Last-updated: 2026-10-17

# Downtown Ellijay

> An independent visitor and local-living guide to downtown Ellijay, Georgia, the county seat of Gilmer County in the North Georgia mountains. It covers the courthouse square and River Street, restaurants, shops and antiques, Apple Festival weekends from the downtown side, the Ellijay, Cartecay and Coosawattee rivers, Carters Lake, Fort Mountain, an organizer-checked events calendar, parking (what is and is not published), and living in Ellijay. Every date, hour, fee and figure links to the source it was read from, with the date it was checked. Published by Gold Peach Realty, a North Georgia real estate brokerage.

## Key facts (checked 2026-10-17)
- Population: City of Ellijay 1,862; Gilmer County 31,353 (2020 Census). Source: U.S. Census Bureau.
- Ellijay is the historic county seat of Gilmer County; the city calls it "the Apple Capital of Georgia". Source: City of Ellijay (ellijay-ga.gov).
- Ellijay sits where the Ellijay and Cartecay rivers join to form the Coosawattee River. Source: City of Ellijay.
- Courthouse: the old courthouse (the converted 1898 Hyatt Hotel) was demolished on January 7, 2008; today's Gilmer County Courthouse is at 1 Broad Street, Ellijay, GA 30540.
- Georgia Apple Festival 2026 ran Oct 10-11 and 17-18 at the Ellijay Lions Club Fairgrounds, 1729 South Main Street; the free Apple Arts Festival ran the same weekends downtown at the Welcome Center, 10 Broad St. 2027 dates are not yet published. Sources: festival organizer; Gilmer County Chamber.
- Gilmer County harvests over 22 apple varieties from June through November. Source: Gilmer County Chamber.
- Parking: no official map or rules for everyday downtown parking are published; the parking page says what is known and who to ask.

## Guide pages
- [Home](https://downtownellijayga.com/): the guide's front door, with upcoming events and the outing matcher.
- [The square, River Street and the courthouse story](https://downtownellijayga.com/downtown-square/)
- [Things to do / outing matcher](https://downtownellijayga.com/things-to-do/): outings matched to your time, group and interests.
- [Events 2026-2027](https://downtownellijayga.com/events/): organizer-published dates with sources and calendar files.
- [Apple Festival weekends downtown](https://downtownellijayga.com/apple-festival-weekends/)
- [Restaurants](https://downtownellijayga.com/restaurants/): on the square, River Street and nearby, with checked addresses.
- [Shops and antiques](https://downtownellijayga.com/shops-and-antiques/)
- [The rivers](https://downtownellijayga.com/rivers/): the Cartecay, the Ellijay and the Coosawattee.
- [Carters Lake](https://downtownellijayga.com/carters-lake/): fees, trails, camping and the dam (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers).
- [Fort Mountain and the overlooks](https://downtownellijayga.com/fort-mountain-and-overlooks/) (Fort Mountain State Park is in Murray County).
- [Plan your visit / day planner](https://downtownellijayga.com/plan-your-visit/): a date-aware itinerary builder.
- [Parking and getting here](https://downtownellijayga.com/parking-and-getting-here/)
- [Living in Ellijay](https://downtownellijayga.com/living-in-ellijay/): city and county, and homes from Gold Peach Realty.
- [About](https://downtownellijayga.com/about/) · [Contact](https://downtownellijayga.com/contact/) · [Photo credits](https://downtownellijayga.com/photo-credits/)

## Journal
- [What happened to the 1898 Hyatt Hotel courthouse](https://downtownellijayga.com/ellijay-courthouse-1898-hyatt-hotel/)
- [Apple Festival weekends: downtown vs the fairgrounds](https://downtownellijayga.com/apple-festival-weekends-downtown-vs-fairgrounds/)
- [Where the Ellijay and Cartecay rivers meet](https://downtownellijayga.com/ellijay-cartecay-coosawattee-carters-lake/)
- [Moving to Ellijay: what newcomers should know](https://downtownellijayga.com/moving-to-ellijay-what-newcomers-should-know/)
- [An antiques-and-lunch afternoon on the square](https://downtownellijayga.com/antiques-and-lunch-afternoon-ellijay-square/)

## Publisher
Gold Peach Realty, a North Georgia real estate brokerage. Editorial contact: info@goldpeachrealty.com, (770) 283-1223. This is Ellijay in Gilmer County, Georgia (USA).