Traveling With Kids

If you’re traveling with kids you probably have an age range of children with different interests and boredom thresholds. No problem in Blue Ridge! The sheer number of possible activities for all ages makes it a perfect place to vacation with kids.

You can mix and match all the various adventures here… from getting out into the woods, water activities in any season, shopping places kids will love, stops for yummy treats plus family friendly restaurants, this itinerary has lots of ideas for your trip to beautiful Blue Ridge:

picturedGathering Apples at The Folk Collaborative in McCaysville

Day One

Arrive at your cabin in the afternoon and get settled in. If you bring a little something for dinner you can relax and explore around in the area where you’re staying. Most cabins have amenities like high-speed internet, big screens, game rooms and some even have outdoor fire pits and kid play areas. For help with all of the lodging possibilities in Blue Ridge click here.

Day Two

Come into town for breakfast at one of our great little eateries. Mercier Orchards is a good choice, with full breakfasts on weekends and bakery breakfasts all other days (featuring huge egg biscuits and their famous bakery goods). Merciers is also a great place to shop in the market and pick up gifts, plus grab some picnic and cabin supplies. Other possible breakfast stops include Yellowphant Café, Serenity Gardens, Mountain Mamas Coffee Lounge, Bumblebee Café, and Iron Bridge Café out on the Toccoa River on Aska Road.

For lunch, pack a picnic and head out into the beautiful Appalachian forests and waters that Blue Ridge is famous for. Plan a short hike, pick a spot like Aska Trails area, Three Forks and Fall Branch Falls, Fightingtown Creek Nature Park, or The Swinging Bridge.

Playgrounds & Parks

If you’d like a more controlled environment for the kids, try one of the many parks in our area like Horseshoe Bend Park, Tammen Park, Amicalola Falls State Park or for the adventurous, Jacks River Fields in the Cohutta Wilderness. The Chattachoochee Fish Hatchery is a great place to take the kids to see how trout are hatched by the US Forest Service for stocking in local waters. Downtown Blue Ridge also has an amazing playground for the little ones, right in downtown City Park.

Take a beautiful and fun ride on The Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

A Scenic Old Time Train Ride

Another option is to take the train. The Blue Ridge Scenic Railway is a crowd pleaser for all ages and runs along the Toccoa River on a 14 mile journey into Tennessee to the north. If you take the train, make sure to find 'The Blue Line’ a demarcation of the Georgia and Tennessee state line… you can take pics standing in two states at once. When you get back to Blue Ridge check out these Great Selfie Spots to get some memorable photos of the family.

For dinner, you can head back to enjoy your cabin and a casual meal with s’mores around the fire pit for dessert, or treats you’ve picked up along the way. Plus if you’ve been out in the woods all day the kids will probably be pretty worn out, so save some energy for day three!

Take the kids fishing on the Toccoa River

Day Three (or Three+ days)

Now that you’ve explored the area and are more familiar with it, you can plan activities around whatever appeals to your family. Go fishing with the kids… here are printable guides to fishing fun on Lake Blue Ridge and the Toccoa River. Check out The Family Fun Adventure Game, Top 30 Things to do with Kids, Hiking, Water Adventures and Scenic Drives. All are designed to show the kids the beautiful mountain environment that Georgia’s Blue Ridge is renowned for. Pick and choose different activities to pack in a day, but be careful not to plan something that will entail too much driving. (Word to the wise… make sure your car is up for the many rough gravel roads you might encounter. GPS doesn’t work very well here so plan ahead with our free, printable pdf Self-Guided Tours. We highly recommend 4-wheel drive high clearance vehicles for mountain excursions that entail Forest Service roads).

Get Out on a Working Farm

Another great option is to build your day around an adventure at a working farm. There’s no better way to get kids away from phones and video screens than an adventure in the dirt… Mercier Orchards and The Folk Collaborative offer a variety of farm activities across the seasons. From U-Pick Events and tractor rides to farm picnic and movie nights, Mercier and The Folk Collaborative are country-life favorites.

Tubing on the Toccoa River is Favorite Family Fun

Get Into The Water

When the weather turns warmer, Georgia’s Blue Ridge sparkles with mountain waters and adventures of all kinds. The Toccoa River is a great place for paddling and tubing. Lake Blue Ridge offers a beach at Morganton Point, and you can even rent watercraft like a pontoon boat or stand-up paddle board at Lake Blue Ridge Marina and other outfitters (for a complete list of water outfitters click here). For the older kids, an unforgettable family adventure is whitewater rafting on the Ocoee River. Trout fishing might be an activity the whole family enjoys, and Blue Ridge is the Trout Fishing Capital of Georgia.

Find some delights for the kids in downtown Blue Ridge, McCaysville & the Copper Basin

Go Exploring in Town!

A family exploration day through the downtown areas of Blue Ridge, McCaysville and the Copper Basin can be filled with fun shopping… for the little ones, Huck’s General Store is a must-stop filled with games, penny candy, toys and more. Older kids will enjoy Deaf Man Vinyl, Blue Ridge Mountain Outfitters, Blue Ridge Knife Company and the dazzling displays of rocks, fossils and crystals at Pezrok. Riverwalk Shops in McCaysville is a one-stop shopping extravaganza. All along the way in our quaint little towns are spots to stop for ice cream and treats. Check out The Chocolate Express, The Sweet Shoppe of the South for award winning cupcakes and Mountain Mama’s Coffee Lounge.

Adventures That Are Unique in Blue Ridge

Toss in an unusual activity with some of the unique activities Blue Ridge is known for. An evening movie at The Swan Drive-In, Tank Town USA for older kids, go bowling at Fannin Lanes Bowling Center, kayak on Lake Blue Ridge, pack a picnic and head out to Horseshoe Bend Park for Pickin’ In The Park live music in season. Or go horseback riding out in the country with the older kids at one of our great stables.

A Word to the Wise Parent

Depending on the number of days you have to spend, don’t try to do too much at once… there are limitless possibilities and you can just add the ones you haven’t gotten to yet to your next Blue Ridge getaway! Keep our extensive website and Blue Ridge App handy for searching out activities and planning your trips. And for every adventure into the pristine environment of Georgia’s Blue Ridge, we ask that you be a responsible visitor. See Recreate Responsibly and Leave No Trace for ways you can help Keep Blue Ridge Beautiful.

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