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We finally got to take our fall road trip!! Since moving from Pittsburgh, PA I have been craving a traditional fall season of relaxing, doing some hiking and watching the leaves change colors.
We had planned to do this road trip in October, but due to my new car being rear ended on the way, We rescheduled for the last week of November!! Luckily there were still plenty of leaves to peep upon! 🍂
Getting outdoors is so important to me. The United States are PACKED with State & National Parks, many of them are less than 10$ per car to enter. You probably live much closer to a state park than you realize! They are a great way to explore amazing views and activities close to home for a fraction of the cost of most trips.
Our first hiking spot was a Waterfall Hike in Vogel State Park, Georgia. We did the hike around the lake to the waterfall that streams from the lake. This park had beautiful cabins, crisp lake views and was working on a large new visitor's center. I'd definitely come back! The cost was $5 cash ONLY to enter.
Day 4
Day 5
Hotel Cost - $229.76 ($75 pet fee). I was so mad that I only planned one night in this cute little coastal town! it was full of cute shops and restaurants. We stopped to get coffee and ice cream while exploring the main street area.
After we had breakfast and explored the town we headed home for our last leg of the drive. We made it home in the early afternoon, perfect for a little rest before we went back to work!
Over 6 days, we drove up to Appalachia for a few packed days of hiking. We brought our dog Bear with us, so we stopped overnight on the way there any back, giving us 3 solid days of outdoor activities. We planned activities across Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina. Here's a list of the main spots we visited! I'll share maps of these routes too!
Hike Day 1
- Cabin Coffee - Blairsville, Georgia
- Waterfall Hike - Vogel State Park, Georgia
- Overlook Hike - Smithgall Woods State Park, Georgia
- Jumping Goat Coffee Roasters Yonah, Georgia
- Overlook Hike - Bell Mountain, Georgia
- Dinner - Hiawassee Brewing, Georgia
Hike Day 2
- Cardinal Coffee - Bryson City, NC
- Drive Up - Great Smoky Mountains - Newfound Gap, TN/NC
- Lunch - Wild Bear Inn - Pigeon Forge, TN
- Apple Barn - Pigeon Forge, TN
- Dinner - Tapoco Lodge & Resort - Tapoco, NC
Drive/Hike Day 3
- Alpine Town Helen, GA
- Overlook Hike - Stone Mountain, GA - Atlanta
- Buc-ee's Truckstop - GA
- Fernandina Beach, FL
Top Planning Tips
- I planned this trip with Apple Maps Guides, so over the last few months I've been collecting spots, activities and restaurants we've wanted to visit! Seeing all of these activities on the map helped me pick Murphy, GA as our center home base so we could drive and visit all of our stops!
- We planned to take this trip in October, we got very lucky that the weather was good in late November, if it had snowed, we would not have been able to do most of these activities due to road conditions and closures.
- These amazing spots are dotted through tight roads, valleys and small towns so be mindful of traffic and limited cell phone service
- This was our longest road trip with our German Shepard, Bear! for our daily outings we had plenty of pet supplies and options, as we mostly stuck to pet friendly outdoor activities. We also stayed with pet friendly hotels and restaurants so bringing him was actually easier than we expected.
- All of the Hiltons we stayed at were super pet friendly! the staff were accommodating with door tags, extra pet supplies and being so sweet to him! Can't beat a clean and accessible hotel with free breakfast!
Now....Let's Dig Into the Fun! Everything we did PLUS Photos!
Day 1
- Drive Up From Tampa, FL - 4 Hours - we decided to stop at a basic truck top town for the night to break up the drive for us and the dog.
- Stay Overnight in Hilton in Tifton, GA - 1 night
- Hotel Cost - Total - $125.05
Day 2
- Drive Up from Tifton, GA - 5 Hours - to Murphy, NC. we made Murphy, NC our home base for the trip because it was centrally located for our activities AND it had a ton of close things like a beautiful downtown area with lots of shops and restaurants. Across the street was a large grocery store, Walmart and not far a casino too.
- Arrive in Hilton in Murphy, NC - 3 nights
- Hotel Cost - $385.22 ($50 pet fee)
Day 3
After we rested up from the drive, we started our hiking loop for the day!
- Cabin Coffee - Blairsville, Georgia
- Waterfall Hike - Vogel State Park, Georgia
- Overlook Hike - Smithgall Woods State Park, Georgia
- Jumping Goat Coffee Roasters Yonah, Georgia
- Overlook Hike - Bell Mountain, Georgia
- Dinner - Hiawassee Brewing, Georgia
We looped across the state line into Georgia for a few state parks and an amazing overlook!
First stop coffee on the way! at Cabin Coffee in Blairsville, Georgia this was a very popular local spot where we got some coffees, a hot chocolate and fresh cookies! Note: if you like strong coffee be sure to ask for extra shots or even milk in your hot chocolate instead of water as the base.
Our first hiking spot was a Waterfall Hike in Vogel State Park, Georgia. We did the hike around the lake to the waterfall that streams from the lake. This park had beautiful cabins, crisp lake views and was working on a large new visitor's center. I'd definitely come back! The cost was $5 cash ONLY to enter.
Next, we drive over to do the Overlook Hike - Smithgall Woods State Park, Georgia. This park had a great parking lot, tons of other outdoor activities like hunting and fishing PLUS a super cute giftshop where I picked up their local honey! We paid $5 to park here while we did the one way loop up the mountain.
We stopped for lunch and more coffee at the Jumping Goat Coffee Roasters in Yonah, Georgia. This location had beautiful outdoor seating packed with mountain views.
Our last hike of the day was to an Overlook Hike - Bell Mountain, Georgia. I need to confess that my online research DID NOT prepare me for this spot! First of all, it was amazing, but also very terrifying to drive up miles of very STEEP and THIN roads. In bad weather they close this site and we totally understand why. This activity is FREE, if you dare to make your way up the mountain.
When you drive up, you can park and the lower or upper lot (pictured) depending on the type of car you have. But when you get up there you are gifted with a gorgeous 360 view of the highest point in Georgia! with an elevation of 3,424 feet up!
We had dinner at Hiawassee Brewing, Georgia. This was the perfect stop on our drive back "home". The whole place was dog friendly, and they had a great menu of Mexican and regular bar favorites. The beer was very good too!
Day 4
On our next day of hiking, we went north! We couldn't come all of this way and not visit the Great Smoky Mountains!
- Cardinal Coffee - Bryson City, NC
- Drive Up - Great Smoky Mountains - Newfound Gap, TN/NC
- Drive Through Gatlinburg, TN
- Lunch - Wild Bear Inn - Pigeon Forge, TN
- Apple Barn - Pigeon Forge, TN
- Dinner - Tapoco Lodge & Resort - Tapoco, NC
This day was less physical but took a lot of car time driving between spots, especially because of how packed it was with people and the traffic! Keep in mind many of these towns have one road in and out so they can get congested easily.
We started our drive up with a coffee stop at Cardinal Coffee - Bryson City, NC. This was the cutest little cafe on the side of the highway bend. Again, if you like stronger coffee be sure to order it that way.
Our next stop, and only "hike" this day was a Drive Up - Great Smoky Mountains - Newfound Gap, TN. This spot was busy but a beautiful overlook! Keep an eye out for random pull-offs for beautiful overlooks, streams and wildlife along the road as you drive in an out of the park.
WE continued our drive up through the park into Gatlinburg, TN. Even though we didn't stop, we were very curious as it's a very popular spot, and it was PACKED! there were a ton of cool shops, restaurants and activities, especially the ski lift to the top of the mountain!
We drove straight through Gatlinburg, to take some time in the calmer and more spaced-out Pigeon Forge. There we had lunch - Wild Bear Inn - Pigeon Forge, TN. Alot of things in the area are "alpine" or "German" themed. German food being one of my favorites, I was super happy to enjoy the Wild Bear Inn and eat some of my favorites like stitzel, bratwursts, German potato salad, sauerkraut and great beer!
On the way out we stopped at the Apple Barn - Pigeon Forge, TN. This place had been on my list for a while because I loveee fall apple foods and items. While this place did have a lot of parking, foods, cute shops and clean restrooms... It was a little over commercialized for me. The hot cider and fried apple pies I got were just ok. It was a fun quick stop but not sure I'd come back just for this again.
For Dinner we drove to - Tapoco Lodge & Resort - Tapoco, NC. This place was on my list because of the beautiful stream that runs in front of the main building. I was also scoping resorts for a longer mountain stay, this place has amazing reviews, so I wanted to just check it out, even though we just stayed for dinner.
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| Photo from their website |
It was beautifully decorated for Christmas, food was good and the staff were very kind. We will definitely look into staying here longer next time.
Day 5
On our last big day, we decided to add some stops on our drive back down.
- Alpine Town Helen, GA
- Overlook Hike - Stone Mountain, GA - Atlanta
- Buc-ee's Truckstop - GA
- Overnight in Fernandina Beach, FL
After breakfast we broke up the 7-hour drive back down south with great stops and a surprise hike!
We stopped in the famous Alpine town of Helen, GA, we were surprised to see it MUCH less packed than when we drive through before. It's a cute town packed with shops and restaurants with a German theme!
I love baked goods so we stopped at Hofer's German Bakery and it didn't disappoint! We got apple strudels, apple fritters and Oktoberfest pretzels! the apple fritters were the best I've ever had, balanced with spices, apples and a touch of citrus. I should have gotten 20 of them...
We planned to just drive through Atlanta but a detour took us past Stone Mountain Park! This is a HUGE boulder, like the size of a small town and 825 feet tall.
I had this place on my Apple Guides so I knew it was a good stop. it was an amazing Overlook Hike - Stone Mountain, GA - Atlanta. We paid $20 to get into the park packed with activities including a train and gondola to the top of the rock.
On our drive we also visited the FAMOUS Buc-ee's Truckstop - Outside of Macon, GA. This was such a fun stop. It had plenty of pet areas, amazing restrooms and awesome snacks and foods too! We stocked up on their jerky, coconut peanut brittle and brisket sandwiches of course!
Out last stop was an overnight stay in Hilton in Fernandina Beach, FL - for 1 night
The locals told us the town is famous for shrimp fishing (your see dressed up shrimp cartoons all over the town). Even though I'm allergic to shellfish, this has led to a few awesome restaurants, so I am already planning a trip back!
After we had breakfast and explored the town we headed home for our last leg of the drive. We made it home in the early afternoon, perfect for a little rest before we went back to work!
This trip was a big deal to me on so many levels. (1) being able to still do the trip after it being delayed (2) packing so MANY great things into our road trip (3) getting to explore traveling and the outdoors more with our dog Bear.
I was so relieved and excited that everything came together! if you want to take a fall road trip like this to fulfill your love of fall, do it! #stealmyitineary
Thank You for Coming Along on Our Adventure!!
XOXO-Lydia
