You can't ride a train into the past, but you can get pretty close with the help of the Blue Ridge Scenic Railway. Every journey starts off with a heaping helping of deep nostalgia thanks to a depot built more than a century ago. Downtown Blue Ridge adds to the old-timey feel with its quaint main street and copious shade, courtesy of the boughs of the Chattahoochee National Forest.

From the depot, passengers hop on board a train for a four-hour, 26-mile journey in a vintage train. Despite the mix of open-air railcars and more modern, climate-controlled cars, the overall train wouldn't be out of place in a railroad museum. The historic vibes continue during a two-hour stop in the quaint sister towns of McCaysville and Copperhill where folks can peruse antique shops, grab some ice cream, or stand in the middle of town demanding to see the sheriff.