Rabun Gap is an unincorporated community in Rabun County, in the far northeastern corner of Georgia, set in the Blue Ridge Mountains near the North Carolina line. The community takes its name from a natural gap in the Blue Ridge, and its relatively flat valley bottom along the Little Tennessee River made it the traditional center of farming in an otherwise rugged mountain county. It lies along U.S. Highway 23/441, just south of Dillard and north of the county seat of Clayton.
Rabun Gap is best known as the home of Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School, a private college-preparatory institution founded in 1903 that sits on a 1,400-acre campus and enrolls both boarding and day students from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. The school, with its Presbyterian heritage, draws students from across the region, the country, and the world, giving the community an outsized educational presence. The Foxfire program, which documented Appalachian folkways and oral history, began at the school in the late 1960s and brought national attention to the area's mountain traditions.
Beyond the school, Rabun Gap is a quiet mountain community surrounded by outdoor recreation. Black Rock Mountain State Park and the Appalachian Trail are a short drive away, and the surrounding Rabun County highlands offer hiking, waterfalls, and scenic drives, along with wineries, historic inns, and a grist mill. Local life centers on the mountain landscape, small farms, and the nearby towns of Dillard and Clayton, where shops and services cluster. Homes in the area range from valley farmland and modest mountain cottages to larger properties on wooded hillsides. Atlanta lies about two hours to the south by highway, keeping the city accessible while the community remains firmly rooted in the rhythms of mountain life.
