These Georgia Roadside Stops Make Every Road Trip Absolutely Worth It
Road trips through Georgia have a fascinating way of surprising you.
Between the mountains and the coast, the highways thread through farmland, forests, and small towns where the best part of the journey often waits just off the exit ramp.
These 13 stops turn ordinary drives into adventures, whether you’re hungry for fresh peaches, curious about quirky roadside art, or just need a good reason to stretch your legs and smile.
1. Jaemor Farms – Alto (I-985 / US-23)
As you crest a hill on US-23/GA-365, Jaemor’s big red-roofed market suddenly fills your windshield, the kind of place that makes you put on your blinker without even talking about it first.
This family farm has been selling produce here since 1912 and rebranded as Jaemor when the roadside market opened along I-985/US-23 in 1981.
Today, you pull off for fried pies still warm in the paper bag, boiled peanuts that steam up the car windows, and shelves stacked with peaches, apples, and preserves.
The market sits at 5340 Cornelia Hwy (US-23/GA-365), Alto, GA 30510, just past mile marker 35, and is open seven days a week, so it’s an easy, reliable stop no matter when your road trip itch hits.
2. Lane Southern Orchards – Fort Valley (I-75 Exit 142)
Southbound on I-75, billboards start whispering about peaches long before you reach Exit 142.
A few minutes west of the interstate, rows of trees open up to Lane Southern Orchards, a century-old farm with a modern roadside market that feels like a little town square devoted entirely to peaches and pecans.
Inside the big barn-style market, you’ll find crates of peaches in season, bags of pecans, jars of preserves, and a café where you can sit down for pulled pork sandwiches, pecan-crusted catfish, or just a swirl of peach ice cream before getting back behind the wheel.
The stop is at 50 Lane Road, Fort Valley, GA 31030, about five minutes west of I-75 Exit 142, and is set up specifically with road-trippers in mind.
3. Georgia Peach World – Townsend / Richmond Hill (I-95)
Driving I-95 along Georgia’s coast, the name Georgia Peach World pops up on billboards like a cheerful dare.
What started as a modest fruit stand for travelers has grown into full country stores and outdoor produce stands at coastal exits, especially Exit 58 in Townsend and Exit 87 in Richmond Hill.
You step out into the coastal humidity and walk into a world of peach everything – jams, cider, salsas, ice cream, and candies – alongside pecans and other Georgia-grown goods from local farmers and artisans.
Open daily (commonly 8 a.m.–8 p.m. at the Richmond Hill shop), it’s the kind of place where you top off the gas, grab a peach slushie, and suddenly the long, flat highway ahead feels much more promising.
4. Ellis Bros. Pecans / We’re Nuts – Vienna (I-75 Exit 109)
South of Macon, the We’re Nuts billboards along I-75 start to feel like an inside joke between you and the highway.
Take Exit 109 and you’ll find Ellis Bros. Pecans, a family-owned farm market that’s been in the pecan business since the 1940s.
At 1315 Tippettville Rd, Vienna, GA 31092, just off the interstate, there’s a low, unassuming building packed with more nutty temptations than you can comfortably fit in the trunk: fresh pecans, brittles, pralines, caramel popcorn, and chocolate-dipped everything.
Open seven days a week, roughly 8 a.m.–7 p.m., it’s the classic stretch your legs and leave with a sack of snacks stop that turns a routine drive into a little pilgrimage.
5. Rock City Gardens – Lookout Mountain
On the far northwest tip of Georgia, just outside Chattanooga, a series of old See Rock City barn signs finally pays off when you wind your way up Lookout Mountain to Rock City Gardens.
Inside the gates, stone paths twist through lush gardens, tight rock corridors, and storybook scenes before you reach the cliff-edge overlook and that famous waterfall spilling 100 feet into the valley below.
From the viewpoint known as Lover’s Leap, the horizon rolls away in layers of soft blue ridges, and on a clear day you can squint toward multiple states at once.
The attraction sits at 1400 Patten Rd, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750, with posted hours that typically run daily from morning into the evening.
6. Tallulah Gorge State Park – Tallulah Falls (US-23 / US-441)
Heading through northeast Georgia on US-23/US-441, the road suddenly crosses a deep scar in the land: Tallulah Gorge.
The state park entrance sits right off the highway, making it an easy place to pull in, trade car seats for hiking shoes, and stare straight into one of the most dramatic canyons in the eastern U.S. – two miles long and nearly a thousand feet deep.
Here, you can stroll rim overlooks, venture onto the suspension bridge swaying 80 feet above the river, or, with a limited daily permit, climb all the way down to the gorge floor.
Trails range from quick leg-stretch walks to stair-heavy workouts, and the views of waterfalls and cliffs give you that instant we should have planned more time here feeling.
7. The Smallest Church in America – Near Darien/Townsend (I-95 Exit 67)
Not far from the marshes along Coastal Highway 17, just off I-95 Exit 67, a tiny white chapel sits tucked among the trees with a sign boldly calling it the Smallest Church in America.
Built in 1950, the Memory Park Christ Chapel measures only about 10 by 15 feet, with just enough space for a handful of wooden pews and a tiny pulpit.
You pull off the busy interstate, step out into the quiet, and suddenly the world feels small in the best way – a quick, reflective pause sandwiched between long stretches of asphalt.
Admission is free, the door is often open to travelers, and the setting along US-17 south of Darien makes it a peaceful coast-route detour.
8. The Big Chicken – Marietta
North of Atlanta, traffic funnels past a 56-foot steel chicken rising above a KFC, beak opening and closing over the intersection of Cobb Parkway (US-41) and Roswell Road.
Locals simply say turn left at the Big Chicken, and every road-tripper who swings through Marietta ends up doing the same.
Originally built in 1963 as a towering piece of novelty architecture, this landmark at 12 Cobb Pkwy N, Marietta, GA 30062, was rebuilt after storm damage and renovated again in 2017, complete with souvenirs and photo ops.
You might only stay for a bucket of chicken and a picture, but it’s one of those you have to see it to believe it stops that defines metro Atlanta road lore.
9. Old Car City USA – White (US-411 near I-75)
North of Atlanta, near the town of White, you can trade the interstate’s modern traffic for rows of ghostly classics at Old Car City USA.
Tucked along US Hwy 411, this 30-plus-acre property holds more than 4,000 old cars slowly being reclaimed by the forest, often described as the world’s largest classic-car junkyard.
Paths weave between moss-covered hoods and chrome bumpers, with hand-painted signs and playful displays turning the whole place into a kind of open-air art installation.
It began as a family general store in 1931 and evolved into a photographer’s paradise and museum-like attraction open to visitors today.
10. BabyLand General Hospital – Cleveland
Near the North Georgia mountains in Cleveland, a stately white columned building sits on a hill, and billboards proclaim it the birthplace of Cabbage Patch Kids.
This is BabyLand General Hospital, the only place where you can watch a live delivery of a hand-sculpted Cabbage Patch Kid from beneath the Magic Crystal Tree, then adopt one to take home.
Inside, whimsical nurseries, displays of rare dolls, and staff dressed as nurses make it feel like a toyland version of a children’s hospital.
Admission is free, and hours typically run daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (10 a.m. open on Sundays).
The address is 300 NOK Dr, Cleveland, GA 30528, making it an easy detour if you’re road-tripping through the Helen/Blue Ridge area.
11. Expedition: Bigfoot! The Sasquatch Museum – Cherry Log (Hwy 515)
On the four-lane ribbon of Hwy 515 between Ellijay and Blue Ridge, a sign promises something delightfully outlandish: Expedition: Bigfoot! The Sasquatch Museum.
Pull into the gravel lot and you’ll find a surprisingly detailed museum devoted to all things Bigfoot – footprint casts, hair samples, sighting maps, audio recordings, and a little theater looping documentaries.
The self-guided exhibits are equal parts eerie, playful, and tongue-in-cheek, making it a fun break for believers and skeptics alike.
Located at 1934 Hwy 515, Cherry Log, GA 30522, the museum is open most days from 10 a.m.–5 p.m., a perfect hour-long diversion between mountain cabins and scenic overlooks.
12. Pasaquan – Buena Vista
Deep in the pines outside Buena Vista, the woods suddenly explode into color: walls, towers, and totems covered in bright, otherworldly patterns.
This is Pasaquan, a seven-acre visionary art environment created over decades by self-taught artist Eddie Owens Martin, also known as St. EOM.
Now preserved and operated by Columbus State University, Pasaquan feels like stepping into a psychedelic folktale – part Pre-Columbian dream temple, part 1970s album cover, part personal mythology.
The site sits at 238 Eddie Martin Rd, Buena Vista, GA 31808, and is typically open Friday through Sunday, 10 a.m.–5 p.m., with a suggested admission donation.
For road-trippers crossing west-central Georgia, it’s an unforgettable detour into one artist’s universe.
13. World Famous SamG Land – Near Clarkesville (Hollywood, GA)
In the hills near Clarkesville, a narrow country road leads to World Famous SamG Land, where folk artist Sam Granger has turned his yard into a sprawling outdoor gallery of welded creatures, brightly painted signs, and the self-proclaimed World’s Largest Grit.
The address often given is 1390 Tom Born Rd, Clarkesville, GA 30523, but finding it can feel like a treasure hunt – part of the fun for travelers who like their roadside attractions a little mysterious.
When you do pull up, it feels less like visiting a formal museum and more like dropping by a neighbor’s yard that just happens to be filled with oddball genius.
For anyone wandering through northeast Georgia with time to spare, it’s a stop that turns a regular drive into a story you’ll tell for years.