Blue Ridge Trout Festival & Outdoor Adventures!
April 29th, 2023, in Downtown Blue Ridge City Park, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. $8.00 at the gate, kids under 12 are free. Bring your leashed pets.
The Blue Ridge Trout & Outdoor Adventures Festival – the Official Trout Festival of Georgia – returns to downtown Blue Ridge, gathering fishermen, river sports enthusiasts, and outdoor recreation fans and their families to Blue Ridge, Georgia for fun, food, activities, craft beer, entertainment, shopping, and recreational services while increasing the public’s knowledge of trout and the cold-water conservation associated with Trout Unlimited. Be sure to bring your favorite leashed pup(s) and celebrate outdoor life with us! Here is a great video snapshot of the day.
The festival combines trout fishing with outdoor recreation, wildlife art, outfitter gear, guide services/information, an Activity Zone for kids. Be sure to hang out until 3 p.m. to enjoy the Live Music featuring Kurt Thomas Music plus Shannon York, be sure to bring your dancing shoes!
New This Year
Trout Fest Activity Zone opening a world of outdoor fun with a climbing wall, mountain bike demos, also a previous festival favorite, Lawton’s Portable Trout Pond, long-saw crosscutting, axe throwing, gem mining and more! There is also a fantastic playground within the festival grounds.
Trout Fest Program Tents present expanded programs including mountain biking and kayaking. Professional fishing guides, kayak outfitters, mountain bike pros and more will tell you what you need to know for a successful day of outdoor recreation in Fannin County – the Trout Capital of Georgia. New this year “Women & Fly-Fishing,” taught by Emily Owenby from Noontootla Creek Farms, learn how to get started in the world of fly-fishing - where to go and how to grow your excitement, while keeping it simple on your fly-fishing journey. Speaking of women and fly fishing, consider registering for this Women on the Water Retreat in mid April. Mulberry Gap Adventures will be there to teach you where and how to get started mountain biking. Toccoa River Outfitters will be on site and share an intensive 45-minute-long presentation on how to gear up your kayak for a trout fishing trip on the Toccoa River. Check out the schedule for all the classes scheduled and times.
Atlanta Fly Fishing School returns with a new, free fly-fishing instruction program, they will present three, 45-minute-long sessions on the basics of fly-fishing from bugs and patterns, to knots and casting instructions. Trout Fest Food Court features new and returning vendors like The Inked Pig, Lobster Dogs Food Truck Georgia, Sharpe’s Southern Smokeshack, and more plus our Beer/Wine Garden will feature craft brews from Grumpy Old Men Brewing Company in Blue Ridge and wines from Sand Point Family Vineyards.
After Trout Fest...Get Your Runnin' Shoes On!
The 2023 Trout Trot 5K takes place at 6:30 pm, as runners stretch their legs coursing through the charming downtowns of McCaysville, Georgia and sister city Copperhill, Tennessee, just a few miles north of Blue Ridge. Covering 3.1 miles, the course crosses from Georgia into Tennessee and back into Georgia. Participants also run alongside the famous Toccoa River and across the city's iconic steel bridge - one of only a few left from a bygone era in America. After the 5K, enjo the shopping and dining at Riverwalk Shops and stick around for free, Live Music at Tooneys all night long!