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.