Nifty Tourist Town: "Alpine" Helen, Georgia

For our spring break surprise destination trip for G, we wanted to reach Babyland General Hospital in Cleveland, Georgia.  Looking for a nearby place to stay, Kim found a place she'd heard of but had difficulty picturing: Alpine Helen, Georgia.  It turns out Helen is a lovely little tourist town that is constructed to look like a Busch Gardens-esque interpretation of Bavaria. It's actually so very Busch Gardens looking that G asked where the rides were.

Smaller than Gatlinburg, Tennessee, but bigger than Calabash, North Carolina, Helen was the perfect little base for our road trip and would also make a nice base for local hiking (and waterfall seeking) in North Georgia--there are several state parks very nearby and, for saving for when the kids are older, river tubing options.  The village has intriguing putt-putt places, many souvenir shops, some nifty boutique stores like Jolly's Toys, and a good number of German restaurants.  Allow for a few hours of shopping and strolling in town.  We enjoyed a modest German lunch at Hofer's of Helen, and Bodensee was also recommended to us as a quality option. While there, don't miss Betty's IGA General Store, a nice stop for groceries that is a fun place to experience in itself.  Good news for travelling families: the highly imaginative, family-owned roadside attraction HO-scale model train exhibit Charlemagne's Kingdom is set to reopen.  Rumor had it was opening a few days after we left, meaning we'll have to go back.

If you go, know that Alpine Helen is off the beaten path.  GPS an exact address, don't expect a ton of mobile connectivity in some areas, and do expect to feel like you are in a rural environment near a hidden treasure--not an extremely advertised one.  In other words, there won't be a bunch of billboards guiding you in.  Once in town, there are plenty of nearly-equivalent hotels: we stayed at the modest but wonderful Quality Inn Helen, and the Heidi Motel also had a cute setup.  There's not a ton of family-appropriate nightlife, although there is a Huddle House 24/7 restaurant that had delightful service.  Expect to walk place-to-place in town, and check the town calendar for special events, notably Octoberfest and a hot air balloon event.  If traveling with small ones, you are close to Babyland General Hospital.  It was suggested that, when we return to the area, we explore the relatively-nearby Dahlonega Gold Museum as well.