What is it like to live in Blue Ridge, Georgia?

Blue Ridge, Georgia is a small railroad town and the seat of Fannin County, in the North Georgia mountains. The city covers 2.2 square miles and had 1,253 residents in the 2020 Census; the county had 25,319 (2020 Census). A December visit shows you the holiday version. This page covers the rest of the year, using public sources only.

The town and the county

Blue Ridge was founded in 1886 along the Marietta and North Georgia Railroad and incorporated in 1887 (City of Blue Ridge). The depot at 241 Depot Street was built in 1905, and the scenic railway that boards there opened in 1998. The railway says it hosts more than 78,000 passengers a year.

Fannin County is older than its seat. It was created in 1854 from parts of Union and Gilmer Counties, with Morganton as its first county seat (Fannin County Chamber). The circa-1937 courthouse on West Main Street is now The Art Center, which held its first exhibit there in 2007. The current courthouse and county offices, finished in 2004, are next door at 400 West Main Street.

Towns in Fannin County

Source: 2020 Census redistricting file. McCaysville sits on the Tennessee line across from Copperhill, and the painted Blue Line marks where one state ends and the other begins.

The lake and the forest

The reservoir’s federal name is Blue Ridge Lake; the common local name is Lake Blue Ridge, and TVA calls it Blue Ridge Reservoir. TVA’s Blue Ridge Dam on the Toccoa River was begun in 1925 and completed in 1930. It is 175 feet high and 1,553 feet long (TVA), and the reservoir stretches 11 miles from the dam. The Toccoa becomes the Ocoee River once it crosses into Tennessee.

The Forest Service record for Morganton Point gives the lake 3,290 acres and over 60 miles of shoreline, about 80% of it in the Chattahoochee National Forest (Recreation.gov (USFS)). Much of the county’s land is national forest, too. Worth knowing: the lake level normally varies about 22 feet between summer and winter for flood storage, so a winter shoreline looks very different from a July one.

Climate in brief

The USGS puts the town at about 1,765 feet. At the nearest NOAA station, Blairsville, about 22 miles east, December’s normal high is 52.5°F and its normal low is 28.7°F. More in December weather.

Schools and local government

• Schools: the Fannin County School System’s website is fannin.k12.ga.us. The system office is at 6145 Old Highway 76, Blue Ridge, (706) 632-3771 (Fannin County Schools). We do not rate or rank schools; contact the system directly with questions.
• County government: 400 West Main Street, 706-632-2203.
• City Hall: 480 West First Street, (706) 632-2091.
• Fannin County Chamber of Commerce: 152 Orvin Lance Drive, Suite A, 706-632-5680.

Thinking about a home here

This guide is published by Gold Peach Realty, the North Georgia real estate brokerage behind it. If a December weekend has you wondering about a home in Fannin County, call (770) 283-1223 or email info@goldpeachrealty.com. We describe places, never who a place is for, and we follow the Fair Housing Act. Own a home here already? See selling your home.

Visiting first? Start with where to stay.

Questions people ask