Home to both the highest lake and the highest mountain peak in Georgia, Hiawassee draws thousands of visitors annually with a well-developed plan.
Photo Above: TVA-created Lake Chatuge wraps around three-quarters of Hiawassee, offering unparalleled views and recreation for residents and visitors.
Photos Courtesy of Courtesy of Towns County Chamber of Commerce / City of Hiawassee.
There are a lot of reasons that tiny Hiawassee should be a drive-through place. It has a population of just 990. Seventy-five percent of the city (yes, city) is surrounded by the waters of Lake Chatuge, a 7,000-acre TVA project. Its past story includes familiar chapters in the book of hard mountain times, most notably timber-company clearcutting and abandonment. Hiawassee is off the beaten track, pushed up tight against the North Carolina border, over 100 miles north of Atlanta and 100 miles south of Asheville.
But then, there are these facts:
- Hiawassee has the 2,900-seat Anderson Concert Center, where Tanya Tucker, Clint Black, Travis Tritt, Jo Dee Messina, Trace Adkins, the Oak Ridge Boys and many more are on the 2023 concert schedule.
- Hiawassee is home to the Fred Hamilton Rhododendron Garden, one of the largest collections of rhododendron and native azaleas in the southeastern United States. The gardens are located on the Georgia Mountain Fairgrounds, “the premier event venue in North Georgia,” where since 1950 the annual Georgia Mountain Fair and other festivals have brought millions of dollars to the local economy.
- Hiawassee has 14 pickleball courts at the Towns County Pickleball Complex, where two major tournaments are held annually.
- Five years ago, the national Bassmaster Elite Angler of the Year Championship was held at Lake Chatuge, bringing the experts to fish and spend.
- Hiawassee has a sprawling Ingles grocery store, a Starbucks, a new outdoors store, a lovely town square, stately churches, restaurants, boutiques, art galleries, a hospital and a lot of plans in the making.
How does a faraway town of 990 make all of this happen, I wondered. And so I went to Hiawassee.
Liz Ordiales is in her seventh year as mayor of Hiawassee, and she knows every corner of her town. She narrates her place with precision and clear pride.
“When I took office in 2017, we had 27 empty storefronts. Now we have five. The city was $4.6 million in debt. With the help of some good-sized grants, we’re now debt-free.”
That’s a lot of progress in a short time. “What’s your secret?” I ask.
“A really strong strategic plan,” she says. “It’s our Bible here—it’s made a lot possible.”
She tells the story of approaching the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) for a project grant. “They asked me how that project fit into the city’s strategic plan, and I had to say that we didn’t have one. ‘That’s where you need to start,’ they said.”
So, with a planning grant from ARC, structured citizen input and professional assistance from the Carl Vinson Institute of Government at the University of Georgia, Hiawassee created a Downtown Strategic Plan in 2018. The results are posted on the city website (hiawasseega.gov). And driving and walking Hiawassee, you can check off their successes one after another.
Investors are buying land to build housing.
New restaurants are coming in.
The two oldest buildings on Main Street are being rehabbed to include a business incubator, retail stores, a restaurant and a rooftop bar.
The Towns County Courthouse is being extensively renovated.
Water and sewer infrastructure is being improved.
Parks and trails around the lake are being upgraded.
The arts are on the rise, with several galleries and an active plein air painting group.
In short, a lot is happening in Hiawassee.
No story about Hiawassee would be complete without mention of it being a Trail Town. It’s the first major resupply stop on the Appalachian Trail, 10 miles from both Dicks Creek Gap and Unicoi Gap.
“We’ll get 2,000 hikers through Hiawassee, mostly during March and April,” Ordiales says. “We run daily shuttles into town and back to the Trail. The hikers are important to us.” If there were any doubt about that, take a look at the City transport van, emblazoned with “#Hikeawassee: Free Shuttle.”
On Monday afternoons in peak season, you’ll see Mayor Ordiales flipping burgers and hotdogs for hikers on the Town Square. The new Trailful Outdoor Co. just down Main Street from Town Square makes it possible for hikers to buy forgotten necessities and/or rethink what they’ve packed. (The store will take unwanted items to the Post Office to mail home.) And there are numerous restaurants, a winery and brewery and lodging for hikers. (And for book-loving hikers, there’s a wonderful free book kiosk on Town Square, sponsored by the local Rotary Club.)
Visit appalachiantrail.org for a complete list of what Hiawassee offers hikers.
It’s no surprise that tourism is the major source of income for the tiny city of Hiawassee, Georgia. With a beautiful lake cradled by the highest mountains in Georgia, ongoing big-name entertainment, a varied restaurant scene and several lake and mountain resorts in surrounding Towns County, people come for a lot of good reasons.
But what does it offer residents? Ordiales doesn’t miss a beat. “We have virtually no crime, low tax rates, strong community organizations that are active in local government activities, a great school system and a million things to do. We have one of everything here. And…we’re an outdoor paradise.”
Seems to me you can’t go wrong in a paradise with a plan.
The story above first appeared in our September / October 2023 issue.
