Visitors
Ann Taylor and Max Azria , stripers and blue ribbon trout, Mother Nature and 300 bouncing ‘roos: There’s only one place that brings the adventure of the “Australian Outback,” the exhilaration of in vogue outlet shopping and the variety of outdoor recreation—everything from fishing, hiking and biking to golfing, bird watching, whitewater rafting and more together and it’s Dawsonville-Dawson County.
Located in the foothills of the North Georgia Mountains, just 50 minutes north of Atlanta and edging Lake Lanier, Dawson County sits at the trailhead of the Appalachian Trail and is home to Dawson Forest, Amicalola Falls and the Etowah and Amicalola Rivers, not to mention a legacy of moonshine and souped-up hot rods.
Within its borders are the highest falls east of the Mississippi at Amicalola Falls—the nearly 800-foot cascades the Cherokee Indians named for their “tumbling waters”—and the largest kangaroo conservation habitat outside Australia at the Kangaroo Conservation Center. Featured on the “Today Show” and other national media, the center is a showpiece for wildlife management and research.
Dawson County provides convenient access to the 39,000-acre Lake Lanier and its recreational pleasures, including wild mountain trout fishing and houseboating, and to the Southern terminus of the famed Appalachian Trail at Springer Mountain for hiking and biking opportunities unparalleled in the region.
The 25,000-acre Dawson Forest offers yet more trails and roads for horseback riding, ATV adventuring, mountain biking and hiking. Additionally, the Department of Natural Resources manages thousands of acres of public land in the forest, enticing stomping grounds for anglers, hunters and other outdoor enthusiasts. With its enviable perch at the edge of the Chattahoochee National Forest, the county also offers birdwatching, wildlife viewing and nature-based experiences in a backdrop of high country streams, ridges, gorges and sparkling waterfalls.
A natural beauty, Dawson County is also a shopping destination, with the 140 shops of the North Georgia Premium Outlets located here along with the works of 200-plus folk artists which are showcased at Around Back at Rocky’s Place. It is a place whose history harkens back to the days of moonshine and souped-up hot rods—an era that sparked NASCAR fever—that still rumbles to life at the Georgia Racing Museum Hall of Fame. And it is a reprieve from the workaday world, a place to refresh and rejuvenate at full-service resorts that range from an amenities-rich mountain haven with decadent hot tub cabins to a peaceful retreat with comfy rooms to a hike-in haven with warm beds—and all against the magnificent backdrop of the layered peaks of the Blue Ridge.
Come to Dawsonville-Dawson County to hike, shop, fish, canoe and commune with the kangaroos. You’ll find your adventure where the mountains meet the lakes.
