Fall is festival season in the North Georgia Mountains, and with good reason. Blue skies and mild temperatures grace most days as the leaves flash their most vibrant colors and make every view spectacular. When planning your fall getaway this year, look no further than Amicalola Falls State Park & Lodge for your stay.

The Lodge is just minutes away from classic mountain towns like Dahlonega and Dawsonville where you can immerse yourself in the Appalachian culture. Enjoy first-class accommodations, world-class views, and top-notch activities at the Lodge while you hear the music, taste the fare, and see the sights of the mountains.

Book your rooms for Oct. 16-17 and make plans to attend Gold Rush Days in Dahlonega, one of the premier festivals in Georgia. Decades before the famed California gold rush, the precious metal was discovered in Dahlonega and the rush was on. Today, the city celebrates one of the first significant gold rushes in American history with Gold Rush Days the third weekend of October. Thousands of visitors flock to the town of nearly 7,000 residents, gather around the public square and the historic district and enjoy live music, demonstrations, hundreds of craft and food vendors and, of course, panning for gold. It is estimated roughly 200,000 people come to the festival annually, helping it earn the distinction as one of the Top 20 Events in the Southeast by the Southeast Tourism Society. Bring the family to stay at Amicalola Falls State Park & Lodge and you will have the perfect home base for Gold Rush Days.

There is another fantastic festival to attend on Oct. 22-24 in nearby Dawsonville – the annual Mountain Moonshine Festival. Held at the Georgia Racing Hall of Fame – a destination you won’t want to miss whenever you stay at Amicalola Falls State Park & Lodge – and on the town’s Main Street, the festival includes a robust car show, the Moonshine Run drive, a swap meet and plenty of local vendors who will have their fare and their wares for sale. You can see a moonshine still on display and learn how moonshine production shaped the history of the North Georgia foothills and mountains.

If you can’t make it either of those two weekends, the Lodge is still the perfect place from which to launch your next great vacation. In addition to these festivals, towns like Dahlonega, Dawsonville, Ball Ground, Ellijay and Jasper, just to name a few, all are a short drive away and each has its own distinctive style and flair, great restaurants and shopping, as well as plenty of regularly occurring events to keep your family having fun all year. Don’t forget to schedule your next great adventure during your escape, available right here at Amicalola Falls State Park & Lodge.