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By Warren Resen One in a series of travel articles

Summer’s heat and humidity are winding down as is, hopefully, a very active hurricane season. Now might be a good time to think about taking some time for yourself and heading for the hills. Enjoy a change of pace and a little rest and relaxation before the hectic holiday season begins and the northern visitors begin their annual migration.

For Floridians and most Georgians, the nearest hills mean the southern Appalachians in north Georgia and a chance to enjoy the blazing colors of fall and crisp mountain air. For most of us, the best route to this world of rolling hills is north of Atlanta through Dahlonega, Georgia.

This area has much to offer people used to the flatlands: stunning mountain views, whitewater canoeing and rafting, rock climbing, mountain bicycling and woods thick with foliage foreign to most readers of Farmer & Rancher. National chain restaurants are outnumbered by locally owned businesses. Accommodations run the gamut from rooms with bunk beds to upscale lodges. And there is one that I believe particularly deserves mention.

It was in 1977 that David Kraft received his diploma from a high school in the West Palm Beach, Florida area. His sister Denise earned her degree at Palm Beach Junior College about the same time. Degrees in hand they immediately left for the hills of Georgia. For 700 miles, David drove the U-Haul and Denise, having learned to drive a stick shift only the day before, followed in the car.

Their father, Frank, had purchased 140 acres of forested property northwest of Dahlonega and this teenaged brother and sister team arrived at the site to begin building, initially by themselves, what would become a world class resort hosting couples, families, conventions, weddings and so much more. In a true frontier spirit and setting, with no electricity, running water or financing, David and Denise used hand tools, drew water from the well, bathed in the creek and subsisted on food they called “yuk” and “gross” to build their first cabin.

The first cabin finished, they began work on others until a total of five had been built. For part of this first year, their older brother Stephen helped with the construction before moving west. That first winter, one of the coldest in recorded history for northern Georgia, they survived wearing one set of clothes that they worked in and slept in.

During the ensuing years, other family members joined the team and there are now three generations running this family business. It is rare today to find a resort of this magnitude that is not part of a national or international chain. In 1988, baby sister Michelle began handling the public relations and marketing for the resort.

Today the Forrest Hills Mountain Resort & Conference Center just outside of downtown Dahlonega, Georgia, offers its guests so many amenities, in a beautifully wooded setting surrounded by the Blue Ridge Mountains, that it almost feels boastful to list them all. Thirty-two private cabins, each with a fireplace and Jacuzzi, are sited to give guests maximum privacy. Twelve luxury bi-level suites feature steam saunas. Private hotels within the complex, one unit has 16 rooms, are available for groups. There are seven meeting rooms, and four dining rooms, one reserved exclusively for couples.

Forrest Hills Mountain Resort is a mecca for business meetings and family reunions. One of the specialties at Forrest Hills are weddings. They average about 125 per year and there are several “Chapels-in-the Woods” for outdoor weddings and one indoor facility and they offer complete turn-key packages.
When you can break away from the Jacuzzis, fireplaces and steam rooms, there is horseback riding, hiking, horse-drawn carriage tours, a swimming pool, day spa and tennis courts.

Amicalola Falls, the highest waterfall east of the Mississippi River is close by and the icing on the cake is the historic town of Dahlonega where the first gold rush in the United States took place in 1828. The shopping there is first rate. Three golf courses are just minutes away.

If there is a theme at Forrest Hills it is, “Stop and Relax.” When you get there, there is no reason to use your car unless you want to go sightseeing. Everything on the property is within walking distance. The name is not a misspelling either. David and Denise’s mother said the resort should be a place where people should come “for-a-rest.” That is the derivation of “forrest.” Michelle told me that the average occupancy rate is 60%, a very high number for the hospitality industry, with guests returning over and over again.

The Forrest Hills Mountain Resort & Conference Center web page shows the magnitude of offerings for guests. Visit it at http://forresthillsresort.com