Blue Ridge Scenic Railway

The railway uses vintage rail cars, both open-air and enclosed, pulled along a scenic stretch of track that follows the Toccoa River for much of the route. The pace is gentle, and the river is often close alongside, so you can watch tubers and kayakers on the water and cast your eye over the forested mountains rising beyond.

The train departs from the historic Blue Ridge depot, a handsome early twentieth-century station that anchors the town's walkable downtown. The round trip makes a relaxed half-day outing, with the rhythm of the rails and the river scenery doing most of the work.

At the northern end of the line sit the twin towns of McCaysville, Georgia, and Copperhill, Tennessee, which grew up together as a single community straddling the state line and the Toccoa, called the Ocoee once it crosses into Tennessee. A painted line down the middle of a downtown street marks the border, and visitors love to straddle it with a foot in each state.

The layover gives riders time to browse the small shops, eat at a local restaurant, and enjoy the riverside setting before the return trip. The towns share a history rooted in the old copper mining district of the surrounding hills, which gave Copperhill its name.

The rail line dates to the late nineteenth century and served the mountain communities and the copper industry that once thrived nearby. The depot in Blue Ridge, built in 1905, has been restored as the heart of the excursion, a reminder of the days when the railroad was the lifeline connecting these remote valleys to the wider world.

These mountains are the ancestral homeland of the Cherokee, who were forced west from their north Georgia and Tennessee homeland in the 1830s on the Trail of Tears; their descendant nations continue in Oklahoma, and the Eastern Band remains in North Carolina. The railway today celebrates the mountain heritage of the region for a new generation of visitors.

Spring and early summer bring green mountains, a full and lively river, and comfortable riding weather in the open cars. Summer is warm and busy, with the Toccoa alive with tubers and paddlers visible from the train.

Fall is the marquee season, when the surrounding ridges turn brilliant with color and the excursion becomes one of the best ways in the region to take in the show. The holiday season brings themed trains and festive lights, a favorite tradition for families, while winter runs are quiet and crisp when they operate.

The closest Boutel™ stays, so you can turn this stop into an overnight. Each is an independently owned, editorially selected place to stay.