6 Places You’re Sure to Find Me this Fall
If you’re looking for a roundup of the “top 10 leaf-peeping spots”, you’ve come to the wrong place. I’ve admired the stunning show the leaves pull off every year while growing up in the mountains of North Georgia. Now, I’m in search of more than just the leaves. I need a nestled place that has it all. The kind of towns I seek when the air gets crisp and the trees decide to show off are the likely-overlooked, hidden havens that come with allllll the elements that make you feel like they’re wrapping you in a ginormous fall-colored knit blanket. These are places that feel like a secret whispered just to you. While this is no where close to my full list, it still calls out some goodies! In no particular order or rank, let’s talk about these idyllic spots, shall we?
Sautee Nacoochee, Georgia
If a quilt were a town, it would probably look like Sautee Nacoochee. Growing up in North Georgia, I’ve spent plenty of time in Sautee and it never gets old. The air always smells like woodsmoke and some sort of wildflowers, and there's a hush about the little place that makes you slow down without even trying. It has a way of making you feel absolutely deserving of it all and that’s what I always loved so much.
What You’ll Find Me Doing Here
Wander the backroads with no destination
Stopping at artist co-ops and roadside produce stands
Grabbing cozy coffee drinks
Finding wooden bridges and waterfalls
Picnicing at porch cafes
Popping into quirky general stores
Hiking on local scenic trails
Finding my way to nearby towns to look around
Tucked-Away Treasures and Back-pocket Favorites
Old Sautee Store (be sure to check out the back porch!)
Sweetwater Coffeehouse
Mark of the Potter (and their Airbnb!) ; very close by, but not Sautee proper
The Lavender Cottage & Garden
Lucille’s Mountain Top Inn
Leiper’s Fork, Tennessee
Leiper’s Fork wears its Americana charm proudly. It’s very much equal parts music, memories, and small town magic. It’s the kind of place where you can hear a banjo playing before you can see the front porch it’s coming from. You can find art in old barns, delectable southern dishes, amazing coffee and pastries, and likely even a country star or two blended in at a pickin’ party, and that is no joke!
What You’ll Find Me Doing Here
Strolling about the little town and ducking into shops
Sipping a coffee drink of any kind with a pastry in hand
Perusing places with local art
Stuffing my face with a smoked pork sandwich
Finding farms and meadows selling seasonal products and animals to pet
Tucked-Away Treasures and Back-pocket Favorites
Fox & Locke
Dwell and Den
High Meadow Alpacas
Wines in the Fork
Tenn. Turquoise Co.
Lawn Chair Theatre (Behind Fox & Locke!)
Patina
Redbyrd Coffee Shop
Story, Indiana
Story, Indiana feels like a place that would appear on your map only if you believed in it! You know what I mean? It’s incredibly tiny, but so rich with rumor. Almost eery; and I’m so here for all that. As you drive into the tiny center, it’s like you cross over a time field without knowing it, the rest of the world is still moving while Story exists in its own bubble and they like it that way. To be honest….me too, that’s why I’ll keep going back. Evenings by the fire, wine in hand, barely any cell service, tucked beneath the draping fall leaves – that’s what my fall dreams are made of. I feel like I might lose some of you at “barely any cell service”, but don’t read too far in, this is the ideal kind. Not the “I-might-get-murdered-at-any-moment-and-no-one-would-know-for-days” kind.
What You’ll Find Me Doing Here
Lots of porchside and fireside journaling
Making my TBR stack smaller and smaller
Hunting for folklore and unique goods in nearby Nashville, IN
Seeking out roadside stands with handmade items (be sure to bring cash!)
Enjoying long, slow dinners
Tucked-Away Treasures and Back-pocket Favorites
The Story Inn’s Blue Lady Room
Garden Spa Yurts
The Tavern at Story
Cooper’s Alley (in nearby Nashville, IN)
Mentone, Alabama
Mentone, perched ever-so-delicately atop Lookout Mountain makes me want to get out a pen and start writing Southern gothic folklore fiction (and I just might be…). Everything about this place feels so intentional. Stretching pine trees, cabins peeking out from behind the fog, lonesome aged signage still lingering about… It’s peaceful, creative, eery and an enigma all on its own. This little town really let’s you breathe, reset, remember how wonderful simple can be.
What You’ll Find Me Doing Here
Indulging in seasonal pies
Taking foggy morning walks through the local park
Burying my face in books
Perusing the log cabin shops
Seeking out vintage oddities
Driving along Scenic Highway 89
Tucked-Away Treasures and Back-pocket Favorites
Wildflower Café’s Garden Path
Log Cabin Village
Fernwood Chapel of Mentone (just so cool to see!)
The Gourdie Shop
Mentone Market
Mentone Brow Park
Buchanan, Virginia
This sweet little slow town hugs the James River and wears its age oh so well. It truly feels like stepping into a crinkled-up, sun-faded postcard, the kind with curled up edges, in the BEST way (I’m into that kind of stuff, you guys know this!). The little downtown has just enough to explore, and outside of that, there’s gobs of nature– after all… this is the gateway to the Shenandoah Valley!
What You’ll Find Me Doing Here
Plundering through the Saturday morning flea market
Catching a show at the historic Buchanan Theatre, sweet & salties in hand
Journaling like there’s no tomorrow while porch-sitting
Walking the swinging bridge, breathing in the rural Virginia air
Tucked-Away Treasures and Back-pocket Favorites
Buchanan Theatre
The Fountain (AKA - Buchanan Sandwich & Fountain)
Buchanan Library
Backwoods Country Antiques
Southern Gap
Two River Outfitters
