We headed down to Georgia in February for the Homegrown Gravel Adventure Event. It is based about an hour outside of Atlanta in the town of Franklin. The vibes and the race itself were great—we highly recommend putting it on your list for gravel races that are worth doing, especially in the early season!
Key Details about Homegrown Gravel Race
Date: mid/late February . It was on Saturday, February 22nd in 2025.
Distances: 30/40, 62, 100 mile ( Race Route Details Here ) that is about 50% in Georgia and 50% in Alabama.
What makes it unique: The race has offered a pretty hefty pro prize purse for a couple of years so increasingly there are more heavy hitters showing up despite the small town and early season timing. THe promoter puts huge effort into the festival element, tons of post-ride food and beverage. The whole weekend is a neat takeover of the small downtown of Franklin, GA
Course: Expect LOTS of climbing, often of the short/hard variety. According to the race director, the 100-mile contains 8,500 feet of climbing and 40-ish gravel segments, including all the secluded pavé, gravel, dirt, sand, and streams you can handle. Your feet will almost certainly get wet, and the sand can definitely catch you out, so keep your head up at all times!
Lodging: You can book on-site camping that’s light on amenities (no electric or water hookups) but is basically right at the start/finish. There’s a nearby park that’s a minute ride from the start that’s nicer for tent camping, but RVs can basically be camped AT the start/finish, which is what we did. You can also stay about 25 minutes away in Chattahoochee State Park if you want electric/water hookups and a full washroom with showers. If you’re coming in from out of town and flew in, look for a hotel in Carrollton, that’s the closest town. I’d suggest staying closer vs. staying out by the Atlanta Airport since driving out or into Atlanta is always a serious crapshoot traffic-wise!
The Race has details on Lodging HERE
Weather: Can be anywhere from warm spring conditions to full on winter, so if you’re flying or driving down, be prepared for anything. Conditions were below freezing at the start and for the first hour or two in 2025.
Food: There’s one great Mexican restaurant in the small town of Franklin—Del Rio—that’s worth checking out. Massive margaritas and huge servings, plus they’re great about the race basically shutting them down for a day! If you’re camping and want pizza, we got pizzas from Store to Door. It’s not fancy, but it was actually pretty good! Be prepared with your own coffee in the AM, there are no coffee shops in town! (Though there are a couple coffee trucks at the race, so get there early if you need to caffeinate.)
Hot tips about HomeGrown Gravel Race:
- The course, as mentioned earlier, isn’t marked, so make sure you have the route loaded to your cycling computer or phone. And if you’re phone-only, make sure you have a spare battery pack to charge it if needed!
- There are port-a-potties on site, but if you go about 25 meters past them next to the police station, there’s a great clean public washroom that’s open 24/7. Use that instead of waiting in line—for some reason, no one seems to notice it!
- Parking at the high school (if you didn’t camp the night before) is pretty far from the start/finish, and at the top of a hill. If it’s chilly out, I’d suggest riding to the start in some old warm stuff, then stashing it at a vendor booth or near the start/finish area. (It’s pretty quiet there while the race is on, but still, don’t leave stuff you can’t afford to lose.)
- Be prepared for ANY weather. I’ve ridden in shorts and short sleeves in this area in past years around this time with no problems, but it was COLD on race day. Note the feature photo—most people raced with legwarmers and in full winter jackets! It warmed up a bit during the course of the day, but it never got hot.
- If you want to stay longer, Chattahoochee State Park is great. They have a decent amount of hiking/running trails plus some MTB trails, and the park itself is really nice. Electric/water hookups and great, clean restrooms with hot showers. And a nice Visitor Center!
