Helen is a small town in the mountains of northeast Georgia that was reimagined in 1969 as a Bavarian Alpine village — an unlikely transformation that has made it one of the most visited small towns in the state. The mock-Bavarian architecture is kitsch but enthusiastically done, and the setting in a valley along the Chattahoochee River is genuinely beautiful.
The annual Oktoberfest is the biggest draw, running from mid-September through early November. Outside festival season, the main activities are tubing down the Chattahoochee, hiking in the surrounding Chattahoochee National Forest, and exploring the small shops and German restaurants in town. Unicoi State Park, just outside town, has good hiking, a lake for swimming, and camping.