Toccoa River – Deep Hole to Sandy Bottoms

The Toccoa River flows northwestward through the Georgia mountains and becomes the Ocoee River when it reaches the Tennessee border near McCaysville, GA. The Georgia portion of the river runs for 56 miles through both public and private land and is damned near the town of Blue Ridge, GA.

This section of the Toccoa River from Deep Hole Campground to Sandy Bottoms is located south of Blue Ridge, GA and is best with water running at 350 cubic feet per second or greater. There are Class II rapids on this route with the potential for a Class III near the Benton MacKaye Trail suspension bridge about halfway down the 13.7 mile section.

The Chattahooche National Forest runs from mile 3.4 to mile 6.6 and this area has the best overnight camping opportunities on the route – especially around the suspension bridge. Don’t be surprised to see some tubers on the river, but they are mostly active in the last few miles of this section and we had the majority of the river to ourselves – even on a hot summer weekend.