The Chattahoochee: Georgia's Famous River Begins Here
Near Helen, Georgia
The river that flows through Helen is the same river that forms the southern boundary between Georgia and Alabama, the same river that flows through Atlanta, the same river that empties eventually into the Gulf of Mexico roughly five hundred miles from here. But here, in the north Georgia mountains, the Chattahoochee is young, clear, and cold. It rises in the Blue Ridge several miles north of Helen and tumbles down through the gap before running straight through the middle of town.
Tubing on the Chattahoochee became one of Helen's defining activities. Visitors float a gentle stretch on inner tubes, carried by the current through the alpine facades of the town. Several tubing outfitters operate here, renting tubes and shuttling floaters back to the put-in above town.
The Great Helen Duck Race adds an absurd and beloved note to the river's profile. Rubber ducks are released into the Chattahoochee during the town's festivities, racing downstream past the Bavarian storefronts for charity. The race is a fundraiser, and it has become one of those events that perfectly captures the spirit of a town: large, cheerful, unnecessary, and impossible to resist.
