Rabun
County is a mountain recreation and retirement haven uniquely situated,
with the western boundary being the "Big A.T.", the Appalachian Trail;
the east borders the Chattooga River, designed a "wild and scenic river"
by Congress. Today, federally licensed companies offer exciting rafting
trips to visitors. The southern gateway is Tallulah Gorge, carved by a
once roaring river, now dammed, creating a breathtaking canyon. Georgia's
only ski slope is just inside the northeastern border, next to Rabun Bald,
a remote, serene mountain peak at 4690 feet.
The county slogan, "Where Spring Spends
the Summer," is fitting, as the average temperature is 58.5 degrees in
January and 76 degrees in August. Annual rainfall exceeds 70 inches and
accounts for the lush forest and wild mountain flowers, including rare
orchids. Laurel blooms along creek banks, in coves, on cliffs and on hilltops
in late May and June. In October, the mountains take on a profusion of
colors as the leaves begin to fall, and you know winter will not be long
in
coming.
The County Seat is Clayton, a city with a population of approximately 1650. Incorporated in December, 1823, it was originally known as Claytonville and was named for Augustus S. Clayton of Clarke County, a Superior Court Judge and later Congressman. An Indian Village had been located at the same site near a point where several cross-country trails converged. The place where the trails crossed was call "The Dividings" as early as 1796.
Click here for the current weather at Tallulah River Mountain Resort.
