We spent a few days in Unicoi State Park at the "barrel" cabins. They were truly unique. We stayed in a 2 bedroom cabin. The first floor consisted of a living area, a kitchen, a dining area and the bathroom. The bedrooms were on the second floor. I was happy to find that the cabin was well maintained and meticulously clean. We didn't use the kitchen but I did notice that there were plenty of dishes, utencils, pots and pans, etc. The bathroom appeared to be updated. Although we had a "lake view" cabin our deck view consisted of only a narrow view through the woods. There was no T.V. or radio. A positive for my husband and I, a negative as far as our kids were concerned.
The beach area was nice enough but dogs are allowed on the beach. We sat next to a family with a small yipping dog who insisted on barking at each and every person that passed by. Extremely annoying. There were several other dogs on the beach, all were on leashes.
We went fishing a few different times on the docks around the lakes. We had to go into town to buy bait. We didn't catch anything more than a few "sunfish". That was o.k. We spent some quality time together but I wouldn't recommend the fishing for anyone looking for a "real" fishing experience.
We went up to Anna Ruby Falls. Be prepared to pay for each person in spite of the fact that you may be staying at the park. Anna Ruby is a National Park as opposed to the State Park. The falls are beautiful. It is a lovely little hike. The gift store offers many unique souvenirs and gifts.
We also took a short drive to Brasstown Bald which is the highest point in GA. You can see five states from the top. You can drive your car to a certain point. You may then park your car and either take the short but steep hike to the top or pay a few dollars per person to take the shuttle van to the top. It was really breathtaking. We watched a short movie on the area in the theatre located in the weather station at the top. We saw people who had packed picnic lunches sitting at the picnic tables. We had wished we had thought of this. It is a beautiful place for a picnic!
The town of Helen is very quaint. It is made to look like a little German town. All of the buildings from fast food restaurants, grocery stores to motels are made to look like authentic German buildings. We went miniature golfing at The Pirates Cove. It was reasonably priced and we had a ball. It was a very nice course. A lot of people were tubing down the river. We did not get a chance to do this but it looked like everyone was having great fun. There are several tubing business in and right outiside of town. There are many little shops and boutiques in town. There are a few candy stores and ice cream places as well. The restaurants in town were just o.k. and very expensive. I will review one restaurant, located right outside of the village, that we really did love called the Nacoochee Grill. It was incredible! There is a little IGA called "Bettys" that is worth the stop. Not only do they carry groceries and other necessities but it is just like an old fashioned general store. Very quaint. You can also find some interesting souvenirs here as well.
