Areas to Visit in Northern Georgia and Atlanta? (Stone Mountain, Nashville: crime, neighborhoods)

[Kwijibo]

Hello!

I'm thinking of taking a 5-7 day-long vacation to Georgia in Sept/Oct and would love some advice on which areas to visit while there.

A little about me: I'm a Black woman, born and raised in California, but with family from Mississippi so I've visited some parts of the South, but not Georgia yet. I love hiking in National/State Parks and camping, along with great food and history/walking tours. As of right now I'm thinking of staying in the Atlanta metro area and making day trips to Blue Ridge and the Chattahoochee National Forest.

(Also curious to know if there are any areas to avoid or at least be mindful of as a Black woman driving around in Georgia. Since I'm looking to go around Sept/Oct this year and know it gets dark earlier, so I want to plan accordingly.)

Thanks!

[Phil P]

If you're staying in the Atlanta area, I'd recommend mixing the Piedmont area (hilly region Atlanta is part of) along with the North Georgia mountains, they really are 2 different regions and the trees and plants are different between the two. Being from California, you've seen topography, but a forest full of 100+ foot tall decidous hardwoods with that thick green canopy is something unique! And generally the piedmont has bigger trees cause it's warmer and less windy and there's deeper soil before hitting rock.

[newdixiegirl]

Thanks for starting this thread, OP! Good timing.

In 10 years of living in Nashville, I've driven through Georgia but have never really explored it. So, I think I'd like to do some exploring in North Georgia for the Memorial Day weekend, and I'm looking for info, too.

While doing some research, I've come across a few recommended towns/areas, like Clayton, Blue Ridge, Ellijay, Helen, Hiawassee, and Stone Mountain. Maybe someone on here could provide their ideas, insights, and suggestions on these or other areas.

(Not trying to hijack your thread, OP. If you want me to move my post to start another thread, I will. I thought that my post and yours are so similar, though, that a mod might amalgamate them, anyway. ).

[Born 2 Roll]

Originally Posted by Kwijibo

Hello!

I'm thinking of taking a 5-7 day-long vacation to Georgia in Sept/Oct and would love some advice on which areas to visit while there.

A little about me: I'm a Black woman, born and raised in California, but with family from Mississippi so I've visited some parts of the South, but not Georgia yet. I love hiking in National/State Parks and camping, along with great food and history/walking tours. As of right now I'm thinking of staying in the Atlanta metro area and making day trips to Blue Ridge and the Chattahoochee National Forest.

In addition to visiting Blue Ridge and the Chattahoochee National Forest consider adding such North Georgia sights as:

> Amicalola Falls, which is a 729-foot long waterfall that is the 3rd-highest cascading waterfall in the U.S. east of the Mississippi River...

> Brasstown Bald, which at 4,784 feet obviously pales in comparison to the mountain peaks of Western U.S., but is the highest mountain peak in the state of Georgia and is a popular and beloved visitor destination for metro Atlantans...

> The German village-themed town of Helen with its numerous German and Southern Appalachian restaurants and shops is a North Georgia mountain destination that is very popular with metro Atlantans...

> The scenic and historic Blue Ridge Scenic Railway, scenic Tallulah Gorge canyon and Dahlonega (site of the nation’s first major gold rush in 1828) might also be sites worth considering a visit to in North Georgia.

The Chattanooga area, which straddles the state line between Tennessee and Georgia is also an area north of Atlanta that is a popular destination with metro Atlantans with such popular tourist attractions as Lookout Mountain, Rock City Gardens, the Tennessee Aquarium and the Chattanooga Choo-Choo in addition to a few lovely walkable urban neighborhoods filled with vibrant shops and restaurants.

You probably might also consider adding areas parts of the Southern Blue Ridge/Appalachian Mountains region in neighboring states that are popular getaway destinations with metro Atlantans like the Nanathala National Forest (in southwestern North Carolina) and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park area, which straddles the state line between western North Carolina and eastern Tennessee and includes such popular metro Atlanta and Eastern U.S. visitor sights as the casino at Cherokee, NC; the 6,643-foot high Clingmans Dome mountain peak (on the North Carolina side of Great Smoky Mountains National Park) and the extremely popular tourist-oriented Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge-Sevierville region in Eastern Tennessee.

The bohemian-flavored Western North Carolina/Blue Ridge Mountains city of Asheville with its unique shops and restaurants and the 6,684-foot high Mount Mitchell (the highest mountain peak east of the Rockies) might also be worth checking out on an outing north of Atlanta.

North Georgia is best taken in not alone, but as part of the larger southern Blue Ridge and Appalachian Mountains region that is along with extreme Western North Carolina and Eastern Tennessee.

Originally Posted by Kwijibo

(Also curious to know if there are any areas to avoid or at least be mindful of as a Black woman driving around in Georgia. Since I'm looking to go around Sept/Oct this year and know it gets dark earlier, so I want to plan accordingly.)

In decades’ past, Forsyth County (located along the Georgia 400 freeway in the foothills of the Blue Ridge/Appalachian mountains north of Atlanta) had a well-deserved national reputation of being the type of community that a person of color would have had to have been mindful of when driving around in Georgia.

But continued extremely robust rates of growth and development has made the previously isolated and exceedingly provincial Forsyth County an increasingly diverse part of the Atlanta metropolitan area, with a very fast-growing Asian community that (along with an also very fast growing Hispanic/Latino population) looks to be on track to making racial and ethnic minorities a majority of the population of Forsyth County (which as recently as 1980 had a population that was effectively 100% white) within the next 10-15 years or so.

While obviously not perfect, Georgia circa-2021 has come an exceedingly long way from the Georgia of the past where minorities often may not have always been safe driving outside of the City of Atlanta.

Particularly with the continued explosive growth of the greater Atlanta metropolitan area and the establishment and explosive growth of minority communities in far-outlying areas that were formerly 90%+ white, along with greater metropolitan Atlanta becoming a national hub for minority life and living, minorities are a heck of a lot safer driving around Georgia than they might have been in the past.

If you make sure that your driver’s license, tags (license plate) and equipment (including headlights, taillights and brake lights) in good working order and obey all traffic laws, you most likely will not have any problems, including with potentially overzealous cops.

And you most likely will not have any serious problems if you stay calm and project a respectful, humble and courteous tone in the event that you may have to interact with a LEO (law enforcement officer) while out and about.

Definitely don’t speed and/or commit moving violations in incorporated areas, including in smaller cities and towns (where law enforcement is more likely to be more overzealous) and you most likely will have no problems driving around in Georgia and the South.

What probably should concern you more than driving around in rural Georgia is driving around in some parts of metro Atlanta (including in the City of Atlanta and in some parts of Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton, Cobb and Gwinnett counties) where crimes like illegal street racing, car break-ins, carjacking, auto thefts and armed robberies have increased in frequency since the start of the pandemic like has been the case in most major American city/metros since early 2020.

Since you’re coming from California, you probably will know to be aware and vigilant while out and about in a large major metropolitan area like Atlanta where crime unfortunately may not always be as rare and as unusual as we may like.