3 Treasured Finds Of Dahlonega, GA

When we left Tennessee I promised myself that I would make sure no matter where we landed we'd have lots of family adventures. We'd do new things, try new things and experience each place the Lord brought us to. With the problems we've had on our farm and just trying to stay afloat our adventures have been in short supply. So although we're on the road to work, pay off bills,pay for much needed farm repairs and save as much money as we can we also know that it's not all about the money as money comes and goes. For us it's about working hard and yet making the time to spend quality time together as a family, growing together as a family and trusting the Lord to provide.

Even with Robert working 5-10's and weekends spent driving home to the farm since we were only 3.5 hours away from where we lived we still managed to explore Dahlonega, GA during our 5 week stay. 

We absolutely fell in love with Yahoola Creek Park (http://dahlonega.org/attractions-4/gardens-parks/677-parks) !

1: YAHOOLA CREEK PARK

This is the creek which runs through the park. They even had little creeks here and there as you walked and or jogged throughout the park. My brave 3 year old walked all the way to the end of this fallen tree and back again!

My husband thought this tree would fall right over and quickly advised our boys to timber it. Sadly this was not the case as my boys tried for quite a bit before Daddy called it quits and tried it himself only to be met with much resistance. Appearances are decieving! 😅

We found this park to be an amazing place to hike with the kids. It was all up hill but our boys did so well on the hike we had trouble keeping up with them. 🙈  They had a few trails you could hike. The one we hiked was to the "Lookout" which ended up being a pavillion you could stop to eat lunch in but other than there wasn't much of a lookout.

Our darling girl is a climber, she'll climb anything and everything at just 20 months old. After this picture was taken she ended up falling forward. Defintely a Mom Fail!! 😟

Yahoola Creek Park has two playgrounds that are a kids dream! The one above is perfect for toddlers such as my daughter perhaps a better fit for ages 2-5 but she did well on all the play equipment except for the one she's pictured on above. It's also fenced in so you don't have to worry and your toddlers taking off on you (unless they know how to unlock the gate). The older kids playground was AMAZING!! I really wish I had gotten a picture of it but it was jammed packed full of older kids that day. We ended up having to remove our kids due to the rough house play of the older kids. 

This park is defintely huge and a favortie among the locals and such a treasured find for tourists. Not only is it a great dog park but also a great place to jog or get out and exercise! We defintely recommend Yahoola Creek Park if you're in the area.


2: AMICALOLA FALLS STATE PARK

If you look closely you can see people propelling down the falls.

Amicalola Falls State Park (http://www.amicalolafallslodge.com/)  is a definite must see while you're in or around the Dahlonega, GA area. This park not only offers you a breathtaking view from the top of the falls but also offers adventure pacakges that include zip lining and survivalist camp if you're interested. We ourselves just enjoyed the falls.

Robert and I visited Amicalola Falls years ago with friends, back when my oldest was less than a year old. I can honestly say I hiked ALL THE WAY to the top of the falls! My husband carried our son up (he insisted and I wholeheartedly agreed). It truly was the most difficult and strenouse up hill climb I've ever done but I'm proud to say I did it and lived through it!

Yes, I climbed up all 425 tortorous steps!! No, we did not make the climb again with our kids as there was NO WAY we wanted to end up hiking it and carrying a kid or two not even half way through the up hill climb. 😬 We drove to the top of the falls this time around. 😁

My Blessings!

My son Wyatt a.k.a My Stuntman

There is a $5 fee for parking to get in to see the falls but well worth it! If you visit Amicalola Falls and decide to make the hike up please make sure you bring plenty of water and you stretch before you start! The hike up is not for the faint of heart. For those that make the hike up you can definitely reward yourself once you reach the top of the falls by visiting there Maple Restaurant which is buffet style so perfect for families with kids.  By the time you reach the top you'll be famished and ready to sit and relax in a cool place. Amicalola Falls State Park is a treasured find indeed!


3: CONSOLIDATED GOLD MINES

You can't leave Dahlonega, GA without first taking an underground tour of the Consolidated Gold Mines! https://consolidatedgoldmine.com/

We decided a rainy day was the perfect time to take an underground tour of the gold mines. Although it didn't have have an effect on the temperature underground as it stays a nice comfortable 60 degrees year round. We're just a family that loves to explore even on rainy days.

No matter how hard we tried my daughter would not stand still long enough for me to get 1 picture of them together. She kept running off.

Consolidated Gold Mines charges $16 per adult ticket  & $11 per child ticket (ages 4-14) which gives you a 40 minute 200 feet down underground tour and also allows you to try your hand at panning for gold.

Wyatt learning to pan for Gold

While waiting for our tour to start we tried our hands at panning for gold. We each found a few gold flakes in which they put in test tube like jars so we could keep them for souveniers. Our boys were so excited to have found gold even though they quickly tired of the panning process so Mommy end up panning 3 pans while Daddy panned with his daughter. It takes more patience than my boys currently have. 😏

Dynamite

The gold miners would chisel and hammer away at the mountain until they formed a deep enough holes to place sticks of dynamite in. This was a long and tedious process to get to the quartz which housed the gold. There is still a ton of quartz with gold in the mines so much so you can see it in the rocks!

The one above opening in the mine.

This was definitely a kid friendly tour in which the guide interacts with the kids by choosing them as volunteers. Our kids loved it and our 20 month old daughter did just fine. You might want to bring a carrier if you visit The Consolidated Gold Mines with children 2 and under as no strollers are allowed.

We loved finding these treasured places to explore in Dahlonega, GA and hope you will as well if you're ever in the area!

If you live in Georgia what are some other great places to see? I would love to know!