Conasauga River (North Site)
Cohutta Wilderness Area
National Forest Service
401 Old Ellijay Road
Chatsworth, GA 30705
(706) 695-6736
The Cohutta Wilderness at 36,977 acres is the largest National Forest Wilderness in the southeast and combined with the Big Frog Wilderness in Tennessee the area is some of the most pristine and isolated in the South. Both the Conasauga and Jacks Rivers are stocked with trout and have great fishing. There’s also numerous sand bars, waterfalls, pools, and campsites along the rivers which makes this a very popular overnight destination. The Conasauga River is a favorite destination in North Georgia for both hikers and their dogs, and it is particularly worthy in the warm summer months when fishing and swimming are possible in the many shallow pools tucked along the scenic river. For overnight backpackers, there are numerous campsites along the Conasauga, and they generally get less traffic than the nearby Jack River (and the Jack River Falls area). Nonetheless, the area is very popular with all types of outdoorsman including hikers, hunters, fisherman, and horsemen, so don’t expect complete solitude without hiking deep into the Cohutta Wilderness.
The hike to the Conasauga River is an out-and-back hike, following the Hickory Creek Trail from the parking area at Forest Service Road 630. The trail is not marked in the wilderness area but it is easily followed to the river on a wide path that was once a route for trains that harvested timber out of the Conasauga drainage in the early 1900’s. The path makes a gradual, well-graded descent through a series of hardwoods and is a pleasant walk at any time of year. As the trail levels out and crosses a small tributary to the Conasauga, the Hickory Creek Trail comes to an abrupt halt and meets the Conasauga River Trail at the water.
- click for a Daytimer report for this hike on the Hickory Creek Trail: May 30, 1998 (password required)
- click to purchase a Trails Illustrated map of this hike in the Chattahoochee National Forest
- click for a USFS topographical map of the Cohutta Wilderness Area (password required)
- click for the Cohutta Wilderness access roads and their trailheads (password required)
- click for the Cohutta Wilderness hiking trails and their trailheads (password required)
- click for an overview of the Cohutta Wilderness Area hiking trails (password required)
- click for a topo and profile map of this hike on the Hickory Creek Trail (password required)
- click for a terrain map with campsites in this section of the Cohutta Wilderness (password required)
- click for a map of intersecting trails with the Hickory Creek Trail (password required)
- click for another hike to the north site on the Conasauga River in June 1997 and December 2005
- click for a hike to the nearby Rough Creek campsite in June 2018
- click to access the guidebook Hiking Trails Of The Cohutta & Big Frog Wilderness which has details on this hike