Sunburst Stables Review - North Georgia adventure spot and Tourist Attraction

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Located on 93 acres adjacent to the Chattahoochee National Forest near Helen, Sunburst Stables is a great place to spend a day riding a horse or zip-line in this very picturesque part of Georgia state.
•    Sunburst Stables offers horseback riding, zip-lines, and summer camp
•    Zip-line tours cost $55 per person ($45 group rate)
•    The zip-line tour lasts 2 to 3 hours
•    Horseback riding from 1 to 4 hours ranges from $40 to $100
•    Zip-line tour + 1 hour of  horseback riding costs $85
•    Call ahead if you’re bringing a group





The entrance and parking lot for Sunburst Stables is right off the road, so the breadth and depth of their property can be difficult to detect at first. They have a big, covered, open porch in front of their shop with a pen of donkeys right as you walk up. These are the sweetest, smallest, cutest little donkeys I have seen in a long time. They’re funny and friendly and we were even lucky enough to hear a few hee-haws. Their pen is at the entrance to the horse stables, which has a sign to enter only with permission, but we didn’t see the sign until later and no one seemed to mind us wandering around looking at the horses. They must have 20 horses, big and small, all spectacular in their own way. And, it’s nice to have something to do while one member of the family is signing up for a tour and filling out the paperwork.





Many zip-line tours have somewhat strict age and weight requirements, but Sunburst Stables has built their zip-lines to accommodate most people, the only restriction being on weight from 30 to 250 pounds. Finally, a zip-line my skinny little seven-year-old could ride. The thrill level is also appropriate for people of all ages. We’ve been on extreme zip-lines that hang hundreds of feet over river valleys in Costa Rica and were absolutely terrified and can’t imagine our kids being ready for those quite yet. But Sunburst Stables makes the lines long enough to really have some fun and enjoy the beautiful scenery, but not be scared to death.





A bumpy open-air jeep drives the groups past a small petting zoo and out to the first zip line. But first you’ll watch a short safety video and please pay attention. It’s simple, common-sense stuff, but who wants to ruin their day doing something stupid and getting hurt? There are seven zip lines in all, each getting progressively longer and a little higher, which is a great method of acclimating the nervous ones in your group.  













After a few zips, they’ll teach you how to hang upside down while zip-lining if you’re looking for extra thrill. This is something I would never do, but am surprised that probably more than half of our group chose to try it and seemed to like it.

Our entire zip-line excursion took about 3 hours. You’re probably inclined to bring a backpack full of stuff, but you really won’t need it, want it, have time to use it, or end up wanting to carry it. Put sunscreen on before you head out. They have a few water stops along the way, so you don’t need to lug the water bottles along. The only thing you may want is a camera that you’ll have to use at your own risk. Find a way to secure it to yourself somehow and you should be OK.

One guide heads down the line first, then the other guide hooks people up, one by one, to zip across. The first guide catches them and makes sure they stop safely. You may have an image of flying into the landing area but that never happened. The landings were very smooth and easy.

Night zip-line tours are also offered. They wrap lights around the beginning and ending trees so the guides can see what they’re doing and you can sort of see where you’re headed, but when you’re out there on the line, you can’t see anything at all. It’s different and seems like it’s more about the way it feels than what you can see. The night tour is $75 each and includes a campfire and s’mores. A little expensive, but seems like it would be a really fun thing on which to splurge.

We didn’t ride the horses this time but would love to come back and try it here.

Sunburst Stables
3181 Highway 255
Clarkesville, GA 30523

1-800-806-1953
www.sunburststables.com/