Idyllic Weekend in North Georgia: Clayton

Clayton doesn’t try to make you think it’s like any other place, but rather simply makes you happy to be right where you are.

We find that outdoor activity recharges our batteries, and we gravitate to hiking, biking, kayaking and similar endeavors whenever time and weather cooperate. We also like touring, museums, wine tasting, spas and shopping, and pursue these when Mother Nature is rejuvenating her kingdom with rain, snow and cold.

Regardless of your preferences, the small towns, parks and mountains of North Georgia offer a fantastic getaway weekend opportunity for virtually any activity preference. We recently traveled to Clayton, Georgia, for a fabulous 2-night, 3-day getaway while our son was at summer camp. (Of course, getting there and back was half the fun as we used our road trip app to find unusual treasures along the way. But those literally are other stories, recounted in our Georgia Small Plates section.)

Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of Clayton, GA, as a retreat or vacation getaway. That’s part of the appeal, as the town of approximately 2,000 is one of those hidden gems of the Blue Ridge Mountains that retain their small-town charm and authenticity. Clayton isn’t Gatlinburg or Helen with crowds, traffic and faux-front buildings meant to remind you of somewhere else. Rather, Clayton is a historic downtown with local shops, a focus on organic food, strong connection to the natural landscapes that surround it and a growing regional reputation as Georgia’s model for true farm-to-table agricultural renaissance. Clayton doesn’t try to make you think it’s like any other place, but rather simply makes you happy to be right where you are.

Our home base was the Beechwood Inn, a cozy bed and breakfast with a wonderful view of Black Rock Mountain from the chairs on the front porch and some of the small balconies in the upstairs rooms. Beechwood Inn is owned by Dave and Gayle Darugh, both of whom are gracious hosts, excellent conversationalists, wine connoisseurs and chefs listed in the prestigious Best Chefs America, a peer review among 5,000 chefs. In his previous life, Dave was a top-level lawyer for the Department of Energy, and he, Gayle and their family moved around the US before settling in Georgia, then buying the Beechwood Inn. Gayle ran the Inn while Dave maintained his full-time job, rushing to Clayton to assist on weekends.

During the daily “Wine Thirty” tasting, Dave recalled his decision to retire. Following 9-11, Dave was summoned to Washington to represent his DOE facility in a discussion about security. Seated in the meeting with President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Chaney, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and other top-ranking officials, Dave found himself thinking about upcoming weekend guests and a leaking toilet that needed repair. After that, he and Gayle decided that inn keeping, food and wine – livelong avocations – would now become their full-time vocations.

Besides the hospitality of the Darughs, we enjoyed the setting, comfort and amenities of the Beechwood Inn. Our two nights in the Rabun Suite — with a remodeled modern bath, spacious, comfortable and quaint living and sleeping areas, a small balcony and fabulous view of Black Rock Mountain – were relaxing and restful. But the highlight of our stay was the daily breakfast, always featuring local-sourced products and prepared with skill and care by Dave, Gayle or both. Particularly, Gayle’s blueberry French toast was one of the most memorable breakfasts I’ve had in years.

Everywhere we went in Clayton, local merchants and hosts welcomed us like we were long-lost neighbors, engaging in friendly – but not overbearing – conversations and always offering their personal insights as to the best experiences in the area. Among the most helpful was the staff at Wander North Georgia, an outdoor-focused retail store also offering coffee, ice cream and great local tips.

Unanimously, the Clayton community was united in one very specific recommendation: we MUST return for one of the Beechwood Inn Saturday night dinners which, unfortunately, we couldn’t arrange on our trip. But rest assured, with those recommendations, we will be back.

While we could have spent relaxing days just chilling at the Beechwood Inn, our active sides led us to other pursuits.

Among those we enjoyed:

• • Hiking at Tallulah Gorge. It’s literally a giant hole in the ground, so if you want to experience the best Tallulah Gorge State Park has to offer, you must descend. But that means to get out you must ascend again – all on wooden and metal stairs well-planned by the Georgia State Parks with observation platforms and rest benches along the way. The reward is multiple stunning, up-close views of waterfalls and rapids, plus a walk across a suspension bridge. We descended to the gorge floor but didn’t have the required permits to explore further. We also didn’t have the courage to climb up to the opposite side, then back down and up again to the starting point. Adding in some canyon-rim hiking prior to the descent, my trusty Garmin VivoActive HR recorded 650 feet of elevation gain over our 2-mile walk. (And that night, it accurately recorded 10 hours and 27 minutes of very restful sleep!)

    

  • Exploring Black Rock Mountain State Park. That fantastic breakfast of blueberry French toast demanded that we get more exercise. So we headed to Black Rock Mountain State Park, planning on some car-based sightseeing and a short walk. But our activity demons intervened, and instead we hiked the 2.2 mile Tennessee Rock Trail. It promised easy-to-moderate climbing around and over the 3,640-foot peak of Black Rock Mountain in exchange for fabulous, 80-mile vista views into Tennessee and the Carolinas. The views were gorgeous as promised, even on a morning with broken clouds. After finishing one steep climb, we met a friendly Colorado family at one of those vistas. We exchanged picture-taking moments, and as we recovered from the climb, they shared their stories of climbing several of Colorado’s 14,000-foot peaks while we tried to disguise our gasping. Following that, in a classic example of bad map reading, I led us for what I thought was a short walk on the ADA Hi Falls trail. What I missed was the moderate-to-difficult rating, and a 300-foot climb on more of those Georgia State Parks stairs. My Garmin recorded nearly 4 miles of walking for the day, and just under 1,000 feet of vertical climbing.

    

  • North Georgia Wineries. Our hiking adventures cut into our planned winery visits, as did our total enjoyment at Tiger Mountain Vineyard. While we had planned to visit two wineries, the friendly service and excellent wines at Tiger kept us there longer – and for more wine and more purchases! – than we had planned. If you’re not familiar with North Georgia wineries, check them out.  Better yet, go for a visit and sample the various red wines. I won’t tease my California Napa Valley friends with any comparisons but will point out that the fertile mountainside soils and micro-climates create some excellent vineyards.

• • Local Restaurants Serving Local Foods. Clayton is a center for Georgia’s farm-to-table initiatives, and nearly every restaurant has deep relationships with local farms supplying vegetables, meats and more. That results in rich flavor profiles not often found big-city restaurants, and even more elevated by the mastery of some incredible chefs. We’ve already raved and craved for more at Beechwood Inn. For us the, “chef star” of Clayton was Jamie Allred who, along with business partner Jack Nolan, owns and operates Fortify Kitchen and Bar. By comparison, I had recently dined at Atlanta’s South City Kitchen, Empire State South and Ray’s in the City, plus several other notable locations and Fortify’s menu, setting, service and food was better than each of them (IMHO). Don’t fret if you can’t get a table at the always-in-demand Fortify, because Clayton features several other great dining choices depending on your tastes. We enjoyed a great pub meal at Universal Joint, a former filling station and auto repair location now converted to a free-flowing restaurant with plenty of indoor and outdoor seating. Nearby Rumor Hazit and Mama G’s Italian also came highly recommended, as did the Lake Rabun Hotel and Restaurant, though we simply didn’t have enough dining occasions or stomach space to sample their meals. On a whim, we stopped in at The Rusty Bike Café for a quick lunch and enjoyed every bite of the diner-inspired lunch offerings. White Birch Provisions became our favorite stop for late-morning coffee, and we meandered back in to Wander North Georgia’s store for ice cream.

    

Even with that, we only touched the surface of what Clayton and Raybun country have to offer. As mentioned, already we’re planning a return trip for the Beechwood Inn Saturday night farm-to-table dinner. Several additional winery visits also are on our list. Next time, we’ll plan this as a tour with a driver, so we can sample a few more options safely and responsibly. And we want to get back to the outdoor focused retail shop, Wander North Georgia, to peruse their selections and swap recommendations on future adventures.

Wow, we’ve got lots on our agenda for a return visit. We better get busy with booking soon – and you should, too.

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