Friday, July 24, 2009

Helen looks always pretty...

Pretty houses in Bavarian style welcome you to Helen in Georgia


Helen's Down Town has a lot of tourists strolling around and do their souvenir shoppings


The "Old Heidelberg" castle


is a city located on the Chattahoochee River in White County in the north of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2000 census, the city's population was 420.

Formerly a logging town that was in decline, the city resurrected itself by becoming a replica of a Bavarian alpine town, in the Appalachians instead of the Alps. This design is mandated through zoning, so that the classic south-German style is present on every building, even for the small number of national franchisees present (such as Huddle House). Because of this, tourism is the main industry in Helen, catering mostly to weekend visitors from the Atlanta area. Helen is extremely crowded in late October, when autumn leaves typically peak. It also hosts its own Oktoberfest during September, October and November. There are many events and festivals throughout the year. One of the most well-known is the annual hot-air balloon race, which is held the first weekend in June each year.

The main road through town is north/south Georgia 75. The Helen stream gauge (HELG1) is located on its bridge over the Chattahoochee in the middle of downtown. A parallel route to the west is labeled Georgia 75 Alt to identify it as a bypass route around the town, and its massive traffic jams in the autumn and on some other weekends. The Unicoi State Park and Lodge is located immediately northeast of Helen on Georgia 352. Access to Anna Ruby Falls, part of the Chattahoochee National Forest, is through the park.

In 2005, significant damage occurred in parts of Helen on August 30 when Hurricane Katrina spawned a tornado in the area. The northward-moving tornado went through the edge of town, but did strike the EconoLodge motel, and brushed the Unicoi Lodge (behind building B) at the park.


River Tubing is an exciting family activity and recreation here in Alpine Helen Georgia.


The Helen Ga Tubing takes you up the river and drops you in for a ride that we call "tubin' the hooch"! Enjoy nature's beauty of the Chattahoochee River. On this ride you will experience it all, excitement, adventure, and leisure. The best ride for the dollar in Alpine Helen, GA.

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Hi my friends,

it's easy to guess, where we spent our day today, right? :)
It's not the first time I have visited Helen in the hills of Georgia and I still like it.

Thanks for the visits to my yesterdays post, you're so kind with your comments! Much appreciated :)

Stay with me and see you tomorrow, somewhere!
Susanne

8 comments:

Wayfarer said...

Glad to see your still having fun! Almost married a beautiful young lady from that area. (Cleveland Ga) We spent lots of time running around the back roads of the area! Be safe!!

Voegtli said...

Really, one would not think that this is in the US.

Richard Lawry said...

I have never heard of Helen, Georgia before, but it looks like a great place to visit.

An Arkies Musings

Sean said...

Beautiful pictures...

Carole said...

If i hadn't read about your travels I would have thought it was somewhere like Switzerland. What a beautiful place.

The Retired One said...

I loved the tubing photo...wonderful!

GMG said...

I've never been to Helen, but it looks absolutely marvelous on your excellent pictures. Bavaria in the USA... ;)

myonlyphoto said...

Susanne very interesting architercture. You have shown us so much, it pays to travel, lol. Anna :)

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