The Dawsonville center point is about 2 miles southeast of Downtown Dawsonville and 11 miles south of Forest Hills Mountain Resort.
For such a small town, Dawsonville has no shortage of activities to enjoy during your visit. Plan your trip to Dawsonville with these community events in mind so you don't miss out on the fun.
Each Easter, Dawsonville hosts an annual community Egg Hunt. A few months later comes the Sparks at the Motorsports Park Independence Day Celebration. Families come out for the food and firework display, held at the Atlanta Motorsports Park in Dawsonville. Finally, Dawsonville's headline event is the Mountain Moonshine Festival in October. You won't want to miss it!
Check out The Bowen Center for the Arts, and you'll find both traditional arts and contemporary handcraft alive and well in Dawsonville. The Annual Quilt Exhibit is a highlight, open from the end of September through the end of October.
The city also commemorates Veteran's Day in November with a parade of honor, along with ceremonies that recognize Purple Heart recipients and all veterans with a 21-gun salute. If you are a veteran, you will be feted with VIP access and complimentary lunch.
The year closes out with the Dawsonville Christmas Parade and Tree Lighting, culminating in the annual tree lighting ceremony, a holiday dance party, and pictures with Santa.
During the warmer seasons, the community comes out for a monthly food truck night. Beyond the tasty food, these nights bring the town together to play a game of cornhole and let the kids play together in the bouncy house and slide and get their faces painted.
Check out Quality Inn & Suites for the best hotel discounts in Dawsonville. This affordable property discounts rates yet further for AAA members, senior citizens, and military and government service members. Just 11 miles from Atlanta Motorsports Park, this hotel is convenient to all of the best Dawsonville area attractions.
Don't let this hotel's low rates fool you. You'll enjoy high style during your stay, from the airy, light-filled lobby to your clean, contemporary guest rooms and the gorgeous outdoor patio, surrounded by quiet woodlands. In your room, you'll have a fridge and microwave, as well as access to free wireless internet.
You'll also enjoy access to a seasonal outdoor pool and fitness center. Wake up daily to the Quality Inn & Suites' complimentary breakfast service and catch up on the news while reading the free local paper. This hotel participates in a sustainability program, so whenever you want refreshed sheets or towels, just ask.
If you want to be close to Dawsonville but also want quick access to Lake Lanier, Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites Atlanta-Cumming delivers. This value hotel is also close to a local shopping center and offers a lot beyond mere proximity to local sites. On-site, you'll enjoy indoor pool access and a 24-hour fitness center, so you can work out on your schedule. A complimentary breakfast buffet is also included. During your stay, you'll enjoy free wireless internet access and cable programming, too.
If you're planning a modest event, you can easily host it in the 700-square-foot meeting room. Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Suites Atlanta-Cumming offers 103 guest rooms to accommodate everyone in your group.
Dawsonville is well-known as the birthplace of NASCAR, but not everyone knows how and why these Georgia drivers got to be so fast. The Mountain Moonshine Festival commemorates that pivotal role during the Prohibition era and the Great Depression, when running illegal alcohol through the foothills was the only way to scrape out a living. Booze was illegal during this time, but mountain men and women had been making “white lightning” long before alcohol was outlawed. So, they began making the illicit “moonshine” at night (under the light of the moon) to evade detection because of their smoky stills.
Each distiller needed a runner with a normal-looking “stock” car, souped-up under the hood with enough speed and power to outrun the law. They also knew the winding mountain back roads better than anyone and could usually evade pursuit with wild maneuvers like the “bootleg” skid.
Despite their skills, some still careened off the road, just as drivers sometimes do in NASCAR races today. If you hike the main trail in Amicalola Falls, look out down the slope to see a wrecked stock truck from the 1940s hidden in the brush. They say it was discovered in the 1970s with mason jars full of “shine” still intact inside. After Prohibition was lifted, bored drivers began racing each other instead, and NASCAR was born.
Visit the Mountain Moonshine Festival in October, and you can meet your favorite NASCAR drivers, the heirs of those early runners. Festival-goers can also listen to riveting storytelling about outlaw "trippers" and their nemeses, the federal revenue agents, and see one of the best collections of historic early stock cars. You can even watch a thrilling re-enactment of a moonshine run.
If you want to taste local moonshine for yourself, head over to Dawsonville Distillery, a small-batch distillery and home to NASCAR driver Bill Elliot's own moonshine. This “white lightning” still makes each batch with family recipes that have been handed down for generations. You can't buy a bottle here, but you can taste it and pick one up at a local Dawsonville store.
Motorsports also remain very important to this community. The Atlanta Motorsports Park in Dawsonville features two Formula One designed circuits, and the road course has been voted as one of the top tracks in North America.
From stunning waterfalls to challenging hikes, tasty food trucks to small batch moonshine and motorsports, Dawsonville, Georgia, will delight you at every turn.
Below are reviews of the city of Dawsonville, GA from an actual visitor's perspective.
The lodge is secluded enough to enjoy the park but close enough to go shopping or out for a meal.
Dawsonville was pretty and quaint. We were there to see the lights in Dahlonega, GA.
It has a good Outlet Mall, decent restaurants, it's close to mountain attractions, and has easily traversed roads and well planned exits and intersections for one who is unfamiliar with the area.
The quietness!