Ellijay, GA Homes and Cabins for Sale in Gilmer County

Ellijay and Gilmer County at a glance

Ellijay is the historic county seat of Gilmer County. The county has two incorporated cities, Ellijay and East Ellijay. Most of the county is unincorporated, including Cherry Log, the Coosawattee River Resort and the land around Carters Lake. For a buyer, that means most properties answer to county rules.

Gilmer County calls itself the Apple Capital of Georgia, and the Georgia Apple Festival has filled two October weekends at the Ellijay Lions Club Fairgrounds for 55 years. The Chamber also bills the county as the Mountain Bike Capital of Georgia.

What you will find for sale around Ellijay

Gilmer County listings tend to fall into a few groups, and each has its own checklist.

Property type	Where you tend to find it	Check first
Mountain cabins	Cherry Log and the ridges around Ellijay	Road access, septic permit, county host license if you plan to rent
Homes in established communities	Named subdivisions and resort communities across the county	Covenants, POA fees and any community rental rules
River property	Along the county's rivers, including the Coosawattee	Flood exposure and the 50-foot stream buffer
Land and acreage	Throughout the county, including steep upper slopes	Mountain protection district rules, perc test, survey, road frontage
In-town homes	Ellijay and East Ellijay	City zoning and any city lodging or license rules

The Coosawattee River Resort is one of the larger private communities. Its own site describes it as spread across 5,500 acres, with three pools, and professionally managed by Access Management. Ask for the current covenants and fee schedule for any home inside a community like it.

Homes in several Ellijay communities can be browsed on our site already: Walnut Mountain, High River, Creekside Crossing and Tranquility at Carters Lake.

Short-term rental rules in Gilmer County

Gilmer County regulates short-term rentals in the unincorporated county under Chapter 45 of its code, the Short-Term Rental Host License article. A short-term rental is a lodging offered to guests for no more than 30 consecutive days. Every one needs a host license, though the ordinance says it does not need a separate business license.

The ordinance also requires a safety inspection by a qualified professional, updated once every three years, and sets occupancy at two persons per bedroom, plus two. Hosts whose booking platform does not remit tax must remit the hotel-motel tax themselves. The county's licensing portal lists an annual fee of $225 for a new license and $300 for renewals, with hotel-motel tax due monthly by the 20th.

Septic, wells and building on Gilmer County land

Septic. Gilmer County Environmental Health, 1 Broad Street, Suite 003, in Ellijay (706-635-6050), handles on-site sewage management systems. Under Georgia Department of Public Health rules, a septic system cannot be installed without a construction permit from the county health department. On resale, ask the seller for the original permit so you know what the system was designed to handle.

Wells. The Georgia Department of Public Health notes that private wells are not subject to any regulatory authority. It recommends a coliform test every year and a chemical screen every three years, so put a water test in your inspection period.

Building and clearing. Gilmer County requires a building permit before construction or excavation begins, and a land-disturbance permit under Section 70-39 before any land-disturbing activity. Land at 2,200 feet or more above sea level with a slope of at least 25% falls in a mountain protection district, where permits need a site plan under Section 70-80. Work inside the 50-foot stream buffer needs an encroachment application to the Georgia Environmental Protection Division.

Mountain road access

Drive the road to any hillside property yourself, ideally in wet weather. Find out whether the county maintains it or owners share upkeep under a written agreement, and whether a fire engine can reach the house.

Carters Lake and the rivers

Carters Lake is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile District. Explore Georgia describes 62 miles of natural shoreline with no private docks or development, and a lake more than 450 feet deep. So a home near Carters Lake is a lake-access home, not a private-dock home. The lake has a privately run, full-service marina that offers boat docks.

If you want your own dock in this part of the mountains, look at Lake Blue Ridge in Fannin County, where the Tennessee Valley Authority permits private docks under Section 26a. See our Blue Ridge homes for sale page for those rules.

Drive times from Ellijay

Approximate drive times from downtown Ellijay without traffic. October festival weekends add time.

To	About	Miles
Blue Ridge	20 minutes	16
Jasper	30 minutes	21
Dawsonville	45 minutes	32
Blairsville	50 minutes	39
Dahlonega	1 hour	39
Cumming	1 hour 10 minutes	49
Chattanooga, Tennessee	1 hour 30 minutes	68
Downtown Atlanta	1 hour 35 minutes	77
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport	1 hour 50 minutes	88

Property taxes, schools and health care

Property taxes are billed by the Gilmer County Tax Commissioner. In August 2026 the county announced a tentatively adopted maintenance-and-operation rate of 6.079 mills, a 7.80% increase; school and other levies are separate, so ask for the full bill on any home you consider. If the home will be your primary residence, Georgia's homestead exemption must be filed by April 1 of the first year you claim it.

Gilmer County Schools runs the public schools, including Gilmer High School. Piedmont Mountainside Hospital is in nearby Jasper, and Piedmont operates a freestanding emergency room in Ellijay.

How Gold Peach Realty helps Ellijay buyers

Gold Peach Realty is a licensed Georgia brokerage based in Dahlonega, about an hour from Ellijay. A Gilmer County purchase with us runs like this:

1. We start with how you will use the property: full time, weekends or partly as a rental.
2. We set up a live Gilmer County search and send new listings that fit.
3. For each home you like, we check city or county jurisdiction, community covenants and the current rental rules.
4. During due diligence we line up the home inspection, a septic review and a well water test.
5. We negotiate and coordinate the closing.

Comparing nearby areas? See Blue Ridge homes and cabins in Fannin County or our Jasper area guide. For cabins across the region, browse North Georgia cabins for sale, or go back to North Georgia homes for sale.

Frequently asked questions