The Best Way to Spend a Fall Day in North Georgia

There are fun things to do in North Georgia any time of year, but some of my favorite North Georgia activities only happen in the fall. These include walking through the sunflower fields at Fausett Sunflower Farms and picking pumpkins at Burt’s Farm. Add a stop at Georgia’s tallest waterfall, Amicalola Falls, and you have the perfect one-day North Georgia itinerary for the fall season. And what’s more, these activities are conveniently located just three miles from each other and a little more than an hours’ drive from metro Atlanta.

Things to Do in North Georgia in the Fall

Burt’s Farm

For this one-day North Georgia itinerary, your first stop is Burt’s Farm, a Georgia institution. For nearly 50 years, the Burt family has sold pumpkins from their farm located just outside Amicalola Falls State Park near Dawsonville. In fact, according to the Burt family, the land on which the state park sits was actually part of their farm until the late 1800s when the federal government confiscated it for nonpayment of taxes on whiskey from the farm’s still.

Although you won’t find Burt’s Farm selling any bootleg whiskey today, you will find the most enormous pumpkins you’ve ever seen. Many Georgia families go to Burt’s Farm year after year as a fall tradition, posing their kids, from toddlers to teenagers, for family photos among row after row of Burt’s giant pumpkins.

Burt’s Farm offers a huge range of pumpkins in various sizes and colors, as well as Indian corn, baked goods, and reasonably priced fall décor. Make sure to pick up several loaves of their delicious pumpkin bread for the trip home. Starting mid-September, Burt’s also has tractor hayrides.

It’s free to walk around Burt’s Farm and take pictures, and you should plan to spend at least an hour there. Hayrides are $6 per person ages two and over. The farm is open for the season from September 1 to mid-November.

Amicalola Falls

Your next stop is Amicacola Falls State Park. This park has more than 14 miles of hiking trails and adventure activities like zip-lining, archery, and GPS scavenger hunts. But its main attraction is its 729-foot waterfall. In addition to being the tallest waterfall in Georgia, Amicalola Falls has the distinction of being the third highest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi River.

Depending on how much time you’d like to spend at the park, you can take a longer or shorter waterfall hike. The longer, moderate-level hike totals 2.1 miles roundtrip and starts at the East Ridge trailhead at the visitor center. For a shorter hike, park by the reflection pond and walk .73 miles on the paved and gravel paths of the Base-of-the-Falls trail, or park at the West Ridge Falls trailhead for a .3-mile ADA accessible path. If you’d prefer to do almost no hiking, park at the top of the falls near the lodge and take the West Ridge staircase down to the base.

Our preference, particularly for a day when we’re doing other activities, is to do the Base-of-the-Falls trail. Although it’s mostly paved, be prepared for some incline and more than 600 stairs. Give yourself about an hour to walk this trail and spend some time admiring the falls.

Admission to Amicalola Falls State Park is $5 per vehicle or free with an annual Georgia State Parks Pass ($50 per year).

Fausett Sunflower Farms

Your last stop of the day is Fausett Sunflower Farms. To combine this stop with your one-day North Georgia itinerary, plan your day trip for mid-September to mid-October. Fausett Sunflower Farms opens this year on September 17 and will remain open for approximately five weeks while the sunflowers are in bloom.

Fausett Farms has more than 900,000 sunflowers spread across 30 acres. It’s a delight to wander through the tall rows of sunflowers, and it’s a great place to take family photos. I recommend coming late in the day so the light is better for picture-taking. At midday, the brightness of the sunflower field makes photography more difficult.

If you’re going to take family photos, plan to be there for about 45 minutes to an hour. Admission is $5 per person ages five and over. Professional photographers are subject to a $35 fee.

Dining in North Georgia

We took a picnic for our fall day in North Georgia, but if you’re interested in restaurant dining, try nearby Dahlonega, which has a cute, classic downtown situated around a square. Dahlonega is less than a 30-minute drive from the above attractions. It also has charming boutiques and wine-tasting rooms and is home to the Dahlonega Gold Museum.

If you’re willing to drive a little farther, there are several vineyards in the area that also offer dining, including Frogtown Cellars, Kaya Vineyard & Winery, and Wolf Mountain Vineyards. Frogtown Cellars has outdoor seating on its front and back porches where you can enjoy a wine flight and light lunch fare including pizzas, paninis, salads and charcuterie.

Interested in more fun things to do in North Georgia? You might like The Ultimate Georgia Waterfall Guide: Best Waterfalls for Families and The Best Orchards for Georgia Apple-Picking.