24 | ACTIVITIES DIRECTIONSGA.COM
Next stop:
8 Reasons You Gotta “ Cross the Line”
influx of new stores and restaurants
as a result. Plans include installing
new park benches and streetlights
around town, upgrading landscaping,
and adding copper mining artifacts
and signage to share the area’s history
with visitors. A 4-acre park with
exercise equipment, walking paths
and pavilions is also planned.
Small businesses are doing their
part to draw tourists and locals back
to the area as well. For example, the
old McCaysville mall has been completely
renovated and turned into the
Riverwalk Shops. The design captures
the spirit of Copper Basin’s mining
history. Inside, you’ll find three riverfront
restaurants and several indoor
boutique retail stores — offering
plenty of possibilities to eat, shop
or just relax.
Two states’ worth of food, fun,
shopping and history await you
in one adventure-packed corner of
the mountains. Whether you’re traveling
by train or car, it’s a great place
to spend the day exploring.
The locals call this area the Copper
Basin due to the long history of copper
mining in the area. The historic
steel truss bridge, built in 1911, marks
the spot where the gentle-flowing
Toccoa River becomes the whitewater
powerhouse Ocoee River as it flows
northward from Georgia into Tennessee.
It also divides the two states
and two cities: McCaysville in
Georgia, Copperhill in Tennessee.
Finding New Life
The area is currently undergoing
a revitalization effort, and seeing an
/DIRECTIONSGA.COM