ENOTA MOUNTAIN RETREAT
1000 Hwy 180
Hiawasseee, GA 30546
Website: www.enota.com
Ph: 1-800-990-8869
North Georgia has nearly 25 state parks offering camping and various other outdoor recreation activities, but there’s none quite like Hiawassee’s Enota Mountain Retreat. A privately-owned property tucked away in the Chattahoochee National Forest just minutes from Brasstown Bald and Helen, Enota features over 60 acres of protected land that includes cabins and campgrounds, four waterfalls, two trout ponds, a working organic farm and more, with a focus on environmental conservation and sustainability.
Originally the site of a Cherokee village, the land on which Enota lies was taken by the U.S. government during the north Georgia gold rush of the early 1830s, when the surrounding region was producing over 300 ounces a day. The property was eventually sold to a family who homesteaded there for 60 years before selling it to the YMCA in the 1940s, when it was turned into a popular boys’ camp called Camp Pioneer. The land, which has never had any pesticides or chemicals put on it, was put into Trust in 1998, and has been run as a non-profit volunteer organization centered on education and conservation ever since.
“We really wanted to preserve the land so it wouldn’t be developed into a gated community and would be kept in its pristine state as a historical site,” says co-founder Swan Freed, who left behind her former life as a chiropractor in Atlanta in order to oversee Enota’s operations.
One of the primary differences between Enota and every other campsite in the state is its focus on organic farming, with several acres dedicated to raising livestock and several more devoted to growing various herbs and vegetables. Visitors are given daily opportunities to milk a cow or goat, collect fresh eggs from the henhouse and, depending on the time of year, plant or pick produce. In the summertime, Freed estimates that 80% of the foods served in Enota’s restaurant are harvested on the farm, from the eggs and milk served at breakfast to all the vegetables in their salads. Catch your own fish in their two fully stocked trout ponds and you’ll have farm-to-table freshness at its finest.
“For the benefit of humanity in general we need to look at sustainability practices,” Freed insists. “Every human being should know where their food comes from, and Enota allows people to have hands-on experience in organic farming. We’re one of the only fully functioning farms in the state of Georgia where people can come and stay.”
As much as adults may enjoy Enota for the natural beauty resulting from its continued environmental conservation efforts, children seem to have even more fun there. From splashing in streams and hiking wildflower-laden paths to waterfalls to petting farm animals and bouncing on in-ground trampolines, their amenities offer something for the kid in everyone. It’s this dichotomous appeal that has made Enota a favorite among campers such as Abbigail Bauer, a 29-year-old mother of two from Dacula who has visited three times since discovering the retreat via a quick Internet search in early 2008.
“Enota’s kid-friendly features are numerous,” Bauer says, “and my daughters always love petting the animals and jumping on the trampolines. But I also love the fact that you can separate yourself from the family sites if you go without kids and want some peace and quiet. Enota is hidden, and even though there’s other people around you can always escape, walking for miles without seeing another living soul.”
As its name would imply, Enota Mountain Retreat is much more than simply a family-friendly weekend getaway. Their facilities are frequently used for church retreats, work conferences and workshops, with accommodations for more than 200 people including 10 cabins with kitchenettes, 33 rooms, four bunkhouses, 35 full hookup RV sites, 10 water and electric only sites, a newly remodeled bath house, and over 100 tent spaces. Their lodge features a gift shop and small supplies store as well as a full commercial kitchen and dining room, while their expansive pavilion will hold up to 500 people and features its own outdoor kitchen.
But while Enota’s amenities may make it a popular retreat for large organizations, perhaps the retreat’s greatest gift is the peacefulness and serenity it provides for those individuals seeking a break from the hustle and bustle of the grueling 9 to 5 life. Whether you prefer tooling around in their garden, holding baby goats and chickens, hiking pastoral trails to the top of the 200-foot-tall Gurley Falls and Big Joel Falls, savoring one of their 90-minute spa services, or participating in Reverend LaKotahasie Frazier’s weekend-long Native American ceremonial gatherings and sweat lodges, Enota’s remote location and emphasis on environmental preservation makes it feel much like a world unto itself. A world in which most cell phones get no reception, laptop computers seem entirely unnecessary, and whatever is on television is nowhere near as compelling as what’s going on right outside your tent, RV or cabin.
If you ask Freed, Enota Mountain Retreat is the perfect antidote to the stress of modern living, offering visitors a chance to relax and recharge. “I think people in general are longing to feel connected and get back to the simple things in life,” she says. “People are profoundly interested in having more personal experiences with nature, because it helps them discover things about themselves that they didn’t know when they got here.” –BRET LOVE
