Registration opens for week-long canoe/kayaking adventure on Tennessee River

ATHENS, GA, February 5,2025 –Paddle Georgia, the Peach State’s annual week-long canoe/kayak camping adventure, will venture across three states this summer with more than 300 paddlers expected to stroke through the Tennessee River basin in Georgia, Tennessee and Alabama. 

Set for June 15-22, Georgia Rivers (formerly Georgia River Network) will celebrate the event’s 20th anniversary with this one-of-a-kind adventure achievable only in far Northwest Georgia where streams originating in Georgia flow north into Tennessee and then into Alabama. 

Considered the largest event of its kind in the country, the journey will highlight the South Chickamauga Creek Water Trail and the Tennessee RiverLine, a transformative water trail initiative that encompasses a continuous 652-mile-long system of outdoor recreation experiences along the Tennessee River.

Interested parties can register online beginning at 8 a.m. Feb. 7 at www.garivers.org/paddle-georgia. 

While most participants join for entire seven-day journey, two, three and four-day registration options are also available. Registration fees for adults range from $160 for two days to $460 for seven days. The fees include campsites with showers and flush toilets, shuttle and guide services, daily educational programs, event t-shirt and decal, overnight boat security and daily river maps and guides. Substantial discounts are offered for children and families. In addition, a limited number of scholarships are available for women, people of color, recent immigrants and low-income individuals. 

Catered meals for the week and special indoor accommodations may be purchased separately during registration. Participants must provide their own boats; boats may be rented from nearby outfitters. 

The trip will begin in Ringgold, Georgia on South Chickamauga Creek, a narrow stream that flows beneath spectacular limestone bluffs, over playful shoals and (unusually) underground before emptying into the Tennessee River just east of Chattanooga. The journey’s final five days will follow the course of the Tennessee River as it winds through Chattanooga and the river’s historic and scenic gorge into Nickajack Lake. After locking through Nickajack Lock and Dam in their vessels, participants will float into Northeast Alabama for the adventure’s final two days. The seven-day trip will cover more than 80 miles.  

“This is our 20th year of doing these annual adventures,” said Rena Peck, Executive Director of Georgia Rivers. “We’ve skirted South Carolina on the Savannah River and even stroked into Florida on the Withlacoochee and Suwannee, but this one will be unique. It’s a GA-TENN-BAMA adventure!” 

The event will shine a spotlight on the South Chickamauga Creek Water Trail and a section of the Tennessee RiverLine water trail. These boating trails offer public access and passage down these streams, connecting people with outdoor recreation opportunities. The South Chickamauga Creek Water Trail runs some 30 miles from Ringgold to Chattanooga. The Tennessee RiverLine runs 652 miles from Knoxville to the Ohio River. 

“We are thrilled to partner with Paddle Georgia on their 20th anniversary event,” said Brad Collett, Executive Director of the Tennessee RiverLine. “This journey exemplifies our shared commitment to connecting people with the river, fostering environmental stewardship, and celebrating the natural and cultural heritage of the Tennessee River Valley.”

The region is known for its impressive geological features like Lookout Mountain. Lesser known are the hundreds of caves and sinks that pock the area. Highly erodible limestone creates these features, including the sink along South Chickamauga Creek that “steals” a portion of the creek’s flow for a time. 

On the water by day, Paddle Georgia participants will have the opportunity to visit the region’s iconic off-water destinations throughout the week, including downtown Chattanooga and the Tennessee Aquarium, Rock City, Russell Cave National Monument, Nickajack Cave Wildlife Refuge and Neversink Pit.

The adventure will make use of both public and private camping and event facilities. Participants will first camp at the City of East Ridge’s Camp Jordan before moving downstream to overnight sites at Tennessee River Place, an event facility nestled at the head of the Tennessee River Gorge, and Stevenson City Park in Alabama adjacent to Crow Creek Wildlife Management Area. 

Billed as an environmental-education adventure for the family, it will feature enrichment programs and children’s activities on the water and each evening. Paddlers will also have the opportunity to become certified as Georgia Adopt-A-Stream volunteer citizen water monitors and collectively, the group will remove trash from a seven-mile portion of the Tennessee River during the journey. 

“Participants like to call it summer camp for adults and families,” said Joe Cook, Paddle Georgia Coordinator, “It’s an opportunity to embark on an epic adventure, meet great people and see our region’s natural beauty from a unique perspective. And, the best part, we do all the planning for you. You simply show up with an appropriate boat and gear.” 

The purpose of the event is to connect people with Georgia’s rivers and raise funds to help protect those rivers. Georgia Rivers uses a portion of each event registration fee to advocate for policies to protect Georgia’s water and improve public access to Georgia’s 70,000 miles of rivers and streams. Since 2005, Paddle Georgia events have engaged more than 7,000 participants and generated more than $900,000 for river protection and water trail development in Georgia. 

“The result of this participation is that Georgia’s streams are getting cleaner as more people advocate on their behalf, participate in river cleanups and hold state regulators and water users accountable for protecting our water,” said Peck. 

Sponsors of the event include Georgia Power Company, Hennessy Land Rover, Colonial Pipeline, Butler-Prather Trail Lawyers, Isdell Family Foundation, Southern Company Gas, Troncalli Subaru, Mill Creek Environmental, Spears Family Foundation, Baxter and Harbin CPAs, Purina, Terry Pate CPA, RES, Fruit of the Loom/Jerzees, REI, Westbrook Supply Company, Wildwater, Georgia Mining Association, Georgia Department of Natural Resources,  Stream Techs, The Canoe House, Patagonia, Adventure Keen, Royal Restrooms, Southeast Adventure Outfitters, Festive Water, Oconee Outfitters, The Hike Inn, Learn to Kayak, Café Campesino, Ceescent Kayaks, Applachian Outfitters, Murph’s Surf, Rock City, Tennessee River Place, Georgia Kayak Fishing and Public Lands. Partners include Tennessee Valley Canoe Club, Georgia Canoeing Association, Tennessee RiverLine and Georgia Adopt-A-Stream. 

Businesses or individuals interested in sponsoring Paddle Georgia 2025 should contact Joe Cook at joe@garivers.org

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Georgia Rivers, formerly Georgia River Network, is a 501c3 non-profit organization with the mission of connecting people with and protecting Georgia’s rivers. It serves as Georgia Department of Natural Resources non-profit partnering to coordinate the state’s water trail program.