By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > Northwest Georgia Mountains > Gilmer County > Ellijay

Roadside stands filled with apples are a good reason to head to Ellijay in Gilmer County, but you will also find numerous outdoor activities to enjoy on a family vacation. 

The North Georgia Mountain town of Ellijay in Gilmer County is a perfect place to visit in the fall when the trees are in full color, area orchards are open for apple picking, and roadside stands overflow with fresh, local Granny Smiths and Rome Beauties to name a few.

But Ellijay is a great location for a Georgia family vacation anytime of year. Within a few miles of the lovely town, you’ll find several state recreation areas with fishing, hiking, breathtaking waterfalls, and trails for biking and horseback riding. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

You’ll find pumpkins of all sizes at pumpkin patches and corn mazes during the fall months. Most are operated by local farm families, who want to share the farm experience as well as a little farm fun with others.

When the leaves take on autumn hues, the air is a little crisper and pumpkins litter farm fields like orange confetti, it’s definitely time for a trip to a pumpkin patch. Pumpkin patches have seriously come into their own since my older children were young. In fact, I’m not sure where you went to visit one back then, but there sure weren’t any advertised in my vicinity. Not so now. Pumpkin patches and corn mazes are all the rage in the fall.

To run a farm these days, it takes a lot of hard work (sweat), patience, love and faith in the weather. You’ll find that a number of farm families want to share their farm experiences and their knowledge about animals and plants and let visitors, especially youngsters, have a good time doing it. Each September and October when the pumpkins are ripe on the vines, many farms open their gates, so to speak, to schoolchildren during the week and the public on the weekends. I’ve taken Brianna to Uncle Bob’s Pumpkin Patch in Coweta County a couple of times and to Ison’s Farm in Fayette County with a preschool group, but there are numerous ones around the state. (more…)

 By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia > Southwest Region > Tift County > Tifton

At the Agrirama in Tifton, you can experience a typical day of life in a rural farm community of 19th-century Georgia. 

If you are planning a trip to Florida and will be traveling down I-75 or if you just would like to spend a weekend giving your child a unique experience, consider a trip to Tifton and the Agrirama, Georgia’s Museum of Agriculture and Living History Museum.

The 95-acre complex consists of a traditional farm community of the 1870s, a more progressive farmstead of the 1890s, a rural town, an industrial sites complex, a national peanut complex, and the Museum of Agriculture Center.

Costumed interpreters perform the daily activities of life at the more than 35 restored and preserved structures that have been relocated to the site. You’ll see people working in the fields, the sawmill, the turpentine still, the blacksmith’s shop and the gristmill. On Main Street, you can visit the drug store, the print shop and the train depot. A 1.3-mile railroad system circles the site; but due to state budget cuts, the steam locomotive only runs during special events. You can walk through farmsteads of different eras as well as a mid-1890s one-room schoolhouse

These are just a few of the many, many experiences you can have at the Agrirama.

There’s easy access to the Agrirama—it lies right along the west side of I-75 just north of the Tifton downtown exit. You’ll find more information about the Agrirama here at Brown’s Guides. You can also find information on other things to do and see in the Southwest Georgia Travel Region as well as information on accommodations and lodging in Tifton.

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Georgia

The corn is as high as an elephant’s eye so it must be fall and time for corn mazes and pumpkin patches at Georgia farms.

Corn mazes and pumpkin patches are a sure sign that Fall is on its way. You will find farmers all across Georgia harvesting pumpkins and cutting their intricately designed corn mazes – everything from psychedelic circles to spooky Halloween scenes. Besides twisting and turning your way through a corn maze, at many farms, you also will find other activities, including petting farms, hay rides and bonfires.

Listed below are some farms across the state where you will definitely find some fall fun for the entire family.

Cagle’s Dairy – Wonder through the maze, choose your own pumpkin, and enjoy a hayride and bonfire at this dairy farm in Canton.

Colonel Cob’s Corn Maze – This 7-acre cornfield in Oxford has 2.5 miles of fun paths and agricultural facts to direct you through the maze, pumpkins and more.

Connell Farms – They say it takes 35 minutes to over an hour to find your way through this corn maze of psychedelic circles in Hollonville. There are hayrides, food and drinks, too.

Joe’s Rows Corn Maze – There is a corn maze, hayrides, and a petting zoo at this farm in Sautee in the North Georgia Mountains.

Little River Farms Country Inn and Petting Farm – Try you luck in the Haunted Corn Maze. You will also find hayrides, a petting farm, and nature trails at this Resaca farm. (more…)

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

The strawberries are in at “pick-your-own” farms around the state. The whole family can enjoy picking their own fruit right off the vine and taking it to the dinner table.

The strawberries are ripening at most berry picking farms, so why not spend a Saturday morning with your child filling a bucket or two? Pick-your-own farms like Washington Farms in Watkinsville and Loganville, Adams Farm in Fayetteville and Southern Belle Farm in McDonough are open and ready for business.

Kids love to pick berries and eat them straight from the vine. It’s a great lesson on “where food comes from,” as well as just good, quality family time.

There are many pick-your-own farms around the state—strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and more can all be picked by families during the season. Choose one near you and call ahead to make sure it is open. (Sometimes farmers have to close the berry fields for a day or two so they can replenish.) Remember, it’s best to pick in the morning when it’s not so hot. Then, grab your sunscreen, a hat, plenty of drinking water, and maybe a snack or two—and go pick!

You can find more information about pick-your-own farms or other Farm Experiences in Georgia here at Brown’s Guides.

By SHERRI SMITH BROWN

Visit Tanglewood Farms in May for some woolly sheep shearing or any other time to see and pet 100 miniature animals in a Wild West Town atmosphere.

If you are looking for a place to spend a day with your kids in the North Georgia Mountains, try Tanglewood Farms. This 10-acre Wild West Town in Cherokee County has more than 100 miniature farm animal residents. You can walk through the town’s bank, saloon, jail and trading post and meet a slew of miniature animals—cows, sheep, horses, donkeys, and goats to name a few.

The farm, which has been in business in Georgia for 10 years and involved with raising farm animals for more than 40 years, offers a whole range of experiences, from riding lessons for children ages two and up through adult to cowpoke classes where kids can learn basic horse grooming and handling. (more…)