A Blue Ridge Mountain Community in a Private Park

Life at Your Speed

“We didn’t want to be part of a subdivision atmosphere…its unbelievable how much open property there is here! We can mountain bike for 3 days and not ride the same trails twice!” “As long as we’ve been here, we’re still finding new trails. I’m not sure we’ve seen them all,” says Derek. “There’s the Creek Camp, the trout stream, a lake you can fish or use canoes on, logging trails, and a wagon trail that runs through the property, deer trails.. some trails run along ridges where you can look out over the property and some run by the creek… they’re awesome. And if you get tired of riding here, you can continue on into the U.S Forest Service land next door and go all the way to Amicalola Falls. We never run out of things to do.”

Nature Lover’s Paradise

“Four or five years ago we started thinking about having another place-away from Florida. We thought it would be nice to have a place where we could walk out of our house and have trails to run on and places to ride our bikes… when we turned the corner and saw the pasture and barn, I got goose bumps. It was prettier that the photos we had seen on the website. I literally got tears in my eyes. If someone asked me what kind of development I could have imagined for my family, I would create something like Anderson Creek. We wanted a piece of it. It’s the perfect community for us.”

Southern Comfort

“Slow down and stay awhile. Anderson Creek Retreat is a community dedicated to family, fun, and the future of the planet….You’ll undoubtedly want to explore the awe-inspiring landscape, but first you’ll have to choose your mode of transportation. With more than 1,500 acres at the Retreat and another 750,000 acres of National Forest right next door, property owners have endless woodlands and footpaths to wander. And just eight miles away the Appalachian Trail tempts you…”

Preserving a Legacy: Cabin Retreats in the Georgia Mountains Take on a Historic Touch

“What’s the ideal vision of Appalachia? For the owners of Anderson Creek Retreat near Ellijay, Georgia, the designs were influenced by thoughts of soft green mountains, clean flowing creeks, and small, sturdy cabins tucked under ancient trees as they transform their family’s 1,500 acre homestead into a historic community retreat…Anderson Creek property owners… protect natural land, wildlife, and waterways.”

“Our family is fortunate to have a rich and diverse piece of land in the southern Appalachian mountains. My great-great-grandfather, Joseph Anderson, settled on Anderson Creek in the 1840’s. Ever since then we have been preserving a legacy.” …“We’ve set aside the ruins of early settler homesteads as parks and have established preserves that include the botanically rich watershed of Anderson Creek.”

“Architectural guidelines encourage cottage designs that respect the heritage of the region”…styles that typically require the use of native materials, simple detailing, and common-sense features.” I love the hustle and bustle of the city life in Atlanta and travel all over the country, he adds, “but I look forward to my weekends in the woods where life is meant to slow down.”

Pinnacle Living Mountain Homes Southern Style Winter 2008

“While every home is unique, three architectural styles predominate: elegant yet unpretentious Southern Appalachian-style log cabins; romantic, traditional L-shape homes with a Thomas Kinkade warmth and a Ralph Lauren classic style; and sophisticated , contemporary versions of the southern dogtrot.”

Creating Cottage Style, New Old House

“We used to camp up here all the time”… Ten years later they stumbled upon a newspaper ad about the preservation of the historic Anderson Creek watershed. “The idea was to disrupt the area as little as possible and highlight the natural beauty of the land through conservation.” They knew they wanted the style of their home near the watershed to harken back to traditional architecture and engage in a close relationship with the land. Inspired by old Southern structures known as dogtrots, they designed the cottage “as straightforward as you can get…” We drew from simple, vernacular forms… we wanted to feel like we were outside when we were inside.” “Everything we need is here. We don’t really want to leave.”

I can stay on Anderson Creek Property and ride my horse Blaze for two hours without retracing my tracks.

Anderson Creek Retreat encourages the regional house styles that typically requires the use of native materials, simple detailing, and common-sense features.