By Suzanne Welander

From Carters Lake Dam to Georgia Highway 136, about 8.5 miles. Map.

The Coosawattee is the host river for this year’s “Paddle Georgia,” June 20-26. The trip described here covers some of the same Coosawattee River mileage that will be covered in the Paddle Georgia 7-day, 92-mile experience.

All the whitewater bang in this section of river is limited to one small ledge at the put-in below the dam. If you’re not up for the splishy-splashy fun, this rapid is easily missed by starting your trip in the large eddy below the ledge. From here on out, the Coosawattee is a peaceful float, occasionally punctured by the increasing number of dead trees littering the streambed. Maneuvering is occasionally required to dodge the limbs. Being downstream of the dam has its advantages:  this section of river is continually fed, even in drought periods.

On June 20-26, 2009, the Coosawattee hosts Paddle Georgia, a fundraiser for the nonprofit Georgia River Network.  Participants registered for this multi-day float put-in upstream in Ellijay, continue through Carters Lake, and 74 miles downstream to Rome.

The Coosawattee River is the lost gem of North Georgia’s whitewater streams. Said to have rivaled the Chattooga River, the most dramatic portions of the Coosawattee now lie stilled beneath the surface of Carters Lake. A sense of what the Coosawattee was and what it has become is masterfully conveyed by James Dickey’s poem “On the Coosawattee.” It has been suggested that Dickey’s experiences on the river before it was dammed were a major influence on his novel Deliverance. The Ellijay and Cartecay Rivers meet in Ellijay to form the Coosawattee; 9.3 miles of pleasing Class I and II rapids remain of the upper section. Below the dam, the Coosawattee snakes along a sedate course across Gordon County before it merges with the Conasauga River to become the Oostanaula River.

DESCRIPTION: Below the Carters Lake re-regulation reservoir, the Coosawattee becomes a higher volume valley river that meanders through more populated areas. Farmland, industrial plants, and some woodland make up the stream-side environment. The Coosawattee merges with the Conasauga near Resaca and is, thereafter, called the Oostanaula River.

SHUTTLE: To get to the take-out for this section, take exit #320 off of I-75 for Georgia Highway 136 and head east, making sure that you follow 136 as it jogs to the left, then turns to the right and crosses the railroad tracks. Continue on 136 to the river. To reach the put-in, continue east on 136, pass US411, and turn left onto Old US411. After crossing the river (see the dam upstream on your right), turn right into the recreation area. Watch for the dirt road on the right that leads back to the put-in underneath the bridge.

GAUGE: Flows are dependent on dam releases from the re-regulation reservoir and can be found on the USGS Web site for the Coosawattee at Carters or Pine Chapel, Georgia, or by calling the Army Corps of Engineers at (706) 334-2248. The Corps adheres to a required minimum flow of 240 cubic feet per second (cfs). While the levels don’t change rapidly, a call to check the release schedule in advance of your trip is recommended.

This canoeing guide was adapted from A Canoeing & Kayaking Guide to Georgia, by Suzanne Welander, Bob Sehlinger and Don Otey. Organized efficiently by watersheds, the book contains paddling guides to over 80 Georgia streams and rivers, plus the Okefenokee Swamp and the Georgia Coast, as well as a wealth of interesting and useful information about Georgia physiography and paddling in general. Order this and canoeing and kayaking guides for other states from Menasha Ridge Press.

By Suzanne Welander

From Chicken Coop Gap to Alaculsy Valley, a distance of approximately 5.4 miles. View map

The Conasauga leaps to life high on the pristine slopes of the Cohutta Wilderness. Adventuresome paddlers with the rain gods smiling upon them can catch the adrenaline rush through the upper section, a steep descent through an isolated forest wilderness.

One of the most pristine whitewater runs in Georgia, this section of the Conasauga River is for experienced whitewater paddlers only. High in the headwaters within the Cohutta Wilderness, access is extremely remote and not for the unskilled or faint of heart. Since running it requires a two-inch or more rainfall in the headwaters, opportunities to paddle this section are rare. In the five years between my two runs, my recollection of the river’s steep pitch were almost completely obliterated by romantic memories of the pine sap perfume that permeated the river corridor after a hurricane-fueled deluge scored the vegetation on the banks. Five years later, the sparkling clear water was unchanged, and so was the surprisingly accelerating gradient! The January sun couldn’t penetrate the deep canyon that accompanied the steepest two miles. (more…)

By Suzanne Welander, Bob Sehlinger and Don Otey

From Amicalola Church Road (also known as “Six-Mile”) to Steele Bridge Road, a distance of approximately 3.7 miles. View Map

The Amicalola gets its name from the Cherokee phrase for “tumbling water.” It’s called a creek on most maps, but if it is merely a creek, it is an awesome one. The scenery is spectacular, and the rapids sometimes stupendous.

Only have a short afternoon available and want to get a quick and mild whitewater run in near Atlanta? Try the upper sections of Amicalola Creek. As with the famed lower section, the two 3-mile sections of river above GA Highway 53 feel surprisingly remote, courtesy of the Dawson Forest Wildlife Management Area that straddles the creek. Hemlock-lined banks shield the deeper recesses of the bordering forest. The Class II rapids above Steele Bridge Road tend to be sharper drops; downstream of the road, the character changes as the river widens and the rapids lengthen, retaining their Class II difficulty. The scenery is beautiful, even if the water quality isn’t; upstream poultry houses and runoff entering with Cochran Creek muddies the waters of an otherwise pristine run.

The Amicalola gets its name from the Cherokee phrase for tumbling water. It’s called a creek on most maps, but if it is merely a creek, it is an awesome one. The scenery is spectacular, and the rapids are sometimes stupendous. It is hard to describe this stream without superlatives, so if it is really just a creek, it is simply the best whitewater creek in the state. Located entirely in Dawson County, its upper east fork, Little Amicalola Creek, contains the famous Amicalola Falls.

DESCRIPTION: For the most part, the first 4.3 miles of the upper section from Goshen Church Road (A) to the campground off of Amicalola Church Road (B) provide easy floating, quiet beauty, and a few small rapids. The put-in at Goshen Church Road is surrounded by private property. Please be extremely courteous and respectful of the rights of landowners in this area. Note that with sufficient water (over 1.0 foot), a wilderness run through 5 miles of Class I–II rapids, with one Class III at an abandoned mill, opens up above this section.

The access point at the campground (B) is commonly called “6-mile” in reference to the 6 miles of river between there and GA 53 (D). Downstream of the campground, the stream turns east and comes to a shallow and rocky series of Class II ledges. Tornado activity from 2002—not the first tornado to upend trees into the river corridor—is evident in this section; watch for deadfall as the stream may be partially to completely obstructed. In mid-run, Cochrane Creek enters on the left and increases the stream volume considerably. In the next half mile are three good rapids that may require scouting. The first is a wide, 5-foot ledge. Look for a little chute into a pool just left of the downstream island. The next rapid is more complex; from a right-side approach several routes are possible. The third rapid is a 3.5-foot ledge that can be sneaked through on the extreme right; the main route left of center can be a boat buster. The remaining miles to Steele Bridge Road provide easy floating.

SHUTTLE: From Dawsonville, take GA 53 west; turn right onto Sweetwater-Juno Road before reaching the river. Continue two miles to a left turn onto Steele Bridge Road and follow the road to the take-out for this section at the bridge. To reach the put-in, continue on Steele Bridge Road west of the river. Turn right at the stop sign onto Amicalola Church Road. The six-mile put-in is ahead on the right; watch for the recreation area signage. View map.

GAUGE: The staff gauge is located at GA 53 in the pool upstream of the bridge on the river’s left side. An enjoyable minimum for this section is 0.8, though the river is runnable below this level, particularly between 6-mile and Steele Bridge for boaters who don’t mind the practice dodging rocks. The maximum is 2.5 feet for open boats, 3.5 feet for decked.

This canoeing guide was adapted from A Canoeing & Kayaking Guide to Georgia, by Suzanne Welander, Bob Sehlinger and Don Otey. Organized efficiently by watersheds, the book contains paddling guides to over 80 Georgia streams and rivers, plus the Okefenokee Swamp and the Georgia Coast, as well as a wealth of interesting and useful information about Georgia physiography and paddling in general. Order this and canoeing and kayaking guides for other states from Menasha Ridge Press.

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. (more…)