An hour north of Woodstock, the road climbs into the Blue Ridge and the temperature drops a few degrees. That is Ellijay, Georgia’s apple country, and when fall arrives the orchards fill with families hauling bushel bags and chasing wagon rides. It is one of the easiest day trips from North Atlanta, and for more than a few of our clients, the drive up for apples turned into a conversation about owning a cabin in the mountains. This guide covers the orchards worth your time, what each one does well, and what to know if a weekend visit ever starts feeling like a house hunt.
Getting to Ellijay from North Atlanta
From Woodstock, Roswell, Marietta, or Canton, the route is straightforward: I-575 north until it becomes GA-515, then follow the signs into Gilmer County. Most of the orchards cluster east of downtown Ellijay along Highway 52, tracing the Cartecay River as it winds through the foothills. Leaves start turning through October, so the drive itself becomes part of the trip. Go on a weekday morning if you can. The orchards run quieter, the U-pick rows are fuller, and you will not spend twenty minutes finding a parking spot on a peak Saturday.
R&A Orchards
Family-owned R&A has been working this land since 1947, and it shows in the range of what they put out. The farm market and bakery stock fresh fruit and vegetables alongside jellies, jams, sauces, fried pies, pastries, fudge, apple cider, and slushies. The on-site R&A Cafe runs daily lunch specials, sandwiches, ice cream, and desserts, which makes this the easiest stop if you want the visit to double as a meal. U-pick apples and wagon rides run through the fall harvest, and unlike most orchards here, R&A stays open year-round. Check their site for current hours and picking dates before you drive up.
Hillcrest Orchards
Hillcrest is the one to pick if you have kids and want the full farm-day experience. During their Apple Pickin’ Jubilee, the place turns into a small festival: live weekend entertainers, pig racing, cow milking, wagon rides, a petting farm, and an apple tree maze. Bakers work in the open at the Hillcrest Cowfe, turning out pies, doughnuts, and fritters while you watch. The market carries apples, jams, sauces, slushies, and ciders. Hillcrest runs seasonally rather than year-round, so dates shift each year. Confirm the Jubilee schedule on their website before making the trip.
BJ Reece Orchards
BJ Reece is best known for the apple cannon, which is exactly what it sounds like and exactly as fun as it sounds. Alongside it you will find hayrides, pony rides, a petting farm, and U-pick pumpkins and apples through the harvest. The market rounds things out with apples, jams, jellies, sauces, ciders, and fried pies. Like Hillcrest, Reece operates seasonally, so hours and picking windows change year to year. Their website lists current dates.
Making a Full Day of It in Ellijay
The orchards will fill a morning, but Ellijay rewards a longer stay. Downtown wraps around a walkable square with local restaurants, antique shops, and a few tasting rooms. Gilmer County calls itself the Apple Capital of Georgia, and the Georgia Apple Festival draws crowds to the fairgrounds each October. If you would rather be on the water, the Cartecay River runs right past the orchard corridor and offers easy kayaking and tubing while the weather holds. Pack a cooler, plan for a full afternoon, and let the day stretch out.
Fun Facts About Apples
- A bushel of apples weighs roughly 48 pounds.
- A peck runs about 10 to 12 pounds.
- Most apple pie recipes call for around 3 pounds of apples, peeled, cored, and sliced.
- Apple pie is still America’s most-requested pie.
When a Day Trip Turns Into a Cabin Search
It happens more than you would think. A family drives up for apples, spends an afternoon under the leaves with the mountain air coming down cool, and by the drive home someone has said out loud what everyone was thinking: what would it take to own a place up here? Ellijay and the surrounding Gilmer County have become a real second-home market for North Atlanta buyers, close enough for a weekend without committing to a long haul, remote enough to feel like an actual escape.
A mountain cabin is a different purchase than a primary home in Woodstock or Roswell. Well and septic instead of city utilities, seasonal road access on some of the higher lots, rental-income potential if you want the place to work while you are not in it, and drive time that matters more when it is a place you visit rather than live. Those are the kinds of details worth thinking through before you fall for a view. Our team works this market and can walk you through what a cabin actually involves, from the offer to the parts nobody warns you about.
Thinking about a place in the mountains?
Browse current Gilmer County listings, or talk with a Path & Post Strategic Guide who knows the second-home market north of Atlanta.
Whether you come home with a trunk full of bushels or a new idea about where you want to spend your weekends, Ellijay is worth the drive. And if the mountains do start pulling at you, you know who to call.
