Nine vineyards and wineries spread out across the Northeast Georgia mountain landscape provide multiple destinations for a driving and tasting tour of Georgia burgeoning wine industry. View an interactive map showing the locations of all nine wineries on the tour. Photo by Blackstock Vineyards.

A driving tour of Georgia wine country is the perfect way to explore the Northeast Georgia mountains while at the same time sampling the award-winning wines at the nine Georgia vineyards and wineries that are members of the Wine Growers Association of Georgia.

The Northeast Georgia Mountains combine the perfect terrain, soil, drainage, and elevation necessary for vineyards to produce wines that reveal a “sense of place,” or terroir, which separates the wines of the region from those made in other geographically diverse regions. The soil composition is very much like that of Italy’s Piedmont region, which produces some of the most prestigious wines in the world.

All of the wineries on the tour are members of the Winegrowers Association of Georgia, a non-profit corporation organized to promote and market Georgia wines, to improve the market environment for Georgia wines, to increase public awareness of Georgia wines, and to facilitate research in Georgia viticultural and vinification techniques to improve already noteworthy Georgia wines. Annual members must qualify with a minimum of five acres in Georgia of vinifera or French-American grapes in production, or with a minimum of 1,000 cases of wine produced annually from Georgia-grown vinifera or French-American grapes.

Links:

• Read a feature blog about Habersham Vineyards and Winery.
• View profiles of all nine vineyards and wineries on the tour, as well as other Georgia vineyards and wineries.
• View an interactive map showing the locations of all nine wineries on the driving tour.
• Download a copy of the 2009 Georgia Wine Association Brochure.
• Read more about the Winegrowers Association of Georgia.
• Find places to eat in Northeast Georgia.
• Find places to stay in Northeast Georgia.

Franklin Roosevelt at Flat Shoals on the Flint River near the Little White House in Warm Springs. Roosevelt visited Georgia 41 times between 1924 and 1945, often touring the countryside including, in addition to Flat Shoals, Gay, Greenville, the Cove, Manchester and Dowdell Knob. View the Interactive Map to plan a Roosevelt Driving Tour in West Central Georgia.

Franklin D. Roosevelt, a wealthy aristocrat and nationally known Democratic political leader, came to Georgia looking for a way to fight the polio that was crippling his body. Between 1924 and 1946, he visited Warm Springs and Georgia forty-one times. He sought relief at the warm springs in Meriwether County. After being elected as the thirty-second president of the United States in 1932, he used his new home at Warm Springs, “The Little White House,” as a retreat from the rigors of leading a nation.

Between therapeutic sessions in the warm springs pools, Roosevelt would fish the waters of the Flint River, drive the countryside between Manchester, Greenville and Gay, visit the Cove for bootlegged whiskey and fiddle playing, and spend hours on Dowdell Knob just thinking as he looked out over the great river valley below him. (View the Interactive Map). He would see an impoverished land where people lived as sharecroppers on un-mechanized farms where planting, harvesting and maintenance were done with the aid of mules and black field hands, who worked for a dollar and a half a day. The roads were unpaved, there was no electricity, radio reception was poor and staticky, electricity was available on a very erratic basis, and most farms had no electrical appliances.

Those years were years when the entire country would be plunged into the greatest depression it had ever known and then into the greatest world war ever known. During those years, Roosevelt bought farmland and woodland in Harris and Meriwether counties expressly to demonstrate to other farmers that a farm could be profitable - that they could grow something other than cotton. Roosevelt experimented with cattle and goat raising, timbering, peach and apple orchards, various vegetables and grapes. During those years, Roosevelt would serve an unprecedented three terms as President of the United States, and many of the New Deal policies that he would formulate to lead the country out of depression and financial ruin would stem from what he saw and learned from the rural counties and people that touched his life in Warm Springs.

Roosevelt died at the Little White House in April of 1945. To a generation of west Georgians, he was both a president and a trusted friend who could be seen waving as he passed by in his convertible or rode by in a train on his way to Washington.

Links:

• Visit Roosevelt’s Little White House in Warm Springs.

Georgia > Northeast Region > Habersham County > Clarkesville

By JAMES SULLIVAN

The Soque River.  Author and outdoorsman James Sullivan explores the headwaters of  the Soque River in Habersham Couny’s Tray Mountain Wilderness on rugged four-wheel-drive Forest Service roads, then returns to civilization to eat and shop at locations like the Mark of the Potter in Clarkesville, pictured here.

Sitting on the rock outcrop along the trail to the Tray Mountain Appalachian Trail shelter, a spectacular view of a steep, wild watershed unfolds to the east. This is the headwaters of the left fork of the Soque River, which is a 29-mile long major tributary of the Chattahoochee River in the headwaters area.

Most of the left fork of the Soque is in the Tray Mountain Wilderness Area, providing a wonderful opportunity for adventurous folks to explore a wild headwaters area. The area has no marked or maintained trails, but there are many trails and old roadbeds to use. You will feel more confident with a USGS topographical map and compass or GPS to find your way to the waterfalls and beautiful campsites on the North and South Prongs of the Soque and Wolfpen Branch.

There are only two reasonable ways to access the Soque headwaters area.

Hiking from FSR 79 north of Chimney Mountain Road, you can climb over the ridge to the South Prong. Chimney Mountain Road does a loop north of GA 356 in White County northeast of Unicoi State Park. The last time I drove FS 79, the road was not in good enough condition to travel in a passenger vehicle; a very high clearance 4-wheel drive was needed to get up to the places to cross over into the Soque Watershed.

Hiking from the end of FSR 166 gets you into Wolfpen Branch and the North Prong. Take GA 197 0.1 mile north from GA 356, turn left onto Goshen Creek Road, go 1.2 miles then left on Goshen Mountain Road, go 0.5 miles to end of pavement, bear right on gravel 2 miles to FSR 166 on left, another 0.5 mile brings you to a parking area. Following the trail to the southwest from the parking area will take you into the Tray Mountain Wilderness Area and the headwaters of the Soque River. The Lake Burton and Tray Mountain USGS maps are a necessity.

Anyone visiting the area should always be aware that the condition of Forest Service and other roads are always dynamic, particularly after storms in the region.

Access to the river for fishing downstream of the wilderness area is limited by private ownership of the river. There are two access areas on national forest land for fishing. These are at 3.5 and 3.8 miles south of GA 255 on GA 197. There is no canoeing access and landowners are unfriendly to paddlers.

Side Trips, Shopping and Dining
Stops at several local businesses are very worthwhile.

• Nearby is the famous Batesville Store, featuring wonderful food from the grill and oven as well as basic groceries. Read more about Batesville.
• Traveling south down GA 197, one mile from Batesville is the Serendipity Shop, featuring stained glass.
• Mark of the Potter occupies an old mill on the Soque River on GA 197 two miles south of Batesville. Mark of the Potter features a remarkable selection of local arts and crafts and a back porch above the river from which you can view and feed the giant trout in the pool below.

Soque River Facts

• The Soque River and the Soque River Watershed are located entirely within the county boundaries of Habersham County in northeast Georgia. No other county in Georgia possesses a watershed the size and shape of the Soque from its headwaters to its mouth.
• The Soque is a tributary of the Chattahoochee River.
• The Soque is 30 miles long.
• The highest point in the watershed occurs on 4,430-foot Tray Mountain.

Links:

• The Soque River Watershed Association is a non-profit organization working to protect and restore the Soque River in Northeast Georgia. Learn more about the SRWA.
• The Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper is a non-profit environmental group working to protect the Chattahoochee and its tributaries, including the Soque.
• Read more about the Chattahoochee River.
• Download a 4-color poster of the Chattahochee River watershed showing the Soque River.
• Read more about Batesville.
• Read more about Mark of the Potter.

 Georgia > Northwest Region > Walker County > Lookout Mountain

Adventures along Lookout Mountain await explorers along this 93-mile driving tour through three states. The spectacular Little River Canyon, DeSoto State Park in Alabama, Sequoyah Caverns, and the rugged hiking trails of Cloudland Canyon State Park in Georgia are among the many natural pleasures included on the tour, which includes an INTERACTIVE MAP.

This 93-mile driving tour follows Lookout Mountain from south to north through three states, Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee. Depending on how frequently you stop and how many of the appealing activities along the way you engage in, it can be done in one day, or pleasurably extended over a weekend, or even a long weekend. It is filled with experiences in the region’s remarkable natural environment, hiking, cave exploring, and thrilling photographable views of rivers and waterfalls. There are plenty of dining and lodging accommodations choices along the way to appeal to every taste and budget. Look especially at Mentone, Alabama, and the state parks, including Desoto State Park in Alabama and Cloudland Canyon State Park in Georgia. Chattanooga, the Tennessee city that you have a spectacular view of from Point Park, the northern most point on the tour, has a wide range of hotels and motels.

This tour (and variations of it) has received regional and national exposure in Southern Living (October, 2004 issue), and National Geographic Traveler (April, 2008 issue); it was chosen by Readers Digest as one of the top scenic driving tours of America.

See the accompanying INTERACTIVE TOUR MAP for the driving route. Links to tour points are on the map, as well as in the descriptions below.

Noccalula Falls Park
Alabama’s natural beauty shares the stage with Indian lore at this 250-acre park north of Gadsden. Once called Black Creek Falls, the 90-foot waterfall here now bears the name of the Cherokee princess Noccalula, who is said to have hurled herself to a watery death rather than marry a man she didn’t love. A bronze statue of the lovelorn maiden, poised to leap into the thundering cascade, looks out endlessly on the falls. Nearby, a stairway descends into Black Creek Gorge, a snaking chasm carved into the rocks just downstream from the falls. A one-and-a-half-mile trail shadows the waterway as it races between towering sandstone bluffs. Another pathway, Lookout Mountain Hiking Trail, which planners would like to lead all the way to Chattanooga one day, can be sampled at Noccalula Falls Park. Map.

Little River Canyon National Preserve
The green signs along Tabor Road, Route 89, the first leg of the Lookout Mountain Parkway, will guide you north to State Route 68, where the parkway becomes Route 176 with Leesburg to the left and Collonsville to the right. Farther along, at a community called Dogtown, the drive makes a brief, beautiful detour from the parkway itself, taking Route 176A northeast along the western rim of Little River Canyon.

The roadway parallels the steep-walled canyon, one of the deepest to be found east of the Mississippi River. Turnouts are sprinkled along the route; stand at the canyon’s edge, if you dare, and listen for the distant music of the Little River, rushing along some 700 feet below. You can even follow one of several trails that lead down the sandstone cliffs to the cloistered canyon floor and reward yourself with a refreshing dip (weather permitting) in one of the Little River’s sheltered swimming holes. After you enjoy this side trip, return to the parkway by following Route 35 westward to Route 89.

Little River flows for most of its length atop Lookout Mountain in northeast Alabama. The river and canyon systems are spectacular Appalachian Plateau landscapes any season of the year. Forested uplands, waterfalls, canyon rims and bluffs, stream riffles and pools, boulders, and sandstone cliffs offer settings for a variety of recreational activities. Natural resources and cultural heritage come together to tell the story of the Preserve, a special place in the Southern Appalachians. Map.

DeSoto State Park
Although the Spaniard Hernando De Soto found no gold when he explored this region in 1540, modern seekers of nature’s treasures will find prizes aplenty: 20 miles of trails lined with a wide variety of natural treasures. Famed for its springtime display of flowering shrubs, this wooded preserve is equally stunning in autumn, when hardwoods put on a show of foliage as colorful as a painter’s palette. Be sure to catch each season in all its glory from the overlook at nearby 120-foot DeSoto Falls, the highest cascade in the area. The reservoir above the falls makes for a lovely picnic spot - and a tempting find for anglers.

DeSoto State Park encompasses some 5,000 acres along Little River. Accented by waterfalls, scenic vistas and sheer rock cliffs, fragrant wildflowers and hiking trails, the park includes a unique restaurant, resort, camping and cabin rentals. Among the many waterfalls found throughout the park is DeSoto Falls, a 104-ft drop into the rugged canyon carved by Little River. Map.

The Town of Mentone
People have been flocking to this popular health resort since the late 1800’s where mineral springs were believed to have healing powers. The mineral springs are no more, but the town still has the same charm and healing powers as it restores peace and tranquility. Bed & Breakfast Inns, cabins and restaurants add to the rustic atmosphere. This is the perfect place to rest for the night before completing your journey across the Lookout Mountain Parkway. Map.

Sequoyah Caverns
The drive detours again, heading west to Route 11, where signs will direct you to the underground world of Sequoyah Caverns, with caves and passageways that honeycomb the rock. Thousands of fossils are frozen in time on the walls and ceilings, while underground lakes - silent, clear, and still - double every image like natural funhouse mirrors. Above ground the park has a small collection of animals - including fallow deer, goats, ducks, and peacocks. Map.

Cloudland Canyon State Park
Back on Lookout Mountain Parkway, you’ll traverse the spine of Lookout Mountain along Route 117, which zigzags eastward through woodlands on the way to Georgia. Beyond the town of Cloudland, the parkway continues to extend northward along Route 157, then turns onto Route 136 for a short jaunt to Cloudland Canyon State Park. One of the region’s finest preserves, its 2,200 or so acres embrace a cluster of ravines and waterfalls. With elevations that range from 800 to 1,900 feet, this is rugged terrain but well worth exploring. Exhilarating panoramas of the hills and hollows will prepare sightseers for the grandeur that awaits at Cloudland Canyon itself, a deep cleft slashed into shale and sandstone by Sitton Gulch Creek. For a front-row seat, stop at the park’s main picnic area. Map.

Lookout Mountain Hang Gliding Center
This is the world’s largest hang gliding resort and training center. Five times more certified mountain hang glider pilots are trained here than the next largest school in the U.S.  They cater to the flying needs of folks from one flight with an instructor at your side, to multi-day lessons to have you fully trained up to expert skills. Watching the daredevil hang gliders sail out into space is thrill enough for most. Map.

Point Park
The parkway heads northward along Route 189, which returns you to Route 157 a few miles south of the Tennessee border. Once across the state line, the drive follows Route 210 to the scenic loop that passes Point Park - a fitting climax to this journey along the length of Lookout Mountain. The ridge reaches its highest point here, cresting at 2,126 feet, and boasts a view to match, with vistas of the Tennessee River gliding slowly past the city of Chattanooga. For a glimpse of the mountain’s interior, visit Ruby Falls, a watery plume that splashes down through a cave located more than 1,000 feet underground. The hidden realm - an elevator will whisk you there - also claims among its charms several subterranean chambers that are bejeweled with onyx as well as with dripstone; when illuminated, the cave’s walls shimmer with rainbow-like colors. Map.

More Links:

Read more about the Cumberland Plateau in Georgia.

 Georgia > Coastal Region > McIntosh County > Townsend

Wood Storks at Harris Neck. Harris Neck Wildlife Refuge is one of 18 locations on the Colonial Coast Birding Trail that offers exceptional opportunities for birding and wildlife viewing.

The Colonial Coast Birding Trail will provide you with the opportunity to see and enjoy the beauty of a kaleidoscope of birds as well as glimpse the fascinating Georgia Coast, its history and its residents.

Each site along the Colonial Coast Birding Trail is unique. Many sites offer visitors the opportunity to watch birds and visit 18th and 19th century historic places. Other sites are located on lands and waters that were once part of early plantations dedicated to growing rice, indigo and cotton. So, whether you want to see a bald eagle soaring over a coastal river, an endangered wood stork feeding its gawky young, sanderlings chasing the waves on a sandy beach, or a great egret standing motionless in a placid pond, the Colonial Coast Birding Trail has something for you.

Increasingly, you’ll find that the Georgia Tours you read about here on the Brown’s Guides website will be accompanied by an original tour map, including all of the points on the tour along with descriptions and sometimes photos. For examples of these, see the map of the driving tour of Lookout Mountain, the walking tour of Fort Gaines, or the do-it-yourself tour of a Georgia marsh.

You’ll find 41 maps currently included in the Maps Category, including, in addition to the tour maps, hiking maps and canoeing maps with more of these to come.

These maps are a fun and informationally valuable places for Brown’s Guides website users to add their own photographs to the website. Each tour point has a place for a photo, and we’d like to include yours. If you take one of the tours on the Browns Guide site, send us photos of your experience, along with brief captions, and we’ll include them on the tour map with a credit to you.

In addition to photos, we’d welcome your comments on a particular tour map, regarding its accuracy, readability of the directions, and any other comments.

 Georgia > Coast > Liberty County > Midway

The American Revolution in Georgia spring vividly to life on this do-it-yourself tour of Liberty County. See the Revolutionary War-era Fort Morris and Midway Museum and Historic District, as well as the environmental richness and African-American heritage of the region.

For centuries, Liberty County has held a mystical power over explorers. The Historic Liberty Trail is a unique driving tour offering a diverse experience integrating history, culture and ecology. It covers 10 stops, including: Midway Museum and Historic District, Cay Creek Wetlands, Geechee Kunda Cultural Arts Center, LeConte-Woodmanston Botanical Gardens, Dorchester Academy and Museum, Fort Stewart Museum, Melon Bluff Nature and Heritage Preserve, Seabrook Village, Fort Morris State Historic Site, and Sunbury Cemetery.

Begin the Historic Liberty Trail Driving Tour
Begin your tour at Exit 76 off I-95, where an information kiosk gives a glimpse of The Historic Liberty Trail. Visitors traveling the trail explore Liberty County, home of Dr. Lyman Hall and Button Gwinnett, signers of the Declaration of Independence. Your first stop is the Midway National Historic District. Leaving the kiosk, turn right (west) on US 84. Drive 2.2 miles, turn right on Martin Road. Drive 1.3 miles to arrive at the Midway National Historic District. The cemetery is straight ahead, the church and museum are on the right. For a map showing all of the points on the tour, click here.

Midway National Historic District
Midway Museum, honors the community famed as Georgia’s Cradle of Liberty. Browse through the museum, built in the raised cottage-style architecture, typical of 18th Century plantation houses. Exhibits, documents and furnishings used in coastal Georgia homes from colonial days until the Civil War reanimate the love of Liberty. Tour the grounds which include a detached kitchen, salt vat and extensive nature trail. One of the best sources in the area for genealogical research. Also on the property is the Midway Church, built in 1756, was burned during the American Revolution and rebuilt in 1792. In this white-frame, New England-style church, Sherman’s cavalry set up foraging headquarters during the Civil War. Today, giant live oaks draped with Spanish moss shade about 1,200 graves in the cemetery, among them two generals of the American Revolution and Governor Nathan Brownson. During the Civil War, Sherman’s cavalry plundered county plantations and corralled animals in the walled, two-acre cemetery.

Days and Hours: Tuesday-Saturday: 10am-4pm, Sunday: 2pm-4pm
Facilities: Small gift shop with a good selection of books on local history.
Restrooms available.
Fees: Small fee required. Group rates available.
For More Information: (912) 884-5837

Cay Creek Wetlands
DIRECTIONS: Leaving Midway Museum, turn left on US 17. Drive 0.5 miles, at the traffic light turn left on US 84. Drive 2.4 miles until you reach Charlie Butler Road. Turn right on Charlie Butler Road. Travel approximately 0.2 miles until you see the Cay Creek Wetlands sign on your right. Get a map.

As an excellent example of tidal, freshwater wetlands, Cay Creek Wetlands provide a unique opportunity for education and appreciation. The area is rich in diversity. Bay, Cypress and Oak trees are abundant, as are Palms, Palmettos and Magnolias. The area provides habitats for numerous species of animals, including birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and insects. The site is several different ecosystems. Each has specific traits that give it character, but the distinctions may be overlooked by the casual observer. Look closely and you may notice the differences in plant and animal life in those areas that are permanently wet when compared with areas that are intermittently wet and dry. The site has its history, too. Look for the low earthen berms that cross the landscape. In some instances, they may be the high ground on which you stand. These are the remains of dikes that were used for growing rice. Rice production was common to the area in the 19th Century. Cay Creek Wetlands has seen exciting activity recently with the completion of a boardwalk, allowing visitors to easily access the wetlands in both wet and dry seasons. An interpretive center building, designed to house exhibits and information, will soon follow.

Days and Hours: Monday-Friday: 8am-4pm
Facilities: None.
Fees: Free.
For More Information: (912) 884-3344

Geechee Kunda Cultural Arts Center
DIRECTIONS: Take a right onto Charlie Butler Road out of the drive and travel 0.7 miles, turn right onto Historic Cay Creek Road, a well-maintained, unpaved road. Only 3.8 miles from US 17. Enjoy the canopy of moss-draped oaks and the incredible marsh vistas as well as vibrant flowers and coastal wildlife on this scenic road. Once you’ve reached US 17 take a left and travel through the quaint town of Riceboro. Travel approximately 4.6 miles and turn left onto Ways Temple Road, Geechee Kunda is on the right 0.2 miles. Note: Nice picnic facilities at US 17 junction. Get a map.

Geechee Kunda (a Sarakole’ word meaning compound) is indicative of the culture of Gullah Geechees. Geechee Kunda is reflective of the family compounds that exist throughout the Gullah Geechee areas of the Carolinas, Georgia and Northern Florida as well as Africa. It is a living institution dedicated to preserving the culture of a living people. Its museum is filled with African art, textiles, painting, tools, utensils, implements, craftworks and essentials used by Gullah Geechees from the 1700’s to the 1900’s. The museum houses artifacts from the period of slavery and it’s an educational facility for lectures, workshops, classes, seminars, weddings and more.

Days and Hours: Group tours and classes available, call for an appointment.
Facilities: Gift shop, meeting and classroom space.
Fees: Call for further information.
For More Information: (912) 884-4440

LeConte-Woodmanston Botanical Gardens
DIRECTIONS: Leaving Ways Temple Road turn right onto US 17 toward Riceboro. Travel approximately 0.7 miles and turn left onto Sandy Run Road. Travel 4.3 miles then turn left at stop sign onto Barrington Ferry Road. Barrington Ferry Road is unpaved, but well-maintained. Look for wood storks, ospreys, egrets and herons that feed in the wetlands. Almost one mile south of the intersection you will find a historic marker for the Bartram Trail on the left. The sign marks the entrance to LeConte-Woodmanston. Get a map.

LeConte-Woodmanston, formerly the home of Dr. Louis LeConte, flourished as one of Georgia’s earliest inland swamp rice plantations and is now a nature preserve. Dr. LeConte achieved international fame in scientific circles as did his sons, John and Joseph. John was the first president of the University of California at Berkeley. Joseph and his friend, John Muir, co-founded the Sierra Club. Today, Louis LeConte’s world-famous 18th Century botanical gardens are being recreated with a myriad of antique plants. Visit the cypress forest and walk the interpretative trail along the earthen rice dikes leading through the Bulltown Swamp black-water eco-system. Take a stroll along the Avenue of Oaks or bask in an 18th Century nature experience. They are all part of the Historic Bartram Trail.

Days and Hours: Typically open Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday: 10am-3pm or by appointment. Call to verify times before visiting.
Facilities: A small fee required.
Fees: Restrooms.
For More Information: (912) 884-6500

Dorchester Academy and Museum
DIRECTIONS: Leaving LeConte-Woodmanston, follow drive back to Barrington Ferry Road. Turn right and follow road until it dead ends into US 17, approximately 5 miles. Turn left and travel another 2.1 miles to the intersection of US 17 and US 84, turn left on US 84 and drive 2 miles. Dorchester Academy is on the left. Get a map.

The Academy, today an active community center and museum, was founded after the Civil War as a school for freed slaves. By 1917, the fully-accredited high school had eight frame buildings and 300 students. In the 1940s, its academic program ended when a consolidated school for black youth was built in nearby Riceboro. The brick school building, an example of Georgian Revival style architecture is where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. prepared for the 1963 Birmingham campaign, one of the first major victories of the Civil Rights Movement.

Days and Hours: Tuesday-Friday: 11am-2pm, Saturday: 2pm-4pm
Facilities: Free.
Fees: Pavilion with barbecue pit and restrooms.
For More Information: (912) 884-2347

Fort Stewart Museum
DIRECTIONS: Leaving Dorchester Academy, turn left (west) on US 84. Travel approximately 10 miles to General Stewart Way and take right fork. Travel 0.8 miles and turn left onto North Main Street. Travel 0.6 miles through historic Hinesville, where you will enjoy specialty shopping and excellent restaurants. Traveling another 0.9 miles take the right fork and drive 0.1 miles to General Screven Way. Take a right onto General Screven Way and drive 0.9 miles to the main entrance of Fort Stewart. Continue straight on GA 119 for 0.3 miles. From GA 119 turn left onto Bunker Road (the first left). Follow Bunker Road to a stop sign. At the stop sign make a left onto Frank Cochran Drive. The museum is on the immediate left. Get a map.

Fort Stewart, the largest military post east of the Mississippi, is home to the U.S. Army’s 3rd Infantry Division (Mech) and is the summer training grounds for the National Guard. At the museum, Liberty County’s military heritage is showcased in ever-changing exhibits featuring objects from World War II, Vietnam, Korea, Desert Storm and present-day military activities.

Days and Hours: Tuesday-Saturday: 10am-4pm Closed Mondays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day and Federal Holidays.
Facilities: Gift shop, snack machine, restrooms and picnic area.
Fees: Free. Group tours upon request.
For More Information: (912) 767-7885

Please Note: Due to heightened security, Fort Stewart is now a closed post and requires all visitors to stop at the main gate. At the gate visitors must provide proof of registration, insurance and drivers license to receive a visitor’s pass.

Melon Bluff Nature and Heritage Preserve
DIRECTIONS: Leaving Fort Stewart drive straight on GA 119 until it dead ends into US 84 turn left, approximately 0.5 miles. Travel approximately 15 miles to I-95, as you cross I-95 travel another 2.9 miles and you will see Melon Bluff on your right. Get a map.

Nestled amongst 3,000 unspoiled acres on Georgia’s coast, Melon Bluff is set amid gorgeous, moss-hung oaks at the river’s edge. Melon Bluff offers 25 miles of grassy, forest trails for hiking, biking, picnics and riding. Birding is the prime attraction, offering 309 species, many uncommon and endangered. Visitors can find overnight accommodations ranging from a restored barn to a plantation cottage. On site, there is a delightful gift shop, a screened pool and a facility for small conferences.

Days and Hours: Saturdays: 9am-4pm from September 15th through May 15th. Public events are scheduled throughout the year.
Facilities: Overnight accommodations, full gourmet meal service, scheduled wagon rides, kayak expeditions, gift shop, pool and facility for small conferences.
Fees: Prices vary - Call for further information.

Seabrook Village
DIRECTIONS: From Melon Bluff, turn right onto Islands Highway. Travel 0.7 miles until you come to Trade Hill Road (Seabrook Village signs will be on your left). Turn left on to Trade Hill and drive 0.6 miles. Seabrook Village office will be on your left. Get a map.

An award-winning living history museum, Seabrook Village features eight turn-of-the-century buildings on a developing 104-acre site. Visit the one-room Seabrook School where “reading, writing and ‘rithmetic were taught to the tune of a hick’ry stick.” Or try your hand at grinding corn into meal and grits or washing clothes on a scrub board. Planned group visits are fully interactive as costumed interpreters engage visitors in all aspects of old time village life. On-going exhibits include the grave art of Cyrus Bowens, featured in Drums and Shadows, and the Willis Hakim J. Hones Material Culture Collection of hand-made items from a peanut roaster to twig furniture.

Days and Hours: Tuesday-Saturday: 10am-4pm. Interactive tours available for groups of 15 or more. Special educational and Girl Scout programs available.
Facilities: Seabrook Village Museum Shop and Craft Gallery, meal service (by reservation), restrooms.
Fees: Small fee required.
Group Tours: Call for rates, brochure and availability.
For More Information: (912) 884-7008

Fort Morris State Historic Site
DIRECTIONS: Leaving Seabrook, turn left on Trade Hill Road. Drive 0.2 miles to the intersection of Fort Morris Road. Turn left, drive 2 miles. The entrance to Fort Morris is on the right. Get a map.

Fort Morris was built to defend the former town of Sunbury, once a bustling seaport second in Georgia only to Savannah. Fort Morris was used as a coastal fortification during the Revolutionary War. The earthen works were reconstructed during the War of 1812 and were later used as a Civil War Encampment. The site’s museum features displays of civilian and military life during Georgia’s Colonial, Revolutionary and Antebellum past. During periodic special events, reenactments bring Fort Morris alive with roaring cannons and the measured tread of marching soldiers. Listen! You can almost hear the fife and drums.

Days and Hours: Tuesday-Saturday: 9am-5pm, Sunday: 2:00pm-5:30pm. Closed Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year’s Day, and Mondays, except some legal holidays.
Facilities: Museum, gift shop, pioneer camping, picnic area, restrooms and nature trail.
Fees: Small fee required.
For More Information: (912) 884-5999

Sunbury Cemetery
DIRECTIONS: Leaving Fort Morris, turn right onto Fort Morris Road. Travel 0.7 miles past Sunbury Village and turn left onto Sunbury Road (dirt). Drive 0.1 miles to Dutchman Cove Road. Drive 0.1 miles to the end of the road, it will dead end into the cemetery. Get a map.

From the beginning of the town’s history, public burials were performed at a community cemetery located at the southeast corner of Church Square. Sunbury Cemetery housed the remains of members from the Midway Congregational Church, Sunbury Baptist Church and others. A sense of integrity remains even though no complete interment records are known to exist for the cemetery. Most of the markers were gone by the 1870’s. Of the thirty-four remaining, the oldest is dated 1788 and the most recent, 1911. Two iron fenced family enclosures are carefully arrayed with neatly lined markers for the Dunham and Fleming-Law families. The most famous tombstone is a full-length marker for Reverend William McWhir. The graves of Josiah Powell and Samuel Law, notables of the town of Sunbury, are also marked.

The cemetery is open year-round and is free to the public.

Brasstown Bald, the highest peak in Georgia (4,782 ft.) is on the route of one of a dozen Georgia Department of Transportation Georgia Scenic Byways driving tours.

The Georgia Department of Transportation has put together a series of 12 Georgia Scenic Byways driving tours including:

• Altamaha
• Cohutta-Chattahoochee
• Historic Piedmont
• I-85
• Meriwether-Pike
• Millen-Jenkins County
• Monticello Crossroads
• Ocmulgee-Piedmont
• Ridge and Valley
• Russell-Brasstown
• South Fulton
• Warren County-Piedmont

Each tour feature a map, driving directions and a brief overview of the area being toured. Here for example is the summary of the Historic Piedmont Scenic Byway:

• Traveling through Putnam and Hancock counties, the Historic Piedmont Scenic Byway stretches for 82 miles, following State Highways 15, 16 and 77, and rural county roads which link the county seats of Eatonton, Sparta and the communities of Linton, Culverton, and Jewell. From the Rock Hawk effigy, built by Native Americans thousands of years ago, to Glen Mary Plantation and other antebellum homes, this route reveals a region of Georgia that is rich in historic and cultural qualities. The scenic and natural beauty of the Piedmont is also on display as the byway travels through the Oconee National Forest, across the Oconee and Ogeechee Rivers, and past acres of rolling farmland.

Links in the specific tours take you to photos, road history, and information on local attractions.

This driving tour over Patterson Gap in the Northeast Georgia Mountains of Rabun County takes visitors through scenic Moon Valley.

The road to Patterson Gap turns left off of Betty Creek Road about 3.5 miles from US 441 and crosses a bridge. As one climbs a steep grade, off to the left is Patterson Creek Falls. FS 32 passes through Moon Valley. After entering US Forest Service land, the road is steep but scenic through great coves of tulip poplar, which have come in after the death of the chestnut because of a blight in the 1930s and following logging in the early 1990s. Crossing Patterson Gap, one circles a cove hardwood forest, then descends along a pitch pine ridge. Along the road banks grows the rare sweetfern. This road eventually joins Persimmon Road, which dead-ends at US 76.

See “Patterson Gap” on the Tour Map for Coweeta Creek & Betty Creek Valleys.

Barker’s Creek Mill, on the Hambidge Center property, has been restored several times.  It is usually open on Fridays and Saturdays for grinding grains brought by local residents.

The Hambidge Center is the creation of Mary Hambidge, a feminist, environmentalist and preserver of Mountain culture, who was 50 years ahead of her time. She helped her husband, Jay Hambidge, codify his ideas pertaining to classical-art design principles, which they labeled Dynamic Symmetry. Their work gained international recognition. (more…)