Notes from the host
1950's Cabin on Cane Creek Above the Falls
Romantic and private mountain cabin located just north of historic Dahlonega, on Cane Creek with 25 ft high waterfall, great room w/ massive stone fireplace, screened porch w/ rocking chairs overlooking Cane Creek, flagstone terrace within 10 ft of creek and flagstone walkway around cabin, 1950s kitchen with antique side board sink, refrigerator, gas stove, coffee maker, toaster, microwave, 1950s bathroom fixtures with lots of gas hot water, large walk-in tile shower, 90% efficient quiet gas furnace, easy unloading-park 15 ft to front door, located inside a gated facility staffed 24/7, just relax and sit by the fire or take a walk along the scenic mountain trails or take the "Georgia Wine Trail" to the many wineries nearby or enjoy a play or movie at the historic Holly Theater.
Dahlonega was the site of the first gold rush in America in 1828 and is the home of North Georgia College and State University.
The waterfall is about 200 ft downstream from the cabin. Between the front of the cabin and the falls there is a grassy area that great for bad-mitten or touch football. Then there is a small gravel parking area for the cabins that are across the creek.
If you continue walking straight ahead there is a boardwalk to an observation platform at the top of the Cane Creek Falls and wooden stairs up to the roadway above. You can walk along the roadway down to the bottom of the falls. The roadway is the easy walk to the bottom of the falls.
There is also a foot bridge going across the creek just above the falls and another footbridge across the creek below the falls. I'm not sure if the upper trail across the creek that leads to the other side of the top of the falls has been improved and repaired to allow access to an old timber stairway leading from the top of the falls to bottom. If the stairway is open then you can circle the falls, down one side and up the other.
The best wading is just below the falls where you will find a pool of water and the creek has a rocky bottom for rock skipping and easy wading (river shoes or old tennis shoes are nice). Swimming is not allowed in the pool of water at the base of the falls for safety reasons (powerful hydraulics at the base of the falls). At dusk when the kids were young we liked to make "bark boats" out of 6" to 8" pieces of pine bark with lighted birthday candles mounted on top to see who can keep their bark boat lighted the farthest downstream.
When the summer campers are out we just give them their space so that we don't disturb their organized activity. The councilors and kids are very friendly.
We haven't been horseback riding in years, but I did find some places nearby that have horses to ride.
There are two large cast iron bells at the front entrance used as planters for ivy. These bells used to be in front of my great grandfather's home, "Two Bells", in Dahlonega where he owned a general store in the late 1800's. The home was named after his daughter Isabelle (Belle for short) and his granddaughter also named Isabelle. I have been told that one of the bells rang when the civil war ended and the other rang when North Georgia college was founded in 1873. He had the honor of representing the citizens of Dahlonega in the U.S. House of Representatives and secured the U.S. Mint Building in Dahlonega for use as the North Georgia Agricultural College, now know as North Georgia College and State University. He headed up the governing board of the college for over 30 years until his death in 1908. When my great grandfather died my grandfather's family along with my dad moved to Atlanta, and in 1951 my dad and his 3 sisters and brother decided to build this cabin next to Cane Creek so that they could visit their old hometown and discover their roots.
We really want you to stay at our family cabin and experience a trip back in time to a simpler era, yet if you need to connect with the outside world for a moment there's the WiFi or Netflix.
Rocking on the screened porch with a cup of coffee and a good book make for a wonderful morning. When the sun clears the ridge maybe a walk or grab a cane pole from the curtain rod and go fishing in the creek.
If it's too cold or rainy then stay close to the warmth of the stone fireplace and play some records, or set up an old fashioned board game or a card game of gin-rummy, hearts, or poker if that's your game.
Lots to do and see if you get restless after too much relaxing...
If gold is on your mind then checkout the Gold Museum in the Old Courthouse on the square, then try your luck at panning at Crisson's Gold mine, or go on the underground tour of the largest gold mine in the area, the Consolidated Mine. There's a lot of gold mining history around since Dahlonega was the very first gold rush in the U.S.
Gold mining runs in our family. Maybelle Crisson was my grandmother and her daddy E.E. Crisson and her granddaddy W. R. Crisson were both gold miners. Maybelle's other grandfather, Boley Fields, discovered a placer deposit of gold nuggets in the Chestatee River that he described as being the size of a bed sheet and it twinkled like the stars. It weighed 96,000 pennyweights (about 300 lbs!).
My great grandfather Col. W. P. Price was the Secretary the Findley Gold Mine located below the 400 ft ridge on the Yahoola, and one on the U. S. Mint officials told the crowd of miners outside the Old Courthouse headed off to California in 1849 that there's more gold in Findley Ridge yet to be found..."There's millions in it boys!"
Moonshining is also part of our history and the beginning of NASCAR had its roots on these highways with the hot rods used to outrun the revenuers, like we've all seen in the movie Thunder Road. If you haven't seen it try You Tube while you're at the cabin.
The trail head for the Appalacian Trail is nearby or you can just take a hiking trail right out side the cabin (see the trail map by the footbridge). Do checkout the observation boardwalk just above the falls for a close-up view of the white water.
Of course you can always venture out for shopping in town, or try a play at the Holly Theater, or just have lunch at the Corkscrew Bistro next door, or you can head out on the Wine Highway just a few miles north of our cabin and do some wine tasting.
Regards, Hal & Audrey
