Avoiding Hot-lanta?

[Foil-warped]

Fellow Airstream travelers, is it possible to go from La Grange, Georgia to the Cleveland/Helen area of Georgia without going through Atlanta on I-85 or even around it on I-285? Have been that way many times with our trailer and have the grey hairs to prove it! So I'm asking if anyone knows an alternative route that's, say, rivet-friendly? Thanks,

[xrvr]

Never done it but looks like us27 north to rt 76 which will take you to within 20 miles of Helen. Round about but no Atlanta. Jim

[Jim & Susan]

We live on the southside of Atlanta and travel to the Helen/Hiawassee area often. A good route for you would be from Lagrange to Griffin to McDonough to Covington to Gainsville to Cleveland/Helen. Lots of traffic lights, but no Atlanta traffic. This is our route to the mountains.

Just to say it out loud, if you go thru Atlanta in the mid-day (about 10:00 to 3:00), it's not that bad, NORMALLY. From I-85 in Lagrange, you could take I-85 to I-285 east, back to I-85 on the northeast side, then to I-985 past Gainesville (then to Helen once off I-985).

We've done it both ways in and out of traffic. I prefer the back roads approach (off he interstates). But then I sit in Atlanta traffic all the time for work, so I try to avoid it if possible.

Jim

[wahoonc]

If you can hit it around 6 am on a Sunday morning I-85 is a clean shot...

Aaron

[Foil-warped]

Thanks to everyone for your help so far! I'm sure we'll take a "senic route" this time because we probably won't be able to make it to Atlanta at a good time for less traffic. Can anyone tell me if state road 20, out of Rome, is in good condition, especially after it changes to 2 lanes?