A Day in Helen and Hiking with Kids

A little German town in Georgia? Yes, really it does exist! Here is some advice on what to do in Helen and where to go hiking nearby when traveling with your kids.

We visited this city on our Southeast road trip after Atlanta. It is only about 1 1/2 hours north. When we arrived in the morning, we were just amazed at the "quaintness" of this city. It was pretty dead on a December weekday morning (we basically had the town to ourselves).

Our day in Helen was more like half a day. We drove on a nice little road up to the town and stopped in to Nora Mill Granary. There we bought a couple of pancake mixes to take back home and make with the kids (by the way - they were fantastic). If you stop here, buy any kind of pancake mix. Both we tried were so rich yet light!

We drove into Helen and parked at a local lot. We then walked into a few shops and then had a snack or two at Hansel and Gretel's Chocolate shop. It was pretty delicious. They had a variety of truffles, cookies and other great snacks.

Throughout our day in Helen, we window gazed and walked into a few local shops, bought the usual magnet and Christmas ornament, and then made sure to have a German beer and stare at the view for awhile.

After that, we headed to lunch at Muller's Famous Fried Cheese Cafe and enjoyed some authentic Austrian food. We hope to be back during Oktoberfest, where I hear they hold festivals and the city comes to life.

Where to Stay in Helen

Jameson Inn, Helen GA by Sharon Gourlay

The Jameson Inn is a great choice because it’s just a short drive to downtown Helen and to surrounding attractions like the Babyland General Hospital. It has all facilities you need with nice rooms with fridge and toiletries. It’s also very good value and breakfast is included. Kids will especially like the indoor heated pool which is a big plus.

To check out rates for hotel stays in Helen, click here or the picture below.

We then headed for a quick 5 minute drive to Anna Ruby Falls. It was a state park so we had to pay a small entrance fee, but it was worth it. The hike was very short (only 1 mile) and pretty gentle the whole way. On our way to the falls, we walked past some creeks and wooded areas. Even though hike was not in the town necessarily, it was still close enough to include as a tip when traveling to Helen with kids.

There were several viewing platforms to take pictures and soak in the beauty. Overall, we highly enjoyed this little trail in Anna Ruby Falls. There are a few other short waterfall hikes in the northern Georgia area, but we were short on time. We stayed and took a few pictures and hiked right back to the car to continue the road trip onto another waterfall hike Tallulah Falls Gorge.

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