After pressing the reset button in 2020 and 2021, a new festival centered around Gilmer County’s abundant outdoor recreation options gets moving this weekend.
The Georgia Mountain Trail Fest unfolds Saturday, April 23, and Sunday, April 24, at the Talona Ridge RV Resort, 723 Highland Parkway. Event times are 10 a.m.-9:30 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Sunday.
Presented by the nonprofit Georgia Mountain Trails Partnership (GMTP), the two-day event will feature information, presentations, vendors and activities representing a wide array of groups involved with outdoor recreation. confirmed Robert Ferguson, a Gilmer County resident and the trail partnership’s CEO.
“In September, we will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Georgia being designated an Appalachian Trail community. With that, something the Appalachian Trail Conservancy suggests is having a trail fest. Dahlonega has had one for years, as do many of the communities along the AT. We’ve never had one, and we’re finally getting it done,” Ferguson said.
Hiking and hiking trails will be a focus of the event, but it will also highlight such outdoor activities as mountain biking, water recreation and camping.
“The difference with Gilmer County is we have so much going for us, so we didn’t want to make it just about the AT. We wanted to make it about all the things that people can get outdoors and enjoy,” Ferguson said. “We’ve got the Benton MacKaye Trail, the AT, three rivers that are very popular and we’re the mountain biking capital of Georgia. We are (also featuring) the equestrian, camping, RV and Jeep communities, which are popular ways for people to get outdoors.”
A mix of product, informational and food/beverage vendors, as well as several speakers, will be featured on both festival days. Live music by The Orange Walls, of Jasper, and Highbeams, from Woodstock, will be featured starting at 4 p.m. Saturday afternoon.
“We’re going to have information to give to show people what you can do (outdoors), not just for this weekend, but whenever,” Ferguson said. “The fun thing about having it at Talona Ridge is, as we are having speakers talk about Benton MacKaye and the AT, you can look out and see Springer Mountain from there. That’s kind of unique from the different trail fests along the AT. It’s the beginning, and we need to celebrate that.”
The event, originally titled 7 Trails Fest, was just short of its planned debut in 2020 when the ensuing COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions sidelined public events in the foreseeable future.
Had that not happened, the festival would be ushering in its third annual installment this weekend. After two years of planning amid the setbacks, Ferguson confirmed its organizers are happy the inaugural trail fest is finally about to happen.
“We regrouped after 2021 and said, ‘OK, let’s forge ahead for 2022.’ It’s been a team effort, and we have a great group of people with the GMTP who’ve just kept going even through this crazy time,” Ferguson said. “We’ve learned a lot, and we’ve stuck together as a board. This is a legacy project that we hope continues on beyond us.”
The festival will serve as a fundraiser for the trail partnership group, which is working toward being involved with some future outdoor recreation projects. Ferguson said the event was made possible by a Gilmer Chamber grant for nonprofits derived from county and city hotel/motel taxes.
“We want to help out with some trails at Carters Lake and Fort Mountain and do some educational things along the way. There’s a lot of stuff we want to do, but this is the first thing that will help us raise funds so we can do other things,” Ferguson said. “It will also get some focus on who we are and how we can help the trails in our area by maintaining and keeping them clean while educating people on the proper ways to use and enjoy them.”
Both days of the Georgia Mountain Trail Fest can be enjoyed for $5 a person if attendees leave their wristbands on, Ferguson noted. Ages 10 and under are free.
A $5 parking donation will benefit the Cartecay Youth Mountain Bike Team, Ferguson said. Parking will be available in the field across Highland Parkway from the RV resort.
“We’ll have carts to bring people up if they want, or they can walk. We’ll have a police officer the whole day, who will stop traffic if needed,” Ferguson said.