Etowah River Canoeing Guide
This river in the foothills of Northeast Georgia offers beautiful scenery as well as some challenging rapids for both the beginner who is looking for a good starting river and the expert who wants a tranquil day’s outing. This trip is from Georgia Highway 9 to Castleberry Bridge, about six miles.
The Etowah River is rich in the history of Georgia’s gold rush days. It witnessed the onslaught in 1828 as thousands of prospectors infiltrated the North Georgia hills starting the first major gold rush in this country.
The river is also an example of nature’s wonderful ability to heal herself if given time. As a result of the gold rush, the river was partially diverted, the bed mined, the banks cut over and stripped or mined and later cultivated. Today however, the river corridor must be one of the prettiest in the state. Also, the river itself is both attractive and exciting. The trip we will describe here covers about six miles of the most scenic area and the best whitewater.
The Etowah is a near perfect beginners’ canoeing stream. The flow of water is usually adequate for canoes in the spring and early summer months. Occasional high water levels following rains make the stream easier, except for possible increased danger from the waterfall near the middle of the trip.
The section of the river described here and shown on the accompanying map begins at Ga. Hwy 9 west of Dahlonega and ends at Castleberry Bridge near historic Auraria. The put-in is on the northeast corner near the bridge and is a rather steep bank, poorly suited to this use.
On the water, steer right for the first island, which brings you into the pool at the buildings for North Georgia’ College farms. From here on, the river meanders around low laurel-covered hills, which flame in the early spring with azaleas, laurel and rhododendron. Around a couple of turns, the river bends hard right over Chuck’s Shoals. The best passage, which is a bumper itself, is down the left side moving toward center. The next couple of miles is something our of a lazy man’s dream of Georgia spring, with numerous small riffles and scenic vistas opening at the turns.
Eventually, you come to a two-foot ledge with passage difficult except on the left. Negotiate this ledge with care for 100 yards downstream is an eight-foot waterfall that should be portaged on the right. (The fall can be run at low water down the left center, but it is a bumpy run!). The rocks here are a great place for a picnic lunch.
The trip continues through banks strewn with galax, yellowroot and other showy plants. The rapids down to the terminus of the run are generally Class I, and the general feeling of a casual trip is maintained. Take the right on each of the two islands toward the end of the trip.
Toward the end of the trip, a steep granite cliff rises on the left. The rapids below this point to the takeout is probably the best of the trip from the standpoint of a rapid, which requires maneuvering for a clean run. The Castleberry Bridge at the bottom of this rapid is the end of the trip.
The Etowah is interesting both for the expert and the beginner. There are plenty of opportunities to enjoy the scenery and improve technique as well as some appetizing stretches that will test the skill of the hardiest river rat.
DIRECTIONS: The Etowah River is located in the northeast part of the state near Dahlonega. Drive west from Dahlonega on Ga. Hwy 9.
SHUTTLE: The section of the river described here begins at Ga. Hwy 9 and ends six miles later at Castleberry Bridge. To set up a shuttle, leave one car at the Castleberry Bridge takeout. Drive your other car up to the put-in at Ga. Hwy 9.
THE WATERSHED: A part of the Coosa Watershed, the Etowah is 150 miles long. Rising in the Blue Ridge Mountains, it falls steeply for about 60 miles then more moderately for the remaining distance to its junction with the Oostanaula at Rome, Georgia, to form the Coosa. Allatoona Dam, built on the Etowah in 1955, forms Allatoona Reservoir.
PROTECTING THE ETOWAH The Coosa River Basin Initiative advocates wise stewardship of the natural resources of the Upper Coosa River Basin, including the Etowah, Oostanaula and Coosa rivers and their tributaries.