Admission fees of $4.50 to $6.50 allow access to the museum, film, historic grounds and buildings. Visitors should dress for the weather, bring a flashlight or a lantern and be prepared for a three quarter mile walk.
By the early 19th century many Cherokee had adopted the traditional Christmas celebrations still in practice today. Visitors are invited to tour historic pathways of the town brightened by luminaries and enjoy the decorations inside the historic buildings.
Decorations by park staff, Friends of New Echota, Gordon County Master Gardeners, Georgia Chapter of the Trail of Tears Association, Garden Buddies Garden Club, Sonoraville High School Interact Club and Environmental Sciences students, and Sigma Phi-Elan will include live greenery and other natural materials. Kris Tingle decorations, introduced by Moravian missionaries during New Echota’s time period, will be in each building. Boy Scout Troop 30 will serve as fire tenders throughout the evening.
Sounds of the season will include Christmas caroling by the King Family. Local recording artist, Gary Greene, will perform songs and tell Cherokee stories in the Council House, while the New Echota Singers entertain visitors with traditional Christmas favorites in the Court House. Carole Hall will be in the Worcester House singing and playing the psaltery, a harp-like instrument that dates back to ancient times. Visitors will witness the Cherokee Phoenix printing press in operation in the Print Shop and enjoy warm refreshments in Vann’s Tavern.
New Echota is located one mile east of I-75, exit 317, on Ga. Highway 225 North, and for more information call 706-624-1321 or visit Georgia’s state historic sites, which are operated by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources.








