Chattahoochee River NRA
By SHERRI SMITH BROWN
Georgia > Atlanta Metro > Fulton County > Atlanta
Kayaking along the Chattahoochee River is just one of the many recreational activities you can enjoy in the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area.
In 1997, I co-authored a book with Fred Brown about the Chattahoochee River. The Riverkeeper’s Guide to the Chattahoochee River was a grand learning experience about rivers, in general, and about the wonders of the Chattahoochee, specifically.
One portion of the river that is especially accessible for everyone to explore and enjoy is the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA), a 48-mile stretch of the river that consists of 16 land units, or parks, along both sides of its banks. The CRNRA begins at Lake Lanier’s Buford Dam, near Buford in Forsyth County, and continues downstream through four counties to Peachtree Creek near downtown Atlanta in Fulton County. The CRNRA provides outdoor recreation for more than three million visitors a year. The parks are day use facilities only, made up of hiking trails and picnic grounds. The river running through the recreation area is a stocked trout stream that includes 19 other game fish.
The Chattahoochee corridor has a colorful and interesting history that has been preserved within the National Recreation Area. Numerous rock shelters, once used by nomadic Indian families and later Indian hunting parties, can be explored on the trails at both Island Ford and Palisades East. During the 19th century, the river was the dividing line between the Cherokee and Creek Indian Nations. The Creeks, on the south side of the line, were forced west to Oklahoma in 1828, and the Cherokees, on the north and west side, were forced out in 1838.
The American settlers who followed the Indian Removal established cotton plantations and constructed a large number of mills—grist, lumber, wool, cotton, tanning, whiskey and paper. Within the present boundaries of the CRNRA, at least 10 settlers ran ferries across the river. Today, Powers, Pace, Johnson, Heard, Dunwoody, Roswell, Jones, Terrell, Aker, Moore and Abbott are names of landmarks and streets, but once were names of those early entrepreneurs, their ferries, and the roads that led to their mills.
People are attracted to the river for different reasons. Some come to “shoot the ‘hooch;’” others come to hike the trails along the river’s banks; fish in its cold water for trout, bass, and catfish; or just relax and enjoy the wildlife and flora.
The portion of the river downstream from Jones Bridge receives considerably heavier recreational use than the portion upriver to Buford Dam. The lower section is used primarily for floating, while fishing, picnicking and relaxing in a river environment are more common on the middle and upper sections. The lightest use of the river is seasonal, from September through May.
The best way to see the river is to get on it. The 48 miles of the CRNRA is available for raft, canoe, kayak, motorboat and other small boat use year round. Jet skies are not permitted at any time. The river within the park is open for boating from 30 minutes before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset. Night boating is not permitted in the park. On days when Buford Dam is not releasing water, the river below the dam is calm “flat water” with an occasional class I/II shoals or rapids. The river is accessible for boat north of Morgan Falls Dam at Bowmans Island, Abbots Bridge, Medlock Bridge, Jones Bridge, Island Ford and Chattahoochee River Park along Bull Sluice Lake. South of Morgan Falls Dam, the river is accessible by boat at Morgan Falls Park, Johnson Ferry, Powers Island and Paces Mill. You can bring your own boat or rent boats from several vendors licensed to rent canoes, kayaks, rafts, and tubes for day use on the river.
For rafters, the lower stretch of the river is Class I and II, ideal for beginners and children. A popular trip for rafters is from the Johnson Ferry put-in to the last take-out point in the CRNRA at Paces Mill, just past the I-75 Bridge. This stretch of the river is often referred to as the Atlanta Hooch. Jones Bridge, Island Ford and the Devil’s Racecourse, which runs between the Palisades, are good places to put in a kayak or canoe and play, running back and forth in the rapids.
Fishing on this stretch of the river, a designated trout stream, is highly popular and can be quite rewarding. The Chattahoochee is the southernmost trout river in the United States due to the fact that Buford Dam releases cold water from the bottom of Lake Lanier and the Georgia Department of Natural Resources stocks the river. Jones Bridge and Island Ford are two very popular areas among waders fishing mostly for trout.
Although the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area corridor winds through an extremely populated and developed urban area, it is home to an amazing variety of animals, birds and plant life. White-tailed deer, red and gray foxes, mink, river otters and raccoons inhabit the parklands. Great Blue Heron, osprey and golden eagle nest along the river; and great numbers of Canada Geese no longer migrate, but make the Chattahoochee River home. Plants you’ll see include trout lilies, redbuds, azaleas, trillium, coreopsis and goldenrod.
Read more about the Chattahoochee River and National Parks in Georgia, or find more activities in the Atlanta Metro Travel Region here at Brown’s Guides.
Tags: Atlanta, boating, Chattahoochee River, Fishing, Hiking, National Recreation Area, Native Americans, wildlife