Cohutta Wilderness Hiking

The 37,030 acre Cohutta Wilderness has 94 miles of hiking and backpacking trails. There are 15 trails spanning the wilderness ranging from ridgeline trails to trails in the valley crisscrossing rivers. In comparison, the Appalachian Trail in Georgia is 76.4 miles and requires extensive logistical preparations.

The Cohutta Wilderness continues into Tennessee where it becomes the Big Frog Wilderness. The contiguous wilderness encompasses 45,018 acres and 127 hiking miles spanning two states. Elevations range from a high of 4,224 feet atop Big Frog Mountain(Hemp Top Trail) to an elevation of 978 feet at the Alaculsy Valley Trailhead of the Jacks River Trail.

The Cohutta Wilderness is defined by its two watersheds and their namesake rivers that travel across its land. The two watersheds are divided by Cohutta Mountain rising as high as 4149 feet at Cowpen Mountain where Old Hwy 2 traversed the ridge which is now the East Cowpen Trail.

All the rainfall to the west of Cohutta Mountain flows eventually into the Conasauga River. The headwaters of the Conasauga River begin in the wilderness. It is one of the few footpaths in the Southeast that offers a hiker the opportunity to begin at its headwaters. The river gradually becomes bigger as more tributaries flow into it as the trail follows it to the northwest.

All the rainfall to the east of Cohutta Mountain flows eventually into the Jacks River. The headwaters of the Jacks River begins about 7 miles outside the wilderness so once its trail joins the river, it is flowing nicely. The Jacks River is just majestic and its trail spans the wilderness from its Dally Gap Trailhead near Blue Ridge, GA to its northwest trailhead right across the Tennessee state line in the Alaculsy Valley. This one trail has 42 river crossings. And not to be outdone the Conasauga River Trail has a respectable 38 river crossings.

It is mandatory to have a hiking pole on the Conasauga and Jacks River Trail due to all the river crossings. Some of the crossings are over solid rock and a hiking pole is essential in keeping your balance plus it makes the hike much more enjoyable.

The Cohutta Wilderness is also home to 2 of the most spectacular waterfalls in Georgia. The most popular is Jacks River Falls an 80-foot waterfall with smaller rolling falls flowing into it. The whitewater is epic after sustained rainfall.

Panther Creek Falls is located on Panther Creek Trail which is an interior trail in the western part of the wilderness. Its 70-foot waterfall is located in the heart of the wilderness. After sustained rainfall, this puny creek falls turns into a roaring whitewater cascade proven by the image above. The campsite on top of the falls is unrivaled in the State of Georgia for its tranquility and view from Sunset Bluff. If you want a wilderness camping experience then come here.

The Cohutta Wilderness has multiple ridgeline trails such as Hemp Top Trail in the north that offer breathtaking winter views on top of Big Frog Mountain. At 4,224 feet tall, there is no higher point west of Big Frog Mountain until you cross the Mississippi River. Near the peak there is the ability to stand and look to the left and view deep into Georgia and to the right and view deep into the Tennessee Valley on top of the geographic Blue Ridge and Tennessee Valley Divide.

The Cohutta Wilderness in Georgia is part of the Chattahoochee National Forest which has a combined area of 750,145 acres. There are numerous excellent trails immediately adjacent to the wilderness that are part of the Chattahoochee National Forest and the Cherokee National Forest. Emery Creek Trail is a river trail in its lower section with two 40 foot waterfalls and becomes a mountain trail in its upper section. Iron Mountain Trail continues into Tennessee and the Cherokee National Forest.

Fort Mountain State Park is located within 15 miles of the Cohutta Wilderness and has the decided advantage that access to the trails is via a paved road. If you want to see a black bear come here. Credible reports of a Mountain Lion sighting also. Bear Spray will repel both. Carry it. In the State Park you need a concealed-carry permit to hike with a firearm. You must sign in at the office to hike the horse and bike trails. Fort Mountain State Park has 50 miles of trails. And numerous opportunities to create your own Loop Trails.

Pinhoti Trail is a 335 mile trail that begins in Alabama and ends in the Chattahoochee National Forest near the Cohutta Wilderness. It junctions with the Benton MacKaye Trail which joins the Appalachian Trail. This website covers the last 34 miles.

The eastern hemlock(Tsuga canadensis) is found throughout the Cohutta Wilderness. The forest changes in character immediately when you enter a section of them. There are hemlocks over 300 hundred years old and easily towering over 150 feet. Older than the United States. The Cohutta Wilderness is the farthest south this species thrives which requires shade, a cool humid climate, and precipitation over 29 inches - Wikipedia.

As for wildlife in the area, one of its occupants is on this page. Besides the elusive trout in the rivers, the forest is home to many deer, turkey, boar, raccoons, bobcats, and yes snakes. The two poisonous ones are the copperhead and the timber rattlesnake. And some say the cougar is back. Just be aware of your surroundings.

Quoting R.Yorke Edwards "Once you take the danger out of the wilderness, the wilderness will not be made safe. Rather, the safety will have destroyed the wilderness."

The color-coded map provides information on the Forest Service Roads that access and border the Cohutta Wilderness. Even though most of the Cohutta Wilderness is geographically in Fannin County, GA its home is in Murray County, GA since most of the access roads are located in the northern part of the county.

Eton, GA (one-red-light town) is less than 5 miles from the wilderness as the crow flies. On this site, the directions to the trailheads begin at Eton, GA.

There are 3 main access roads into the wilderness designated by their post office communities in Murray County, GA. From south to north they are Eton, Crandall, and Cisco, GA.

Forest Service Road 18 (Eton,GA) is the access road for the southern part of the wilderness and the trailheads in the Conasauga River Watershed. The trailheads are Tearbritches, Chestnut Lead, the southeast and higher elevation trailhead for the Conasauga River at Betty Gap, and the East Cowpen and Rough Creek trailheads at Three Forks Mountain. This is also the access road for Emery Creek and the upper elevation Bear Creek trailhead in the Chattahoochee National Forest.

An alternative and faster way to these trailheads if coming from Ellijay, GA is to take Hwy 52 west and take a right on Conasauga Road and continue to the intersection with FS68. Take a right and follow it up the mountain.

Forest Service Road 630 (Crandall,GA) gives access to the central part of the wilderness and is primarily used to access the Hickory Creek Trail: west section trailhead where it ends. This trail is the easiest access point to the Conasauga River. To continue to Lake Conasauga and its campground take a sharp right at the FS630-FS17 intersection and drive up a steep grade with large gravel onto FS17 and continue for 3.3 miles to a T - intersection and take a right. Lake Conasauga is less than a 1/2 mile.

The important Forest Service Road 16 (Cisco,GA) gives access to the northern part of the wilderness and to many of the trailheads in the Jacks River Watershed.

It is always a good idea to check the status of the roads before coming. Here is the link to a current map of road closures and any new information about the status of the roads as it develops www.fs.usda.gov/detailfull/conf/alerts-notices You may also sign up for e-mail updates.

Some trails are open to horses. A map of the Cohutta/Big Frog Wilderness is available for $5, showing trails, topography, parking lots and access roads (purchase of map is strongly recommended). For more information or to purchase a map call the Conasauga River District at 706-695-6736 or visit the Conasauga Ranger District at 3941 Highway 76 Chatsworth, GA 30705.

Each year from January 1st to early March the Chestnut Lead, Tearbritches, Conasauga River at Betty Gap, and the East Cowpen Trailhead at Three Forks Mountain are closed because the Forest Service closes FS17 above FS630 along with FS68 below Potatopatch Mountain due to winter weather.

All of these trails require driving over dirt and gravel roads and depending on the vehicle the average speed may be 15 m.p.h. which means a trail like Beech Bottom will take around an hour to get to the trailhead. If you have a small car no problem. Just drive slower. It is well worth the drive. All the roads have enough space in order for two vehicles to pass.

It is legal to carry a firearm on these trails without a permit. The only exception is Fort Mountain State Park where you must have a concealed-carry permit.

Since 1990, the Conasauga District Trail Volunteers in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service have helped maintain the trails in the Cohutta Wilderness and the surrounding Chattahoochee National Forest. The Forest Service schedules a volunteer outing one Saturday a month. To find out more about this wonderful organization

Trailheads are generally well-marked and parking areas are provided.

Sugar Cove Trail is no longer maintained.

The trail miles originate from four sources: the Cohutta And Big Frog Wilderness Georgia - Tennessee US Forest Service Map, my Fitbit, eTrex Garmin 10, and 30 years running long distance. The miles on the Forest Service map are extremely accurate due to a measuring wheel being used. GPS apps may not be accurate when measuring trail distance. This is because the raw GPS fixes have a lot of noise on them. All modern phone-based GPS devices (called A-GPS, as in Assisted-GPS) are quite inaccurate when far from cell towers - Source. Regardless a mile in the wilderness always feels longer than a mile on the track for whatever reason.

The Forest Service map can still be confusing since it includes only the trail mileage in the designated wilderness. For example, Hickory Creek Trail is designated 8.6 miles but is really 9.7 miles due to the first mile of the east section of the trail is in the Chattahoochee National Forest.

The rest of the trails seem accurate. Here is the link to the Cohutta Wilderness Trail 3D Map at Caltopo www.caltopo.com//m/20LG

Some of the trails on the laminated Forest Service map are not 100% geographically correct. Rough Ridge is one that stands out. The Forest Service map is based on a USGS 1988 Hemp Top study and has Rough Ridge Trail going much farther east never coming close to Rough Creek. In actuality, the trail follows a tributary to Rough Creek and crosses the creek east to west if hiking north and continues to parallel Rough Creek on its left bank until the Jacks River Trail crosses Rough Creek and junctions with it. The Forest Service Topo map is still an excellent source for the field since you won't get lost using it.

The Caltopo Mapbuilder Topo link above is an excellent source with the ability to view the map in 3D. The accuracy of the map is 100% except for one minor point. The river crossing locations are not accurate and in most instances not shown. This affects the Conasauga River Trail and Jacks River Trail and is understandable since there are 80 river crossings between the two. Beside this minor point, the trails are 100% accurate.

Day Use only in the Beech Bottom/Jacks River Falls area from April 1 through October 31 each year. Year-round campfire and alcohol ban in this closure area. Click here for map of Closure Area. Map is also at the appropriate trailheads.

Hikers and backpackers should leave a detailed trip plan with someone expecting their return since cell service is unpredictable in this mountainous area.