Gold Rush Days 2027 is Oct. 16-17: where to stay in Dahlonega that weekend
Gold Rush Days returns to downtown Dahlonega on Oct. 16-17, 2027. If you want to walk to the festival, the short list is the…
Dahlonega and the north Georgia mountains
Where to stay in Dahlonega Cabins, inns, B&Bs and vineyard stays, and when to book them
Dahlonega, the Lumpkin County seat in the north Georgia mountains, is about 66 miles and an hour and 25 minutes from Atlanta with no traffic. This guide lists 47 places to stay, from inns on the Public Square to cabins, vineyard stays and campgrounds, with what each one's own site confirms, plus the festival weekends that fill town and what lodging taxes add.
Fall ridges, Blood Mountain Wilderness A film cut from 10 real photographs of Dahlonega, its wine country and the north Georgia mountains around it. Credits
Decision tool · stay matcher
Which Dahlonega stay fits your trip?
Dahlonega's places to stay run from rooms on the Public Square to creekside cabins, vineyard cottages and campsites in the national forest. Tell us what kind of stay you want, what you need, and how far from the square you are willing to drive, and we will match you to places whose own sites say yes.
All 47 places to stay, with what each one's own site confirms
A need is marked as met only when the property's own site says so, and each one links to that page. If a site does not say, we show it as a question to ask, never a yes. We list places in and around Dahlonega that have a working official site; we do not take bookings, accept payment for listings, rank places or show prices. Checked October 19, 2026.
Coming back every season? A lot of cabin owners here started as guests. If you are curious what it takes to own and rent a cabin near Dahlonega, start with the local rules.
Before you book · Dahlonega by the numbers
A mountain town an hour and a bit from Atlanta, with weekends that fill up
These are the numbers that shape a stay here, each from the agency or organizer that publishes it.
66 mi
From Atlanta City Hall, about 1 hr 25 min with no traffic
Driving from Atlanta City Hall to the Dahlonega Public Square is about 66 miles and roughly 1 hour 25 minutes with no traffic (computed, free-flow). Rush-hour and festival traffic add time.
Source: OSRM public router (OpenStreetMap data), computed free-flow route, checked 2026-10-19
8%
Local hotel-motel tax on rooms and rentals
Lumpkin County's hotel-motel tax is 8%. The Board of Commissioners raised it from 5% on June 20, 2023 (Resolution 2023-33), effective for occupancy on or after Aug. 1, 2023.
Source: Lumpkin County Planning & Development: Short-Term Rentals, checked 2026-10-19
$5
Georgia's fee per night, on top
Georgia's State Hotel-Motel Fee is $5.00 per night, collected by innkeepers and marketplace innkeepers on each night a room, cabin or other short-term rental is rented (Rule 560-13-2-.01).
Source: Georgia Department of Revenue: State Hotel-Motel FAQ, checked 2026-10-19
Oct 16
Gold Rush Days 2027 starts
Gold Rush Days 2027 is Oct. 16-17, 2027, per the festival's official site. The festival is the organizers' only fundraiser of the year.
Source: Gold Rush Days Festival (official site), checked 2026-10-19
1,450 ft
Elevation at the Public Square
The ground at the Dahlonega Public Square sits at about 1,450 feet above sea level, based on a U.S. Geological Survey elevation query at the square.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Elevation Point Query Service (3DEP), checked 2026-10-19
Weekends that book up
Coming up in and around Dahlonega
The next dates the organizers have published, checked October 19, 2026. Big festival weekends fill rooms and cabins across town, so look at these before you pick your dates. Add any of them to your calendar from its row.
Six ways to stay
Rooms on the square, cabins in the hollows, and everything between
Dahlonega's places to stay sort into six kinds. Pick the one that fits the trip, then let the matcher narrow it down.
Photo: jared422_80, CC BY 2.0 (cropped) On the Public Square
Downtown inns and hotels
A handful of inns and small hotels sit on or just off the Public Square, close enough to walk to dinner, the tasting rooms and the Gold Museum and leave the car parked.
Photo: Thomson200, CC0 (cropped) In the hills around town
Cabins and vacation rentals
Most cabins are a short drive out of town, some on creeks, some with long views. Local rental companies manage many of them; others are single properties with their own sites.
Photo: Joe K Gage, CC BY-SA 2.0 (cropped) Breakfast included
Bed and breakfasts
Bed and breakfasts here range from a house a few blocks from the square to inns on mountain acreage, most with breakfast in the rate and their own rules on children and pets.
Photo: Thomson200, CC0 (cropped) Wine country
Vineyard and lodge stays
A few vineyards rent rooms, villas or cabins among the vines, and lodges and resorts outside town add event spaces and long mountain views.
Photo: Thomson200, CC0 (cropped) In the national forest
Campgrounds
County, private and Forest Service campgrounds sit along rivers and lakes north and west of town, from RV parks to Forest Service campsites by DeSoto Falls and Dockery Lake.
Photo: U.S. Forest Service, Chattahoochee-Oconee NF (ChattOconeeNF), CC BY 2.0 (cropped) State parks nearby
Park lodges and cottages
Amicalola Falls State Park's lodge and Vogel State Park's cottages are each a drive of about 35 to 40 minutes, for a stay inside a park with trails out the door.
Decision tool · trip planner
Your Dahlonega trip planner
A Dahlonega weekend goes smoother when you know which dates fill the town, what the lodging tax adds, which trails allow dogs and when the leaves turn. Tick what applies to your trip and we will put the steps in order, each with the organizer, agency or property that published it.
All 27 steps, each with its source
Each step restates a date, rule or fee published by the organizer, agency or property named beside it, checked October 19, 2026. We never guess at a date: where a 2027 date is not posted yet, we say so. Confirm before you go.
Know when you are coming? Find a place whose own site says yes to what you need.
Owning a cabin rental
Thinking of buying the cabin you keep renting?
Plenty of owners here started as guests. Before you buy one to rent out, know whose rules apply: the City of Dahlonega and Lumpkin County each set their own.
- In unincorporated Lumpkin County, you must have an approved Land Use Permit before the county will issue a Business and Short-Term Rental License. Lumpkin County Planning & Development: Short-Term Rentals
- Lumpkin County issues one Business & Short-Term Rental License for $175.00; each additional short-term rental needs a $100 Short-Term Rental License. Lumpkin County: Business License (Occupational Tax)
- The City of Dahlonega's ordinances are published offsite on Municode; the city's ordinance page redirects to library.municode.com/ga/dahlonega. City of Dahlonega: City Ordinance page
Photo: JJonahJackalope, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped)
Homes and cabins for sale
Want a place of your own up here?
Here are real Gold Peach Realty listings around Dahlonega. If you are selling a cabin or mountain home, ask how we feature homes on this guide.
Gold Peach Realty listings
Cabins and homes for sale around Dahlonega
Current listings from Gold Peach Realty, the North Georgia brokerage behind this guide. Photos, prices and details come straight from the MLS.
Want your home featured here? List with Gold Peach Realty and your home is featured on this guide and across our local community sites. How Gold Peach Realty markets homes
Search homes around DahlonegaListings open on goldpeachrealty.com, the website of our brokerage, Gold Peach Realty. Listing information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Questions
What visitors ask before they book
How far is Dahlonega from Atlanta?
Dahlonega is about 66 miles from Atlanta City Hall, and the drive to the Public Square takes roughly 1 hour 25 minutes with no traffic. That figure is a computed free-flow time, so weekday rush hours, Friday-evening getaways and big festival weekends can add a good deal more. Most of the route is GA 400 and US 19.
Source: OSRM public router (OpenStreetMap data), computed free-flow route
What county is Dahlonega in?
Dahlonega is the county seat of Lumpkin County in the North Georgia mountains. The 1836 Lumpkin County Courthouse on the Public Square is now the Dahlonega Gold Museum State Historic Site. Lodging outside the city limits falls under Lumpkin County rules, while lodging inside the city follows City of Dahlonega rules.
Source: Georgia State Parks: Dahlonega Gold Museum State Historic Site
How high is Dahlonega?
The Public Square in Dahlonega sits at about 1,450 feet above sea level, based on a U.S. Geological Survey elevation query. Nearby mountains rise much higher, so cabins on ridges outside town can feel cooler and windier than the square. Black Rock Mountain State Park near Clayton, Georgia's highest state park, is at 3,640 feet.
Source: U.S. Geological Survey, Elevation Point Query Service (3DEP)
Journal
From the journal
Dahlonega lodging taxes explained: the 8%, the $5 fee and who collects them
A Dahlonega room or cabin bill can carry separate charges on top of the rate: an 8% local lodging tax from the city or…
Buying a cabin to rent near Dahlonega: Lumpkin County’s short-term rental rules, in order
Thinking of buying a cabin near Dahlonega to rent by the night? In unincorporated Lumpkin County the order is set: a Land Use Permit…
Owning a place here
Fell for Dahlonega? Talk to the people who sell mountain homes and cabins here.
Gold Peach Realty is the North Georgia brokerage behind this guide, based in Dahlonega. If a weekend here has you wondering about a cabin of your own, to live in, to rent out, or both, our agents will show you what is for sale and walk you through the local rental rules before you buy.
Visit Gold Peach Realty Call Gold Peach Realty (770) 283-1223
Thinking of buying a cabin rental near Dahlonega? · Want your home featured on this guide?