News & Updates for our Tourism Partners

School Calendars for Popular Areas that visit Fannin County

Below is a chart showing school breaks for the 2023 - 2024 school year. The Georgia calendar shows the Fall Breaks, Thanksgiving, Christmas,/ New Years, Winter and Spring Breaks plus the last day of school. You will not see some of those dates on the Florida calendar as they do not take Fall and Winter Breaks, there school year starts a little later than the Georgia Schools.

News - Announcements - Requests

Important: We received notice from the Forest Service that FS 58 will be partially closed on 9/26/23, This impacts visiting Long Creek Falls and also Three Forks Area hiking trails. They are closing the road about 3.3 miles in to do road repair. You can still access Long Creek and Three Forks Area from the south, but is a considerable re-route if you are coming from Blue Ridge. This is a Tuesday so shouldn't be too bad of an impact.

Remember you can get and keep up with updated information on road closures and openings by visiting the US Forest Service Website. Announcements are in the upper right-hand corner of the page

Be sure to click the October, Georgia's Blue Ridge, Tourism Newsletter to see all the dates for the upcoming Fall Festivals & Events. Follow the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce, Facebook page to keep up with classes, new businesses in the community and more.

For our restaurant partners we have new coasters to give to those of you who want them, see them pictured above. The Blue Ridge coaster, links to the main website and the Copper Basin coaster links to the Copper Basin portion of the website. Please contact Jode Mull at jodemull@blueridgemountains.com to get yours.

Please don't forget to let us know about your events, email Tammy Stafford at tammystafford@blueridgemountains.com

Check out our Blog page and our Itinerary page for ideas to share with visitors. With all the rain we have been having, you might want to keep our Rainy Day Itinerary bookmarked.

Pet Friendly Blue Ridge - For your guests that have brought their dogs, have them stop by one of our Visitor Centers and pick up a special gift. Share our Pet Friendly blog full of places they can take them and 8 Reasons to Book a Pet Friendly Cabin for even more ideas.

We use Crowdriff, a platform that collects photos our visitors post on Instagram. Help us build our collection of photos to use for marketing by encouraging your guests to tag their photos #loveblueridgega for them to have the opportunity of having their photos posted on our home page and used in our social media and blog posts. Just scroll to the bottom of this page to see.

What happens with some of the tourism tax money that is collected from your visitors? Watch this video to learn about all of the great projects that have been completed using Tourism Product Development funds. These funds are a percentage of the bed tax collected in Fannin County.

Weekly Visitor Activity Report

The Visitor Activity Report reflects the occupancy numbers for the upcoming weekend. It shows the number of cabins that are rented for specific dates, compares numbers to the previous year and more.

Weekly Activity Report, prepared by the Fannin County Chamber of Commerce

Learn More About Our Visitor Centers

Our 3 staffed visitor centers offer a variety of services, along with smiling faces ready to help. We have several spaces available to you and your guests or customers to drop in, use the internet, print, host training sessions and more. Our downtown center is open 7 days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., it has two restrooms, one a family style, handicap accessible with a baby changing station. Be sure to tell them that "Fido" is welcome as well, the downtown center has a doggie treat and a gift if they stop by! The McCaysville office is open everyday except Wednesdays.

The Chamber Visitor location located at 152 Orvin Lance Drive has updated hours, this location is now closed on Sundays' but feel free to visit our Downtown Location and our McCaysville location which are open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. For your guests who come in after hours our main center now has a kiosk mounted outside the front door with our App downloaded on it. There are also racks outside the doors of each center that have Visitor Guides in them.

Keep Us Informed

Events you are hosting
New services you are offering
Change in your operating hours
Change in Website or Social Media Accounts
Keep us Supplied with Rack Cards

Lodging Partners Information

Help your visitors have a great time by adding these links to your website or sharing them in your welcome letters.

Things to Do - Information and links to attractions, horseback riding, zip-lining and more.

Local Events & Festivals - Festivals, local events, live music, theater etc. You can sort the calendar by specific dates and also by type of event, live music, festivals etc.

Scenic Drives & Self-Guided Tours - Detailed map guides to scenic drives, waterfalls, hiking, restaurants and more.

Download the Visit Blue Ridge App - Quick access to "near me now" events, restaurants, shopping, trip planner, self-guided tours and more.

Recreate Responsibly - Help us protect our area and keep Blue Ridge beautiful by helping spread the word on how to recreate responsibly. This page has lots of information and videos.

Do you have guests not ready to venture into the woods on their own? Book them a hike with Hike the Ridge!

Your Staff Could Become a Blue Ridge Expert!

Add their email address to your representative list on your chamber membership so they can learn about new businesses opening up, new events and more, Contact our Director of Membership, Glenda Reilly; membership@blueridgemountains.com
Sign your staff up to receive our Georgia's Blue Ridge Experience Newsletter which goes out the last Tuesday of each month. This newsletter consists of several blogs, links to events and more.
Be an expert on what's happening, where to eat and more by Downloading the Visit Blue Ridge App.
Invite us to attend a staff meeting to do a training session on Things To Do. Learn more and make arrangements by contacting Jode Mull at 706-632-5680 or jodemull@blueridgemountains.com

We Have Received Some Great Press!

Here's how to plan the perfect trip to Blue Ridge, GA. - Travel + Leisure

12 Scenic Train Rides in the South - StyleBlueprint

The Best Off-Season Trips to Plan - Southern Living

A Guide to Apple Picking in the North Georgia Mountains - Eater Travel

Apple Orchards for Family Fun - comfortspringsstation.com

The Best Weekend Getaways in Georgia - Southern Living

10 Things to do in Blue Ridge Georgia: Complete Guide To Georgia's Most Beautiful Fall Town - thetravel.com

10 Southern Food and Drink Festivals Bringing the Flavor - Garden & Gun Magazine

6 Reasons to Love Downtown Blue Ridge - MSN

Amazing things to do on a perfect mountain getaway to Blue Ridge, Georgia - The Travel 100.com (result of recent press trip, thank you to our partners for making such a great impression!)

Atlanta isn't all the Georgia has to offer. Here are 7 other worthy trips - National Geographic

Downtown Blue Ridge, GA., Is A Peak Experience - Chattanoogan.com (result of recent press trip, thank you to our partners for making such a great impression!)

The 23 Best Orchards in the Country to Go Apple Picking This Autumn - wideopencountry.com/apple-picking/

7 small Georgia towns make most picturesque small towns in the nation list - Fox 5 Atlanta

Apple Season Georgia: Types of Apples & the Best Time to Pick Them - 365 Atlanta Traveler

12 Most Beautiful Places in Georgia To Visit - Myglobalviewpoint.com

These Small Towns In The Appalachians Come Alive In Summer - worldatlas.com

My Town: Karin Slaughter's Blue Ridge, Georgia - Garden & Gun e-newsletter

Best Blue Ridge Bites! (Must Eat Blue Ridge GA Restaurants - MSN Travel

11 Most Underrated Towns in The Southern United States - World Atlas

10 Weekend Getaways In Georgia That Make Perfect Road Trips - The Travel

The Benton MacKaye Trail, the Appalachian Trail's Shorter Sibling, Guns for National Recognition - Garden and Gun Magazine

Blue Ridge Country Magazine, 35th Anniversary Issue, Best of The Mountains (Print) - Blue Ridge was in the the top 3 for the following;

Best Main-Street Local Shopping Town, Best Revitalized Downtown, Best Walkable Town, Best Scenic Train Ride, Best Southern Cooking (Southern Charm Restaurant) and Best Arts & Crafts Show (Arts in the Park.

11 Family-Friendly treehouse hotels and rentals in the U.S. and Canada - USA Today

Georgia Lake Destinations - From Blue Ridge to Lake Oconee - 11 Alive WXIA-TV Broadcast (over 4 million Impressions)

20 Best Restaurants in Blue Ridge, GA - Travellens.com

Keeping it Cool in Blue Ridge, Georgia - Good Grit Magazine

10 Day Trips From Atlanta That Will have You Loving Short Road Trips - thetravel.com

State Spotlight- Georgia - Group Travel Leader - Page 22

8 Towns in the Appalachians That Have the Best Main Streets - World Atlas

The Best Small Towns in Georgia To Chill Out - World Atlas

These 10 Georgia Towns Are Underrated & Unexpectedly Awesome - thetravel.com

30 Best Free Things To do In Georgia (according to Tripadvisor - Newsbreak.com

Pet-Friendly Blue Ridge- MSN

Blue Ridge Georgia: Alfresco with an Attitude - MSN