Georgia Grown Trail Hwy 17: a coastal agritourism experience

The New Georgia Grown Trail 17: a coastal agritourism experience

by Patrick Holladay

Picture this: cruising down a scenic rural highway, windows wide open, wind in your face; a leisurely drive with stops to visit all the local sites and discover how cattle is raised, how beekeepers get their honey and how farmers grow all those delectable seasonal vegetables!

Who doesn’t love a cruise down a scenic, rural highway? Well, we have one of our very own in coastal Georgia, U.S. Route 17, which is more affectionately called Coastal Highway 17. And recently it received its designation as our newest Georgia Grown Agritourism Trail. I may be a bit biased since I’m one of the members of the inaugural Board of Directors for the Highway 17 Trail but this thing is going to be awesome.

GA Grown Trail 17 became a reality in the summer of 2018, after Georgia State Representative Jeff Jones from District 167 pushed through the legislation to establish this agritourism route. And it is now Georgia’s 4th agritourism trail. Georgia Grown Trail 17 stretches the entire 100 miles of our gorgeous Georgia coastline.

This journey starts in the south near Kingsland and runs all the way up to the Georgia - South Carolina border near Savannah. The idea is to get people off-the-beaten path (and I-95) to visit all coastal Georgia’s wonderful family farms, farmers markets, wineries, U-pick fruit farms, processors (ever wonder how they make blueberry wine?), breweries, distilleries and shops.

Some of the qualifying characteristics to become a Georgia Grown Trail include a rural feel, an agricultural commitment, educational elements, tangible heritage and a diversity of destinations from farms to roadside stands to artisanal food producers.

Participants along the Georgia Grown Trail 17 will include farmers, ranchers, aquaculture operations, artisans (think bread, cheese and honey to name a few), retail attractions and lodging like bed & breakfasts. Each of the featured destination of GA Grown Trail 17 will also be a member of Georgia Grown.

In August of 2018, ribbon cuttings happened all up and down Coastal Highway 17 to kick-off this new fun, initiative. Representative Jeff Jones, Georgia

Department of Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, local government officials, business owners, farmers and more toured six counties along the coast—Camden, McIntosh, Glynn, Liberty, Bryan and Chatham—stopping at GA Grown attractions along the way to hold the ribbon cuttings.

Moving forward, the leadership of the Georgia Grown Trail 17 will be recruiting farmers and other agriculture and aquaculture operations interested in becoming a member of the agritourism trail. A map will be published for tourists to follow and there will be plenty of information on forthcoming web and social media sites. Another important initiative is the work with the Georgia Department of Transportation to develop and locate signs all along the route for motorists to follow. Along with that will be a unified push to market and promote this agritourism trail for all to come and visit.

So, keep your eyes open for this exciting new attraction. There will be so many exciting opportunities to taste, touch, smell and experience all of the amazing coastal fresh, local and seasonal food that Southeast Georgia has to offer! I can’t wait, can you?

GA Grown Trail 17 ribbon cutting in Brunswick at Rabbiteye Winery

Check out www.georgiagrowntrail.com for a look at all the Georgia agritourism trails.

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