Gainesville (Georgia)

Gainesville is a city in Georgia's Historic High Country. The city of Gainesville is one of the larger cities in the Historic High Country along with Rome (Georgia) both with populations around 30,000. The city is located in Hall County (Georgia) in the Central High Country. The city is nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and is close to the shores of Lake Lanier and less than an hour's drive to downtown Atlanta. Gainesville is home to an Amtrak station.

Understand
Known as "The Poultry Capital of the World", Gainesville is where the big city merges with small farming communities. It is home to a racially diverse population with 42.21% White, 37% Latino, and 14.26% African American. It is a transportation hub for the surrounding communities so it's a great base. In-between Atlanta and the country side and many small tourist towns, it would be easy to overlook the several reasons to stay in Gainesville.

By plane
Lee Gilmer Memorial Airport has two runways and is used mainly for private and corporate charter flights.

The closet international airport is Atlanta's Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport.

By train
Gainesville is served by Amtrak via its Crescent route that operates daily between New York City and New Orleans.



By car
From Atlanta, GA Approximately 1 hr.

Take I-85 North. At exit 113 I-85 forks. The right fork, I-85, continues to Greenville, SC. Stay left and take I-985 to Gainesville.

From Greenville, SC Approximately 2 hrs.

Take I-85 South. Take exit 137 for US-129/GA-11 toward Gainesville/Jefferson.

From Athens, GA Approximately 1 hr.

Take GA-15 Alt N/US-129 out of Athens and follow until entering Gainesville.

By bus
There is a Greyhound bus station located at 1780 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

Get around
A car is most convenient for getting around town.

Gainesville Connection is the bus service for Gainesville. It operates six lines. Fares are $1 with free transfers within the hour.

Do
Gainesville has lots of shoreline and coves along Lake Lanier, though depending on climactic conditions around the time of your visit it may look inundated or like a shrunken puddle.
 * Attend the annual Gainesville Spring Chicken Festival.

Learn

 * Brenau University

Go next

 * Helen
 * Buford
 * Dahlonega
 * Dawsonville
 * Cumming