Gold Rush Days 2027 is Oct. 16-17: where to stay in Dahlonega that weekend

Gold Rush Days just happened. The 2026 festival in Dahlonega was Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 17-18, per the Georgia Forestry Commission’s Oct. 14 report. The next one is Oct. 16-17, 2027, according to the festival’s official site. That gives you a full year to plan the 2027 trip. This guide covers where to sleep that weekend, using the property records we checked on Oct. 19, 2026.

When is Gold Rush Days 2027?

Oct. 16-17, 2027, a Saturday and Sunday, around the Public Square downtown. The official festival site lists those dates and notes that the festival is its organizers’ only fundraiser of the year. Our sister site, goldrushdahlonega.com, covers the festival itself: the parade, the vendors and the schedule. This page stays on the lodging side: where to stay, how to get to the square and what the bill will include.

Which places can I walk to the festival from?

Our stay records mark a place as walkable when its listed address sits within 0.8 km of the 1836 Lumpkin County Courthouse on the Public Square, now the Dahlonega Gold Museum, measured in a straight line. That is about half a mile. It is not a measured walking route, so hills and street crossings add time. Eight places in our records qualify, nearest first:

• The Hall House Hotel, on the north side of the square, 0.05 km away. Guest rooms are on the second and third floors and there is no elevator, per its rooms page.
• 27 on Park Boutique Hotel & Venue, a 14-room boutique hotel and event venue on South Park Street, 0.07 km away. Its suites page lists an accessible room.
• The Dahlonega Square Hotel & Villas, twelve hotel rooms and the McGuire Suite in a restored 1880s house on North Chestatee Street, plus villas, 0.15 km away.
• The Smith House, an inn on South Chestatee Street, 0.17 km away. Its home page lists sixteen rooms in the Historic Inn, twenty-four in the Lodge, four villas and three cottages, and its booking page gives a one-night minimum for inn and lodge rooms and two nights for some cottages and villas.
• The Old Storehouse Inn, five rooms in an 1884 former store on North Meaders Street, facing Hancock Park, 0.19 km away.
• Tumlin House & Vineyard, a nineteenth-century house with a small vineyard on Choice Avenue that sleeps up to 14, rented for groups and events, 0.25 km away.
• Dahlonega Holiday Rental, a locally owned group of rental villas and units listed on Choice Avenue, 0.27 km away and marketed as walkable to the square.
• Yellow Daisy Bed and Breakfast, a bed and breakfast on North Chestatee Street, 0.36 km away. Its home page lists breakfast.

Room counts are small at several of them: five at the Old Storehouse Inn, 14 at 27 on Park, twelve and a suite at the Dahlonega Square Hotel. If walking to the festival matters to you, start with this list. A chain hotel near the square is also listed by the Visitors Bureau, but we could not confirm its details on the brand’s own site, so it is not included here.

Where do I park if I stay out of town?

Most cabins, lodges and vineyard stays in our records are a drive from the square. For example, The Mountain Top Lodge is about 14 minutes away and Forrest Hills Resort about 25 minutes, by computed free-flow driving times with no traffic. Festival traffic adds time.

For downtown parking, the Christmas in Dahlonega organizers’ parking page points visitors to two options. Park & Stay spaces for all-day or multi-day visits are in the North Park Street and Warwick Street lots, near the visitors center. The University of North Georgia parking deck near South Chestatee Street and Choice Avenue is open after 5:30 p.m. on weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday. That guidance was written for the holiday season, so confirm festival-weekend parking with the Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Visitors Center, 13 South Park Street, (706) 864-3711 or (800) 231-5543.

What taxes go on a festival-weekend bill?

Two charges come on top of the room rate. Inside the city limits, the City of Dahlonega charges an 8% accommodation tax, per its tax return form. In unincorporated Lumpkin County the hotel-motel tax is also 8%, raised from 5% for stays on or after Aug. 1, 2023, per the county. Georgia adds a flat $5.00 State Hotel-Motel Fee for each night, per the Department of Revenue.

As an example, a two-night festival stay carries 2 x $5 = $10 in state fees, plus 8% of the room charge, whatever the rate. Our lodging costs and taxes page explains each line.

How far ahead should I book?

We have not measured how fast festival-weekend rooms go, so we will not give you a number of weeks. Here is what the sources do say. Georgia State Parks says its cottages, yurts and campsites often book up a year in advance for fall, and that you can already book for next fall, on its Leaf Watch page. And the Georgia Forestry Commission’s 2026 forecast put peak color in north-central Georgia in late October to early November, so in a similar year the festival weekend sits close to the leaf season.

A year out, the practical steps are simple. Decide what you need most: walking distance, a kitchen, room for a group or space for a dog. Check each place’s own site for its minimum stay and cancellation terms. Reserve once the terms suit you. Our when to book page lays out the busy weekends of the year, and Stay Match filters our records by what you need.

How do I plan the rest of the weekend?

Our trip planner builds a checklist for a festival weekend, with each step tied to its source. If you want an indoor stop, the Gold Museum in the old courthouse posts hours of 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. on Sunday, per Georgia State Parks. Our inns and hotels and cabins pages list the rest of the places we have checked.

• 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. Gold Rush Days Festival (official site)
• Park & Stay spaces for all-day or multi-day downtown visits are in the North Park Street and Warwick Street parking lots, near the visitors center. Christmas in Dahlonega: Schedule/Parking
• For evening and weekend visits the Christmas in Dahlonega organizers point to the UNG parking deck near South Chestatee Street and Choice Avenue: open after 5:30 p.m. weekdays and all day Saturday and Sunday. Christmas in Dahlonega: Schedule/Parking
• 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). Georgia Department of Revenue: State Hotel-Motel FAQ

Questions

Written by the Dahlonega Vacations Editorial Team. AI tools help us draft; people check every fact before it publishes.

Dates, rules and hours can change. The organizers have the final word: Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Visitors Center