A Day Trip To Helen, Georgia in the Fall

If you have never heard of Helen, Georgia, before, it is a mountain town in North Georgia that has been inspired entirely by Germany, and it is perfect for a day trip. Every building, including the local Wendy’s and Dollar General, was built with a Bavarian-style making it a truly unique little town.

On a random October night, I made plans to make the short trip to Helen, Georgia, for November 7, the last day of the famous Oktoberfest. As someone who had never been to Oktoberfest, I was very interested in what the festival consisted of.

However, upon arriving, it was evident that Helen was already more focused on Christmas than Oktoberfest at this point. While there were still designated areas for drinking beer and listening to music, that was about the extent of it. Thankfully, Helen is a fun day trip any time of year, so we still had a great time.

Maybe one year, I will be able to write a post on Oktoberfest, but for now, here is a guide for a day trip to Helen, Georgia, in the Fall.

1.) Treat Yourself to a Hot Coffee or Hot Chocolate in Helen, Georgia

Personally, I am an iced coffee gal through and through, but when it starts to get cold outside, hot coffee or hot chocolate is unmatched. Once November comes around, one of the things I most look forward to is a good cup of hot chocolate, and Helen did not disappoint.

We stopped at Yonah Coffee Company which is located right in the middle of downtown. It is a fairly small location but in the cozy way that a coffee shop should be. I ordered their hot cocoa while my boyfriend ordered one of their lattes, and both of us were pleasantly surprised.

I have mentioned several times that one of my favorite things to do in a city is walk around with a good coffee (or hot cocoa) in hand, and Helen is no exception.

2.) Visit Various Shops in Helen, Georgia

I love walking through the stores in Helen because they are truly so unique. There are some of your typical gift shops, but there are also stores full of the most random objects that you probably wouldn’t see anywhere else nearby. For example, there are stores full of German hats, stores full of Dutch clogs, stores full of handmade art, and even stores where you can take old Western-themed photos.

Whenever towns have stores like this, it makes walking around so enjoyable even if you don’t buy anything. The only things I walked out of the stores with were a new postcard for my collection and a new sticker for my laptop, but I still loved all of the window shopping we got to do.

3.) Ride the Georgia Mountain Coaster in Helen

After seeing so many videos of people riding various mountain coasters, I really wanted to try one out. These kinds of rollercoasters are perfect for anyone because you get to control how fast you go.

My boyfriend and I decided that we were going to go full speed, and we were very shocked at just how fast it was. It really felt like we were going to fall off the tracks at any moment, but we arrived safely at the end.

This was a super fun experience and only cost 15 dollars per person. If this is something that you have never done before, I believe it is worth the money.