakes, rivers and trailheads, all within an easy drive of each other. If you're staying in a cabin, the hard part isn't finding things to do in Ellijay, GA. It's choosing. This guide is written for cabin guests. It covers what the area is known for, when to go, how to pace your days, and the small practical details that make a mountain trip go smoothly.

We're the family behind Mountain Memories and Shady Pines, two cabins inside Coosawattee River Resort. This is the guide we'd hand a friend before their first visit. Every hour, price and date below comes from the business or agency that publishes it, and we've linked each one so you can re-check it — in a town this seasonal, they do move.

Things to do in Ellijay GA at a glance

If you only have a minute, here are the ideas guests ask about most:

• Pick apples and stop for cider at the family orchards along Highway 52. In 2026 U-pick opened in late August and runs seven days a week through September and October.
• Walk the historic downtown square for local shops, lunch and an easy afternoon.
• Visit a winery in the North Georgia foothills (bring a designated driver).
• Spend a day on the water at Carters Lake or on one of the area's rivers.
• Hike to a waterfall in the Chattahoochee National Forest or a nearby state park.
• Take a scenic drive to a neighboring mountain town.
• Stay in. For many guests, the favorite part of a cabin trip is the porch, with nowhere to be.

The rest of this guide goes into each one, with planning notes that help whether you're a couple on a quiet weekend or a group of 16 across both cabins.

Getting oriented: where Ellijay fits in the North Georgia mountains

Ellijay is the county seat of Gilmer County, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Two rivers, the Ellijay and the Cartecay, meet in town to form the Coosawattee River, which winds west toward Carters Lake. The Chattahoochee National Forest covers much of the higher ground around town, so trailheads, overlooks and forest roads are never far away.

Most guests reach Ellijay from metro Atlanta, Chattanooga or the Carolinas. The Gilmer County Chamber describes the town as "just 90 minutes north of Atlanta" and "just over an hour from Atlanta and Chattanooga" on two different pages, which tells you something about how much traffic and route change the answer. Plan a cushion on Friday afternoons and fall weekends either way.

For the places in this guide, the Chamber publishes a few useful reference points from downtown Ellijay: Carters Lake about 20 minutes, Fort Mountain State Park about 25 minutes, the Bear Creek trailhead about 5 miles west, and the Appalachian Trail parking at Springer Mountain a 25.5-mile drive, a little over half an hour. The Fannin County tourism office puts Amicalola Falls about 21 miles from Ellijay via Highway 52.

The rule of thumb that follows: downtown, the orchards and the tasting rooms are short hops. Bigger hikes, waterfalls and neighbouring towns are a fuller day. Group things by direction and you'll spend more time doing and less time driving.

For a fuller picture of the area, see our Explore Ellijay overview.

Apple orchards and cider: Ellijay's signature season

Apples are what most first-time visitors come to Ellijay for. Several family farms sit east of town along Highway 52, and they open their farm markets right through the harvest. Depending on the farm you'll find pick-your-own apples, cider, fried pies, jams, wagon rides and a full slate of seasonal activities for kids.

The orchards near the cabins

The hours and prices below come from each farm's own website and were current when we wrote this guide. Everything here moves with the weather and the crop, so check the farm's site or call before you drive out.

B.J. Reece Orchards & Farm Market — 9131 Highway 52 East, Ellijay · 706-276-3048

The farm market is open Monday to Saturday 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Sunday 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM. For 2026 Reece says U-pick opened August 29 and runs seven days a week through September and October, with the last U-pick tickets sold at 5:00 PM in the fall so there's time to pick before closing. There's no advance booking at all: in their words, "You do not need to purchase tickets in advance, and tickets are not available for purchase online. You do not need to make a reservation." Farm-fun admission is $8 per person Monday to Friday, and $13, $18 or $26 per person on weekends depending on which package you pick; children two and under are free. U-pick bags are separate — $12 a half peck, $24 a peck, $48 a half bushel — and there's a 3% surcharge on credit cards, so bring some cash. Dogs are welcome in the orchard rows but not in the market or the petting zoo. Groups of 15 or more can reserve Tuesday to Friday in September and October.

Hillcrest Orchards — 9696 Highway 52 East, Ellijay · 706-273-3838

Hillcrest opened U-pick on September 1, 2026, and runs its Apple Pickin' Jubilee on weekends from September 5 to November 1, 2026. Hours are 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM daily in September and October and 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM daily in November, and admission closes an hour before the gates do. Admission is $14 per person on September and October weekdays and $22 per person on Jubilee weekends, for everyone of walking age and up. The weekend ticket covers the petting farm, wagon rides, the cow train, mini golf, duck races, pig races, cow milking, the apple and moonshine museums, a fairy-tale trail, and clogging and bluegrass shows. On weekdays the pig races run at 12:30 PM and cow milking from 11:00 AM to noon.

Red Apple Barn — 3379 Tails Creek Road, Ellijay · 706-635-5898

This one is north of town rather than out on Highway 52, and it has the longest season of the three: August through December 23. The farm market is open Monday to Saturday 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Sunday 1:00 PM to 5:30 PM. Apple picking is offered Saturday 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Sunday 1:00 PM to 4:00 PM, and Monday, Thursday and Friday 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM, planned on weekends through October or early November. They publish a variety-by-variety picking calendar — Gala and Honeycrisp from mid-August, Fuji around October 5–15, Pink Lady October 15–30, Arkansas Black and Yates at the very end of the month — and note that not every variety is offered for U-pick. The pumpkin patch is open weekends from late September through October. They don't post an admission or U-pick price online, so call ahead if that matters to your budget.

Mercier Orchards — 8660 Blue Ridge Drive, Blue Ridge · 706-632-3411

Mercier is the big one, but note that it's in Blue Ridge, up in Fannin County — a drive north of Ellijay, not a Gilmer County orchard. The store is open Monday to Thursday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM and Friday to Sunday 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM. Apple U-pick runs August, September and October, Monday to Thursday 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM and Friday to Sunday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, "subject to availability and weather." Admission "can only be purchased on-site" and is first come, first served while there's still fruit in the fields, so go early on a fall weekend. They don't publish a U-pick admission price anywhere on their site, so budget for it blind or ring ahead.

When to go apple picking near Ellijay

Apple season here starts in late summer and runs into fall, with varieties ripening in sequence: the farms' own calendars open with Ginger Gold and Gala in August and close out with Pink Lady, Arkansas Black and Gold Rush from late October into November. October weekends are the busiest of the year, especially during the Georgia Apple Festival. Go on a weekday or arrive near opening and you'll have far more room to wander — and at the farms that charge admission, a weekday ticket is roughly half the weekend price.

The Georgia Apple Festival

The Georgia Apple Festival is the area's signature fall event, now in its 55th year. It runs across two weekends — October 10–11 and October 17–18 — at the Ellijay Lions Club Fairgrounds, 1729 South Main Street, Ellijay, Saturdays 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Sundays 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Admission is $10 per person and children 12 and under are free, and the organizers say tickets are always available at the gate. Pets aren't allowed at the fairgrounds, though service animals are — but the Apple Arts festival running at the same time in downtown Ellijay is pet-friendly.

What to expect at a family orchard

Every farm runs things a little differently, so check before you go:

• U-pick availability depends on the crop and the weather. Some days are market-only, and some varieties are never offered for picking at all.
• Admission and activity fees vary by farm and between weekdays and weekends — at the farms above, a ticket runs from $8 to $26 per person.
• Payment options differ, and at least one farm adds a card surcharge, so carry cash as a backup.
• Pets may or may not be allowed. Reece lets dogs into the orchard rows but not the market; ask anywhere else.

Tips for cabin guests

Bring a cooler bag for the drive back, since farm markets often sell cider, preserves and baked goods. With a full kitchen at your cabin, apples go a long way: baked apples, a skillet crisp, or just a bowl on the counter for the weekend.

Downtown Ellijay: the historic square

Downtown Ellijay is the easy, low-planning outing of the trip. The square and the streets running off it — River Street, North Main, Southside Square — hold independent shops, antiques dealers, cafés and restaurants within a couple of blocks of each other. It's a good place to spend an afternoon, especially on the first or last day of a stay when nobody wants a long drive.

The square is genuinely old. The City of Ellijay records that the town's 1833 plan laid out "twenty town lots, streets, and a public square," with the streets angled so the buildings got as much sunlight as possible. A courthouse went up at the center of the square in 1854; it came down in the WPA era, a remodeled Hyatt Hotel served as the courthouse in its place, and the original site became the park that's there now. By 1900 every building ringing the square was brick.

Somewhere to start, all of these listed in the Gilmer County Chamber downtown directory: Ellijay Wood Fired Pizza (2 River Street), The Butcher and Bottle (24 River Street), Ellijay's Little Italian (40 River Street), Back Porch Bistro (128 North Main Street), Antiques on North Main (44 North Main Street) and Unique Ellijay (14 River Street). There's a Downtown Ellijay Welcome Center at 10 Broad Street, open Monday to Saturday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on (706) 635-7401. The Ellijay Farmers & Artisans Market sets up in the Gilmer County Courthouse parking lot on Saturday mornings from 8:30 AM to 12:30 PM, May through September. We couldn't find an officially published schedule for the current season anywhere, so check before you plan a Saturday around it.

A few planning notes:

• Shop and restaurant hours change by season and day of the week. Most downtown businesses here don't publish hours online at all, and some close early on weekdays or take a day off mid-week. Assume nothing, especially on a Monday or Tuesday.
• Dinner on busy weekends can mean a wait, especially in October. If a restaurant takes reservations, use them.
• Events on the square change from year to year. The city's Downtown Development Authority meets publicly on the second Tuesday of each month at 5:30 PM, and City Hall keeps weekday hours of 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM.

Wineries and tasting rooms

The North Georgia foothills have a real wine scene, and two of the wineries are in Gilmer County itself — close enough that a tasting is an afternoon, not a day trip.

Engelheim Vineyards — 120 Lakeview Road, Ellijay · 706-635-9463

The tasting room is open Friday and Saturday 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM and Sunday through Thursday 12:30 PM to 6:00 PM. A four-wine tasting is $18 and a six-wine tasting is $25, and they're refreshingly direct about booking: "No reservations are required!" Well-behaved leashed pets are always welcome. They also run a VIP winery experience on select Saturdays and Sundays, capped at eight guests, and a separate wedding venue called Venue in the Vines. One note for your GPS: their own site gives 120 Lakeview Road while several directories list 127, so it's worth a call if you're navigating by house number.

Cartecay Vineyards — the vineyard sits east of town among the orchards, and they run a downtown tasting room, Cartecay Wine & Craft, at 19 South Main Street right on the square. The downtown room is the easy one to drop into; for the vineyard itself, call ahead on 706-697-9463. The downtown room is open Monday to Thursday 12:00 PM to 7:00 PM, Friday and Saturday 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM and Sunday 12:30 PM to 6:00 PM, with open mic every day. There's a second Cartecay Wine & Craft at 598 East Main Street in Blue Ridge. The winery's own site sits behind a bot check we couldn't get past, so we have no posted hours or tasting prices for the Clear Creek Road vineyard. Call ahead if the vineyard rather than the tasting room is your destination.

If you'd rather walk between tastings than drive, downtown also has 29 North Wine & Art (29 North Avenue) and the House of Applejay distillery (67 Fowler Street, Building B).

Before you go:

• Check whether reservations are required for a group, even where walk-ins are the norm. A party of a dozen is a different proposition from a party of four, and neither winery publishes a group policy.
• Plan a designated driver or keep it to one stop. Mountain roads are winding, and many are dark at night.
• Pair it with lunch. Some wineries serve food and some don't. Call ahead or pack a picnic if the winery allows it.

Lakes, rivers and time on the water

Water is a big part of the Ellijay area. Carters Lake sits southwest of town and is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District. The Corps' own project listing shows swim beaches at Harris Branch Park and Woodring Branch, campgrounds at Doll Mountain, Woodring Branch and Harris Branch, day-use areas at the dam site and Northbank, hiking trails at Harris Branch and Ridgeway Park, and mountain-bike trails at Ridgeway. Useful numbers: the project office is (706) 334-2248, Woodring Branch 706-276-6050, Doll Mountain 706-276-4413 and the Harris Branch beach 706-276-4545.

Camping and picnic shelters are reservable through Recreation.gov — Doll Mountain sites run $26 to $100 a night, the Woodring Branch campground $20 and its primitive loop $10, and day-use shelters at the dam site, Doll Mountain, Woodring, Northbank and Rereg Dam $30 to $50. Day use is $5 per vehicle, paid at an automated fee machine at the dam site, Doll Mountain, Woodring and Northbank day-use areas — and the machines take cards only, no cash, so don't count on the twenty in your pocket.

One thing worth knowing, because plenty of websites get it wrong: Carters Lake Marina & Resort (575 Marina Road, Chatsworth · 706-276-4891) is a separate, privately run operation on the lake, not the manager of it. They rent cabins and boats, and they say plainly that they have no swimming beach, campground, hiking or day-use area — for any of those you want the Corps parks above. Their restaurant is seasonal, and they ask you to call ahead for days and hours.

Closer to town, the Cartecay and Coosawattee rivers draw paddlers and tubers in warm weather. Cartecay River Experience (2400 Highway 52 East · 706-531-4746) is the one local river outfitter the Gilmer County Chamber lists. They run Memorial Day to Labor Day, Saturday 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM and Sunday to Friday 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM: kayaks $30 cash or $34 by card, tubes $15 cash or $18 by card, shuttle-only $7 cash or $10 by card, and no reservation needed. There's an early-bird $2 off per person, cash only, in the first hour on weekends. If you're visiting outside that late-May-to-early-September window, assume the river rentals are shut.

Water levels and conditions change quickly after rain, so check on the day.

Inside the resort there are four river parks along the Coosawattee — North, East, Fish Trap and Canoe Park — which give guests a quieter place to sit by the water. Canoe Park is set up for fishing from the river's edge, and there's a separate catch-and-release pond at Beaver Lake.

For a deeper look at lakes, paddling and fishing, read our guide to outdoor activities near Ellijay.

Hiking and waterfalls near Ellijay

You don't have to be a serious hiker to enjoy the trails here. Options range from short, level nature walks near Carters Lake to longer forest hikes in the Chattahoochee National Forest. Two state parks within day-trip range have well-marked trails and overlooks: Fort Mountain to the west, where a half-mile loop gets you to small cascades and a 0.9-mile loop reaches the mysterious 855-foot stone wall and a CCC fire tower, and Amicalola Falls to the east, where a 2.1-mile loop and a 425-step staircase work a 729-foot waterfall from top to bottom.

Both are Georgia State Parks, so parking is $10 per vehicle per day — it went up from $5 on January 1, 2026 — or $70 for an annual ParkPass, $35 if you're 62 or over.

One thing to know for calling ahead: Gilmer County is in the Chattahoochee National Forest's Conasauga Ranger District (706-695-6736), not the Blue Ridge district that most websites assume.

A few general tips:

• Match the hike to the slowest person in your group. Mountain miles take longer than flat miles.
• Check trail conditions before you leave. Storms and maintenance close trails here regularly, and closures are rarely well advertised — Amicalola's East Ridge Trail is shut for maintenance as we write this, and several Cohutta Wilderness trailheads close from January through February.
• Start early in summer to beat heat and afternoon storms.
• Download maps ahead of time. Cell service can be patchy in the mountains.

Our outdoor activities guide covers specific trails and waterfalls, with notes on difficulty and planning.

Scenic drives and day trips

Some of the most memorable days in North Georgia are spent on the road, with stops along the way. A few ideas that work well from Ellijay:

• The town of Blue Ridge to the north has shops, restaurants and the Blue Ridge Railway, still widely known as the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, which runs a 26-mile round trip along the Toccoa River from the depot at 241 Depot Street. You can take it as a two-hour express with no layover, or a four-hour trip with a two-hour stop in McCaysville, Georgia and Copperhill, Tennessee. Regularly scheduled trains run mid-March through December; the ticket office is open 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM daily on (877) 413-8724. Blue Ridge is also where Mercier Orchards is.
• Fort Mountain State Park to the west covers 4,058 acres at about 2,850 feet, with the stone wall, a CCC-built stone fire tower and views the park puts at 80 miles on a clear day. Parking $10.
• Amicalola Falls State Park to the east holds the state's tallest waterfall — 729 feet over seven cascades, and the third-tallest cascading falls east of the Mississippi. The name is Cherokee for "tumbling water." Parking $10.
• Highway 52 east in fall takes you past the orchards themselves, which is a scenic drive on its own through late October while the late varieties are still being picked.

Fall color timing changes every year with the weather. Instead of planning around one "peak" weekend, plan around a few things you'd enjoy whatever the leaves are doing.

Family activities in and around Ellijay

Families with kids, and families with grandparents, have plenty to choose from:

• Orchard visits with wagon rides, farm animals and play areas. Hillcrest's weekend ticket covers a petting farm, cow train, duck races, pig races and cow milking; Reece runs a petting zoo alongside its farm-fun packages.
• Short nature trails that end at a creek, an overlook or a picnic spot. Fort Mountain's half-mile Big Rock loop passes small cascades in about an hour.
• Red Apple Barn's pumpkin patch, open weekends from late September through October.
• Resort amenities — an 18-hole mini golf course, a coin-operated game room with arcade games, pool tables and air hockey, tennis, basketball and pickleball courts, and an indoor heated pool that's open year-round.
• Wildlife watching from the deck. Deer wander through both cabins often, and they're a favorite with kids.

Inside Coosawattee River Resort

Both AnJo cabins are inside Coosawattee River Resort, a gated community spread, in the association's own words, across "5,500 acres of unspoiled wilderness" along the Coosawattee River. The POA office is at 634 Beaver Lake Drive and is open Monday to Saturday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM; customer service is 706-640-4010 and central security runs 24/7 on 706-640-4032 for non-emergencies.

What's on site, from the resort's own amenity pages:

• The Recreation Center (126 Mango Lane) — an enclosed, heated Junior Olympic-sized pool that's open year-round, daily 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM, plus a heated kiddie pool, a fitness centre, a coin-operated game room with arcade games, pool tables and air hockey, outdoor tennis, basketball and pickleball courts, an 18-hole miniature golf course and a large covered pavilion. The game room, weight room, courts and mini golf run 6:00 AM to 8:30 PM.
• Riverside Pool Center (545 Ogden Drive) — an outdoor main pool and kiddie pool with a snack shack and a suspension bridge across the river to Fish Trap Park. Memorial Day through Labor Day, pool 9:00 AM to 8:00 PM, snack shack noon to 6:00 PM.
• Foxhound Pool (186 Foxhound Drive) — outdoor pool, Memorial Day through Labor Day, 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
• Four river parks — North Park (playground, fire pit, gazebo, bathhouse), East Park (29 picnic sites with fire rings, a basketball court and a one-mile walking loop), Fish Trap Park (26 tent and six RV sites, children's play areas, the suspension bridge) and Canoe Park (picnic tables and river fishing). Plus the Ogden Road RV Park.
• Beaver Lake fishing pond — catch-and-release, and the resort says it's open to owners and guests "requiring no fishing license." The Doug Ray Memorial Walking Trail runs alongside it.

A few house rules worth knowing: 20 mph on paved roads and 10 mph on gravel, quiet hours 11:00 PM to 7:00 AM, a Coosawattee tag required for any ATV, golf cart or side-by-side regardless of rental status, no firearms discharged inside the boundaries, and trash hauled out to the Coosawattee Convenience Center on Highway 382, about 1.5 miles from the main gate. Food-delivery vehicles are let through the gate automatically.

Having all this on site makes it easy to plan a "stay close" day between bigger outings. Read more about Coosawattee River Resort.

Ellijay through the seasons

Sample itineraries for cabin guests

A relaxed weekend

• Friday: Arrive, unpack, grill dinner and settle in on the deck.
• Saturday: Orchard in the morning, lunch downtown, an easy afternoon at the resort or a winery visit.
• Sunday: Short hike or lake walk, then a slow drive home.

A long weekend with a group

• Day 1: Arrive and divide up groceries between cabins if you're staying at both.
• Day 2: Waterfall hike for the early risers, downtown and shops for everyone else, then a big shared dinner.
• Day 3: Lake or river day in summer, orchards in fall.
• Day 4: Slow breakfast, one last porch coffee, check out.

Planning tips for a cabin stay in Ellijay

• Shop for groceries before you head up the mountain. It's easier than making a second trip once you're settled.
• Expect patchy cell service on forest roads and in some hollows. Download maps and your gate confirmation before you lose signal — the Forest Service says outright that several trails near here have no service and no water.
• Drive mountain roads in daylight when you can, especially on your first night.
• Respect the wildlife. Deer are common, and a black bear occasionally checks for leftovers. Keep food indoors and the grill lid closed.
• Book popular weekends early. Fall weekends and holidays fill up first.
• Check-in is 4:00 PM and check-out is 10:00 AM, with keyless entry at both cabins.

Where to stay: Mountain Memories, Shady Pines or both

Our cabins are about a mile apart inside Coosawattee River Resort. Each one is set up for groups who want space to spread out after a full day.

Traveling with a bigger group? Stay in one, or make both yours. Together the cabins give you six bedrooms, five and a half baths and room for up to 16 guests, with separate spaces and one shared trip.

Plan your Ellijay getaway

Ellijay is close to what you came for and far from what you didn't. Pick one or two outings a day, leave room for a slow morning, and let the mountains set the pace. If you have questions about the cabins, dates or planning a group trip, we're glad to help.

Contact AnJo Properties

You can also browse more ideas in our Ellijay blog.