Things to Do in Blairsville and Hiawassee, GA: Brasstown Bald, Vogel State Park, Lake Chatuge and the Mountain Festivals, With Prices

Brasstown Bald is $10 (16+, shuttle included, free Sept 26), Vogel is $10 a car but Lake Trahlyta is drained, and Track Rock is closed. Plus the Oct 2026 festival dates.

By Hank Whitlock·Updated September 21, 2026·11 min read

The two big outings near Blairsville and Hiawassee cost $10 or less: Brasstown Bald, Georgia’s highest point at 4,784 feet, charges $10 per person 16 and older with the summit shuttle included (15 and under free, and everyone free on September 26, 2026), and Vogel State Park is $10 per car. Helton Creek Falls, the Towns County beach on Lake Chatuge and the Old Courthouse Museum in Blairsville are free. Two catches this fall: Vogel’s Lake Trahlyta is drained for dam repairs, and the Track Rock petroglyphs are closed.

Figures come from the U.S. Forest Service, FIND Outdoors (which runs Brasstown Bald for the Forest Service), Georgia State Parks, Towns County, the Union County Historical Society and the festival organizers’ own sites (checked September 21, 2026). Blairsville is about 1 hour 50 minutes (100 miles) from Atlanta and Hiawassee about 2 hours (115 miles), both via GA-400 and US-19/129, per our small towns guide. Blue Ridge has its own Blue Ridge guide, so we don’t repeat it here.

What do things to do in Blairsville and Hiawassee cost?

Adult prices and hours as each operator publishes them (checked September 21, 2026).

Stop	Adult price	Hours / season	Kids	Dogs
Brasstown Bald (2941 Hwy Spur 180, Hiawassee)	$10 ages 16+, shuttle included; $6 after hours	Daily 10 a.m.–5 p.m.; last shuttle up 4:30 p.m.	15 and under free	Leashed; not in the visitor center
Vogel State Park (405 Vogel State Park Rd., Blairsville)	$10 per vehicle ParkPass; $70 annual	Park 7 a.m.–10 p.m.; office 8 a.m.–5 p.m.	Mini golf, playground	Leashed (6 ft), not in buildings or on the beach
Helton Creek Falls (Helton Creek Rd., off US 19/129)	Free	Open all year	0.2-mile trail, abrupt grade changes	Not published
Track Rock petroglyphs	Free	Temporarily closed	—	—
Towns County Beach, Lake Chatuge (908 US 76 W, Hiawassee)	Free, free parking	Hours not published	Playground; no lifeguard	Not published
Bell Mountain Park (220 Shake Rag Rd., Hiawassee)	No fee listed	8 a.m.–dark; closed in bad weather	Two observation decks	Not published
Old Courthouse Museum (1 Town Square, Blairsville)	Free; donations welcome	Mon–Fri 10 a.m.–4 p.m.; also Sat 11 a.m.–3 p.m. May–Dec	School tours by arrangement	Not published
Georgia Mountain Fall Festival (Hiawassee)	$10; free parking	Oct. 9–11 and 15–17, 2026	12 and under free	No pets on the grounds
Sorghum in the Mountains (Meeks Park, Blairsville)	2026 price not published	Oct. 10–11 and 17–18, 2026, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.	Games, sack races	2026 policy not published

How much is Brasstown Bald, and do you have to hike to the top?

$10 for anyone 16 or older during staffed hours, which includes the shuttle, and free for children 15 and under (checked September 21, 2026). Outside those hours the fee is $6. The visitor center, museum, observation deck and shuttle run daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; the shuttle takes a break from 12:30 to 1:10 p.m., the last run up leaves at 4:30 p.m. and the last one down at 5 p.m. It closes the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and accepts Interagency Senior and Access passes.

You don’t have to hike. The alternative to the shuttle is a 0.6-mile paved trail from the parking lot that the Forest Service calls “very steep.” FIND Outdoors says the deck looks over four states. Three longer trails leave from the same lot: Jack’s Knob (4.5 miles), Arkaquah (5.5 miles) and Wagon Train (7 miles). From Blairsville, the Forest Service route is US 19/129 south for 8 miles, Georgia 180 east for 9 miles, then Georgia Spur 180 north for 3 miles. Bring water: the Forest Service lists none on site.

Saturday, September 26, 2026, is National Public Lands Day, and FIND Outdoors lists it as a fee-free day at Brasstown Bald from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Not confirmed by the operator. Whether dogs may ride the summit shuttle, and the date visitor services close for winter. The Forest Service page says only that dogs must be leashed and stay out of the visitor center; FIND Outdoors says visitor services are seasonal and winter weather decides closures, but neither publishes a closing date, as of September 21, 2026. Call 706-896-2556. Tell us if you know more.

Is Vogel State Park open, and is Lake Trahlyta drained?

The park is open, but its 22-acre lake isn’t there this fall. “Lake Trahlyta is currently drained for necessary dam repairs and maintenance,” Georgia State Parks says, and the Lake Trahlyta Loop Trail and the waterfall are closed; “all cabins, campsites, and other park facilities remain fully open” (checked September 21, 2026). Parking takes a $10 ParkPass per vehicle (or the $70 annual pass), good at other state parks the same day.

Vogel covers 242 acres at the base of Blood Mountain, with 34 cottages, 90 tent, trailer and RV sites, 18 walk-in sites, an ADA-accessible miniature golf course and a seasonal Civilian Conservation Corps museum. With the lake loop shut, the trails that remain:

Byron Herbert Reece Nature Trail: 0.8-mile partial loop, easy, about an hour.
Bear Hair Gap Trail: 4.1-mile partial loop, moderate, about 2 hours, over the lower ridges of Blood Mountain. It enters national forest open to hunting, so wear bright colors in season.
Coosa Backcountry Trail: 12.9-mile partial loop, about 9 hours, climbing and dropping more than a mile of elevation over three ridgelines. Backcountry camping is by permit.
Lake Trahlyta Trail (1-mile loop): closed during the dam work, which also cuts off the Reece Farm Heritage Trail that starts from it.

Not confirmed by the operator. When Lake Trahlyta will be refilled and the lake loop reopened. Georgia State Parks’ Vogel page gives no date, and the park doesn’t say whether the seasonal beach and paddling rentals will run while the lake is empty, as of September 21, 2026. Call the park at 706-745-2628. Tell us if you know more.

Not confirmed by the operator. Which Vogel cottages take dogs. Georgia State Parks’ rules say some parks have dog-friendly cottages at $50 per dog (two at most), requested before arrival, but the Vogel page doesn’t list them or show cottage rates, which appear only in the reservation system (800-864-7275), as of September 21, 2026. Tell us if you know more.

Helton Creek Falls, Track Rock and the Russell-Brasstown byway

Helton Creek Falls is free and open all year. The Forest Service describes an “easy 0.2 mile hike” with “many abrupt changes in grade” to an observation deck; its scenic-drives page calls it “an 80 foot water fall.” From Blairsville, drive US 19/129 south 11 miles, then turn left on Helton Creek Road for 2.2 miles to a small pullout (checked September 21, 2026). Stay on the trail and deck.

Track Rock petroglyphs are marked “Temporarily closed” on the Forest Service page (updated August 10, 2026), with no reopening date. The Arkaquah Trail parking lot and trailhead nearby stay open. The Forest Service dates the earliest carvings back at least 3,600 years.

The Richard B. Russell Scenic Highway is part of the Russell-Brasstown National Scenic Byway, a 40-mile loop on State Highways 348, 180 and 17/75 that the Forest Service says needs at least three hours. It passes Hogpen Gap on the Appalachian Trail, Dukes Creek Falls and the Brasstown Bald turnoff and loops through Helen; our Helen guide covers that end.

Lake Chatuge and Hiawassee: beach, Bell Mountain and the lake

Lake Chatuge is a Tennessee Valley Authority reservoir built in 1942, with 132 miles of shoreline, according to the Towns County Convention and Visitors Bureau (checked September 21, 2026). The simplest way in is the Towns County Recreational Beach on US 76 about 2 miles from the Hiawassee square: free, with free parking, a roped-off swimming area, a large playground, picnic tables and chair rentals, but no lifeguard.

For the view over the lake, Bell Mountain Park, about five miles from the square, has a paved road to two observation platforms, the higher one at 3,424 feet. Towns County opens it 8 a.m. to dark and closes it in bad weather.

When are the Hiawassee and Blairsville fall festivals in 2026?

Georgia Mountain Fall Festival, Hiawassee: October 9–11 and 15–17, 2026, at the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds, 1311 Music Hall Road (checked September 21, 2026). Admission is $10, free for 12 and under, with free parking and no pets. Gates open 10 a.m.–7 p.m. (Sunday, October 11, until 6 p.m.), and Thursday, October 8, is a free preview night from 6 p.m. Carnival rides run the first weekend only: unlimited-ride wristbands are $25 on Friday, October 9, and $30 on Saturday and Sunday. Evening concerts include the Bellamy Brothers and Exile (October 9), Molly Tuttle (October 16) and Tanya Tucker (October 17).

Sorghum in the Mountains, Blairsville: October 10–11 and 17–18, 2026, 9 a.m.–5 p.m., at Meeks Park, 490 Meeks Park Road. Begun in 1969, it still boils sorghum syrup on site, with pole climbing, log sawing, sack races and a biscuit-eating contest. The parade starts at 10 a.m. on Saturday, October 10, in downtown Blairsville. (The old Blairsville Sorghum Festival website still shows 2024 information.) Both festivals are in our Georgia fall festivals 2026 list.

Not confirmed by the operator. The 2026 Sorghum in the Mountains admission price and dog policy. The festival site, its schedule page and its Eventeny listing don’t show them, as of September 21, 2026. In 2025 it was $5 for ages 13 and up, free for 12 and under (The Mountain Buzz, September 18, 2025), and the old festival site welcomed leashed dogs; neither is confirmed for 2026. Contact: 706-400-0720. Tell us if you know more.

What’s in downtown Blairsville?

The old courthouse on the square is now the Union County Historical Society’s Old Courthouse Museum: free (donations appreciated), open Monday–Friday 10 a.m.–4 p.m. all year and also Saturday 11 a.m.–3 p.m. from May to December (checked September 21, 2026). The society’s Mountain Life Museum, at 25 Veterans Memorial Drive, is free and open Thursday–Saturday 10 a.m.–3 p.m. from May to December. The Union County Farmers Market, 290 Farmers Market Way, runs Tuesdays and Saturdays 8 a.m.–1 p.m. through October.

When is fall color near Blairsville and Hiawassee?

Our fall-color timing page gives the usual peak windows, which describe a typical year, not a forecast: Brasstown Bald October 5–18, Vogel State Park and Helton Creek Falls October 18–31, and Blairsville and Hiawassee October 25–November 8. Georgia State Parks posts live Leaf Watch reports from October 1. Pack a layer: on our weather page, NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for Blairsville give an October average high of 70°F and low of 43°F, with 5.5 freezing nights in an average October.

What should you do in your situation?

Leaf-season weekend: Go up Brasstown Bald early in October, when its usual window opens, and take the Russell-Brasstown loop down. Put Helton Creek Falls and Vogel’s Bear Hair Gap Trail in the second half of the month. On October 10 or 17, do the Sorghum festival by day and the Hiawassee Fall Festival (open to 7 p.m.) after.
With kids: Brasstown Bald is free for 15 and under, so two adults and two children pay $20, shuttle included. Add Vogel’s mini golf and playground (parking $10 a car), the free county beach playground and the Fall Festival (free for 12 and under). The Brasstown summit trail is paved but very steep, so plan on the shuttle.
With a dog: Leashed dogs are allowed at Brasstown Bald outside the visitor center and on Vogel’s trails (6-foot leash, not on the beach or in buildings). Leave the dog home for the Georgia Mountain Fall Festival, which bans pets. Helton Creek Falls, the Towns County beach and the Sorghum festival publish no 2026 dog rule.
Rainy day: Brasstown Bald’s museum and exhibit hall are indoors, though weather can interrupt the shuttle, so FIND Outdoors says to check its social media first. Downtown Blairsville’s Old Courthouse Museum is free every weekday, and the Mountain Life Museum is open Thursday–Saturday through December. Skip Bell Mountain, which closes in bad weather.
On a budget: Brasstown Bald on September 26 (fee-free day), Helton Creek Falls, Bell Mountain, the Towns County beach and both Blairsville museums cost nothing. One $10 ParkPass covers Vogel and any other state park the same day.

Making a longer loop? The north Georgia mountain road trip strings Blairsville together with Dahlonega, Helen and Blue Ridge.

FAQ

How much does it cost to go to Brasstown Bald?

$10 per person aged 16 and older during staffed hours (10 a.m.–5 p.m. daily), including the shuttle to the summit, and $6 after hours. Children 15 and under are free. Saturday, September 26, 2026, is a fee-free day, according to FIND Outdoors, which runs the site for the U.S. Forest Service (checked September 21, 2026).

Can you drive to the top of Brasstown Bald?

You can drive to the parking lot, then either ride the shuttle (included in the $10 fee, last run up 4:30 p.m., none from 12:30 to 1:10 p.m.) or walk the 0.6-mile paved trail, which the Forest Service calls very steep. The summit is 4,784 feet, Georgia’s highest point.

Is Lake Trahlyta at Vogel State Park drained?

Yes. As of September 21, 2026, Georgia State Parks says Lake Trahlyta is drained for dam repairs and the Lake Trahlyta Loop Trail and waterfall are closed, while cottages, campsites and other facilities stay open. No refill date is published. Parking is $10 per vehicle.

Is Track Rock Gap open?

No. The U.S. Forest Service lists the Track Rock petroglyphs as temporarily closed (page updated August 10, 2026) with no reopening date. The nearby Arkaquah Trail parking lot and trailhead remain open.

When is the Georgia Mountain Fall Festival in 2026?

October 9–11 and 15–17, 2026, at the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds in Hiawassee, with a free preview night on October 8. Admission is $10, free for 12 and under, parking is free, and pets aren’t allowed. Carnival rides run the first weekend only.

When is the Blairsville Sorghum Festival in 2026?

Now called Sorghum in the Mountains, it runs October 10–11 and 17–18, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Meeks Park in Blairsville, with a parade downtown at 10 a.m. on October 10. The organizers had not published a 2026 admission price as of September 21, 2026.

How we checked this guide: Dates, hours, admission and parking prices, and access details were verified against the official sources listed below on September 21, 2026. Operators change schedules and raise prices without notice, so confirm anything time-sensitive before you drive. The figures in this guide also feed our Georgia Attraction Transparency Index and Family Day-Out Cost Index.

Sources

About Hank Whitlock

Hank Whitlock is the pen name of the It's Georgia editor. Every guide is built around the questions a busy family actually asks before a trip: how long is the drive, what does parking cost, can the stroller make it, are dogs allowed. Details are checked against official park, city, and venue sources, and each guide shows the date it was last updated.