One of Georgia’s hidden treasures is the little town of Blue Ridge, located in the mountains near the top of Georgia. It’s a favorite among Floridians and Atlantans for a second home – and many wind up retiring there.

The downtown area is laid out prettily with a number of upscale shops, including clothing, good home décor, gourmet food purveyors and other interesting retailers. The town is surrounded by mountains -  from various points you can see Big Frog Mountain in Tennessee and the Blue Ridge mountains in North Carolina.

The beauty of this area has attracted artists for years and the many galleries reflect that in both their quality and diversity. Blue Ridge has had an annual writers’ conference since 1996 and was the site of the 2007 Georgia Literary Festival which honored local-son and poet Byron Herbert Reece. The Blue Ridge Community Theater has seven productions a year as well as a children’s show and children’s camp in the summer. The local arts association which runs an Arts Center is working hard to be recognized as one of America’s Top 100 Small Arts Towns. Among the annual arts festivals held here is the popular Arts in the Park. This 35-year-old festival is scheduled for Memorial Day weekend. It’s juried and will have over 175 exhibitors.

There has always been good food to be found here. Several years ago the voters approved beer and wine which only enhanced the restaurant scene in the area. There are many good-quality places to eat. I can recommend the crab cakes at Christie Lee’s Courtyard Grille, Cusina Rustica’s addictive Italian cuisine, Harvest on Main which specializes in sustainable, regional food and the Blue Ridge Brewery, a must with its European style gourmet cooking, whether you like beer or not. They have a good selection of craft beers, as well as their own Blue Ridge Red. Brewed on Wednesdays, it’s tapped on Fridays and often gone before the weekend is up. It’s a dark amber – and as a non-beer drinker, I can tell you it is really good.

Because there are a lot of outdoor activities in the area, outfitters have set up shop in the area. Among them are mountain biking experts, horseback-riding stables, fly-fishing guides, kayaking shops, rafting and tubing rentals. In town you can buy or learn to build your own bamboo rod with Bill Oyster.

Lake Blue Ridge is pretty and popular and the nearby Toccoa River is beloved by fishermen and women, white-water enthusiasts and even stand-up paddle boarders. Fannin County was named the Trout Capital of Georgia by the General Assembly last year.  If you don’t want to fish it, float it or fight it --  just pull up a chair next to it and let your worries ripple away in the shadow of these mountains. (The Toccoa River Restaurant is a good place to sit on the deck and watch all those other people play in the water.)

You may know someone who has a place at Blue Ridge. If not, there are over 1000 rental cabins available. Plan your visit so you can find out why those folks who vacation up here won’t stop talking about it!