Exploring the Helen Hot Air Balloon Festival
A few months ago, a close friend sent me an Instagram post from one of my favorite outdoor retailers about a unique event taking place in the mountains of North Georgia — the Helen to the Atlantic Balloon Race & Festival. This annual event takes place in the German-themed town of Helen, Georgia and is billed as “the oldest balloon event in the Southern USA”. And while I am not a huge fan of the town of Helen, the uniqueness of this event got me excited enough to plan a day trip date.
Is that a thing? I guess it is now?
The Festival
The start of the Helen Balloon Race took place on the previous Thursday. On Thursday, the pilots all took off towards the Atlantic Ocean, with Interstate 95 being the finish line for the race. In what is becoming a bit of a trend lately, I missed the actual race due to some other obligations. Luckily the “festival” surrounding the event lasted through the weekend, presented another opportunity to see the balloons in action…sort of.
During the festival, the hot air balloon pilots were set to meet in a grassy field across from the Cool River Tubing company twice a day to lift off the ground. They remain tethered to the ground, meaning they would not actually travel away over the town of Helen, unfortunately. But it did give attendees a chance get the experience of riding in a hot air balloon without having to go any higher than 100 feet in the air. Of course, this is all for a fee, so I would recommend bringing cash, if interested.
The event lasted for about two hours before the pilots loaded up their balloons and headed out. Overall, it was a nice experience albeit a simple one.
The Town of Helen
With a name like the Hot Air Balloon “Festival”, one would assume the town would be quite lively but from what we could see, that didn’t seem to be the case. Now, Helen is what I would consider to be a tourism town. It is German themed which attracts tourists from within the state and the surrounding area. Most of the shops and restaurants are geared towards people who are looking for souvenirs and German delicacies.
Even though there was an advertised festival, there didn’t seem to be much happening within the town itself, other than the normal activity. Maybe there was more planned in the afternoon but the Saturday morning we visited was not much difference from a typical, non-Oktoberfest, trip to the town. No hot air balloon-themed activities, just the expected river tubing and people visiting souvenir shops and the perpetually busy, Yonah Coffee Company.
With so few things happening in town, we decided to head towards Dahlonega to visit a few wineries.
Mountain Wineries
Even though I am not a huge fan of Helen, it is geographically convenient if you are looking to plan a day trip in the mountains. Forty-five minutes to the east, you’ll find the town of Clayton along with a collection of state parks. And just thirty minutes from the heart of Helen, there are an abundance of wineries located in the vicinity of Dahlonega. We decided to visit two and take in the beautiful scenery of the surrounding mountains.
Wolf Mountain Vineyards
Wolf Mountain Vineyards is probably my favorite winery in Georgia so it was the first place we headed upon leaving Helen. Not only can you get some great wine tastings, sparkling or still, but the food is pretty spectacular as well. Both the tasting room and cafe offer pretty good options. But the best thing about this vineyard is the view.
Wolf Mountain overlooks a valley with the mountains in the backdrop. We were lucky enough to have a cool spring day but the best view is during the fall when the leaves are changing. Surprisingly, the staff recommended yet another vineyard for us to visit — CiNeta.
CiNeta Vineyards & Winery
CiNeta is located in Cleveland, Georgia, about thirty minutes from Wolf Mountain. It overlooked a beautiful vineyard and had great seating options under large canopy trees. The wines weren’t as impressive as Wolf Mountain but still pretty good. The food, however, was a little too basic. Still a great option if you are looking for a good winery in the area.
Ultimately, trips like these have been a great way to get some rest and revitalization. While I would have preferred a more robust festival experience, it was still nice to see the hot air balloons up close. The town of Helen underwhelmed again but it was more than made up for by a visit to their surrounding area for a few wine tastings and mountain therapy.
Hopefully, next year I can make it out to see the actual race as it begins.
