More Water Trails

Big Indian Creek Water Trail
The Altamaha Riverkeeper is partnering with the city of Perry and Houston County to develop 8-10 miles of water trail along Big Indian Creek. Located 30 miles south of Macon, Perry currently provides access to the upper portion of the creek at Rotary Centennial Park.

Cartecay River Water Trail
More details coming soon!

Conasauga Canoe Trail
Conasauga River Alliance is partnering with Dalton Utilities, Limestone Valley RC&D, Whitfield County, WWF, and Coca Cola to complete a water trail on a section of the Conasauga. Efforts for the trail have begun within Whitfield County with hopes of working up and downstream from there. Currently, there are two access points: one in Beaverdale, GA behind the Superette gas station and one at Dalton Utilities at Norton Bridge. Dalton Utilities is contributing by building and funding a launch on their property. The river between these two access points is an easy 3-5 hour paddle (unless we are in a dry period or heavy rain). The riparian zone is intact, and although you can’t see it from the river, the surrounding land-use is mostly agricultural. This is a great section to see lots of wildlife both aquatic and terrestrial, including gar and fresh water drum, osprey, river otter, groundhogs, deer, and turkey.

Coosawattee River Water Trail
From rolling whitewater headwaters to Carters Lake, the Coosawattee River Water Trail (a.k.a. Headwaters North Georgia Water Trail/ Gilmer County Blue Trail) covers approximately 60 miles of paddling water. With strategically located canoe and kayak launches and waterway-accessible campsites, recreationists, fishermen, and paddlers can enjoy a few hours or a few days on Gilmer County’s streams, rivers, and lakes. Beginning at high altitudes as small mountain streams in Gilmer County, the Coosawattee River and its tributaries are the headwaters of the Coosa/Alabama/Mobile river system that flows through Alabama to Mobile Bay and the Gulf of Mexico – over 800 miles of paddling-streams, rivers, and lakes. The Coosawattee Watershed Alliance, in cooperation with Gilmer County, Corps of Engineers, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, and Mountain Stewards created the Blue Trail, which travels along the Coosawattee River through Carters Lake (the impoundment created by the largest earthen dam in the eastern US) from the headwaters of the Cartecay and Ellijay rivers to its confluence with the Conasauga River. Canoe launches and waterway-accessible campsites have been revitalized and constructed to facilitate the recreational use of this important resource. Learn more on the Blue Trail Handout.

Flint River Water Trail
The Flint River flows 346 miles through Georgia from north of the Atlanta Airport to the southwest corner. It joins the Chattahoochee River at Lake Seminole to form the Apalachicola River, which crosses the Florida panhandle to the Gulf of Mexico. Rare shoal lilies bloom along the fall line, and shoal bass challenge anglers below. Starting as a small stream in the Piedmont, the Flint River passes scenic Sprewell Bluff and broadens to a wide meandering stream with sandy banks in the upper Coastal Plain. It then becomes a broad, spring-fed river in lower Coastal Plain cutting into the Ocala Limestone banks.

Little Ohoopee Blue Trail
The proposed Little Ohoopee River Blue Trail will be 5 miles in length and is located in close proximity to the Ohoopee Dunes Wildlife Management Area and the Nature Conservancy’s Ohoopee Dunes Preserve. The water trail will include the development of two jon boat/canoe launches each with a parking lot and access road. The Little Ohoopee River will provide educational and recreational value both independently, and in combination with, the established paddling trails of the mainstem Ohoopee River and Altamaha Rivers downstream. It will also enhance angling opportunities using small motorized and non-motorized craft alike. The Little Ohoopee and Ohoopee Rivers are renowned for their pickerel and red-breast sunfish fisheries. It is likely that Native Americans used the bluffs and terraces above the Little Ohoopee River floodplain (containing numerous seeps and springs) as sites for encampment or semi-permanent settlements, as did early Europeans. To learn more and get involved in development of the water trail contact Mincy Moffett:  mincy.moffett at dnr.ga.gov.

Lower Chattahoochee River Water Trail
The Trust for Public Land is proposing the creation of a water trail along the Chattahoochee River. The proposed water trail will highlight the river as the center of a recreation and natural resource program as well as a stimulus for ecotourism and economic development in the Chattahoochee Valley region extending 50 plus miles from West Point, Georgia to Phenix City, Alabama and Columbus, Georgia. An estimated 8-10 identified canoe/kayak launch locations would be scattered over the upstream section that precedes the recreational lakes and be designated access points surrounded by parks, greenspaces, camping and fishing sites, and other amenities along the river. Construction of easily accessible portages around the existing dams will act to create one long continuous ‘blue thread’ of a recreational addling and recreation trail from West Point Dam and the three cities of Valley, AL, Lanett, AL, and West Point, GA in the north to the 2.5 mile whitewater paddling course in Columbus, GA in the south.

Lower Chattooga Canoe/Kayak Trail
The Lower Chattooga River Canoe/Kayak Trail is located in Northwest Georgia and begins in Chattooga County at the launch adjacent to the bridge on Lyerly Dam Road, in the town of Lyerly, Georgia. The trail is 7.5 miles and is usually a 4 to 6 hour trip depending on water levels to the take out point on Holland-Chattoogaville Road adjacent to the bridge south of Lyerly. The trail is operated by the Town of Lyerly and came into being in 2012 as a way to increase tourism to the small town with a population of 540. The trail now has gravel parking areas at its two existing launch sites and the number of visitors continues to increase every year. The town of Lyerly was awarded a Recreational Trails Grant of $99,700.00 in late 2012 which is being used to further improve the launches, add water-less, solar powered restrooms, and add signage to both sites. The Coosa River Basin Initiative and the Chattooga County Government have partnered with Lyerly on the project.

Lower Oconee River Water Trail
The Lower Oconee River Water Trail begins at the base of Sinclair Dam. With public access at the dam, boaters can enjoy a 4-mile stretch of scenic flat water between the put-in, just south of the dam, and the public access ramp at the Oconee River Greenway, adjacent to downtown Milledgeville. At lower water levels this section becomes rocky, with exposed shoals and may require some maneuvering. Shoes are always recommended for walking in the river and/or portaging. At higher water levels, remnants of two old diversion dams create Class II-III rapids. Only experienced paddlers with appropriate boats should attempt passage of these. A safer alternative route exists and is often the best option for all boaters. The water trail continues past the Greenway for another 5 miles of gently meandering flat water until it reaches a third public access ramp south of the city limits. Ongoing work will help to extend the Lower Oconee River Water Trail through approximately 143 miles downstream to its confluence with the Ocmulgee River. More information will be available as it develops.

Middle Chattahoochee River Water Trail
The goal for the project is to ultimately create a water trail on the Chattahoochee River for non motorized boats from the end of the Chattahoochee River National Water Trail at Peachtree Creek (Fulton County) to West Point Lake Dam. The Water Trail will also include Sweetwater Creek State Park.

Oostanaula River Water Trail
The Oostanaula River Water Trail runs 49 miles from the confluence of the Coosawattee and Conasauga rivers in northwest Georgia. The route features six public launch sites with average distances between access points about 13 miles. Mostly a flatwater ride, the Oostanaula features occasional shoals and gravel bars, limestone bluffs and islands, but it is best known as a hotbed of freshwater mussel and snail diversity. These invertebrates can be found among the rivers many gravel and sandbars where they work to keep the river clean. The river also features unusual rock weirs constructed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers during the 1800s to facilitate riverboat navigation between Rome, Calhoun, and Carter’s Quarters, an especially rich agriculture area along the Coosawattee River. The trail begins near Calhoun and New Echota State Historic Site and ends in historic downtown Rome where the Oostanaula joins the Etowah River to form the Coosa. Outfitters provide boat rental and shuttle service in the Rome area and local organizations like the Coosa River Basin Initiative in Rome and New Echota Rivers Alliance in Calhoun sponsor regular trips on the river. In 2017, Rome/Floyd County voters approved special purpose local option sales tax projects that included a “boat in only” campsite for this water trail. The campsite should be in place before 2023.

South/ West Chickamauga Creek Blueways
Where the Tennessee River Blueway dips down to touch the boundaries of Georgia and Alabama, state lines blur under the waters of the big river’s feeder streams: Lookout Creek and South, West, and North Chickamauga Creeks. All flow from the ridges of northwest Georgia into the Tennessee River Valley, through small towns that are working hard to build a blueway system that will expand paddling opportunities for hundreds of miles. Known as “West Chick” and “South Chick” to local paddlers, both these Northwest GA creeks are relatively unexplored. Both meander through small towns, and by residential neighborhoods and farms. As they get closer to the metro Chattanooga, TN area, the creeks provide wildlife refuges and amazingly quiet places to paddle in a busy, urban environment. There are 8 total access points (3 on the West Chick (2 in GA) and 5 on the South Chick (2 in GA)). Recommended day trips are from Ringgold, GA to Graysville, GA on South Chick, or from Chickamauga, GA to Ft. Oglethorpe, GA on West Chick. Both of these trips are long day trips and not suitable for beginner paddlers or those who cannot portage, but they offer beautiful scenery and a few riffles here and there. West Chick, in particular, still contains several large strainers that need to be portaged around.

South River Water Trail
The South River Watershed Alliance is developing the South River Water Trail extending from Panola Shoals Trailhead to Jackson Lake, a distance of approximately 40 miles. To run in tandem with completion of required water trail planning and development actions, the project will incorporate two complementary restoration activities – the ongoing systematic removal of spent tires which will enhance the river’s aesthetic value and preparation for the reintroduction of river cane to the banks of South River which will increase wildlife habitat and improve water quality.

St. Mary’s River Water Trail
The St. Mary’s is a blackwater stream that originates in the Okefenokee. It serves as the border between Florida and Georgia at the southern most tip of Georgia. Florida Greenways and Trails designates the stretch from Highway 121 bridge at McClenny to Scotts Landing in Boulogne as a state paddling trail. The St. Mary’s River Management Committee (SMRMC), which is an interlocal agreement between the four counties sharing the river, Camden & Charlton in Georgia, Baker & Nassau in Florida, also works for the protection of the St. Mary’s, sponsoring an annual river cleanup, and the St. Mary’s River Celebration.

Suwannee River Wilderness Trail (Georgia)
The Suwannee receives a majority of the water exiting the Okefenokee swamp (85%) as it flows southwest into Florida and ultimately the Gulf of Mexico. On the Georgia side of the border, the river meanders through a relatively pristine floodplain for approximately 29 miles before crossing the state line.  Nearly all of the land along the Suwannee in Georgia remains in private ownership. The Suwannee Headwaters project as proposed is comprised of three components: land acquisition, hydrologic restoration, and recreation enhancements.  All are intended to enhance the conservation and recreation values of the Refuge, Suwannee River, and Suwannee Sound in the Gulf of Mexico. Few paddlers follow the river downstream out of the Refuge due to lack of accommodations and facilities catering to overnight paddlers along this stretch of river.  The expansion of recreational infrastructure would connect the Refuge and the SRWT to create an extensive trail system totaling approximately 350 miles. Georgia will have 3-4 new campsites and boat ramps. Stakeholders include: Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, The Conservation Fund, Georgia DNR, Georgia Forestry Commission, USFWS Coastal Program, USFWS Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program, Suwannee River Water Management District, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Lower Suwannee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia Wildlife Federation, Florida Wildlife Federation, Clinch County, City of Fargo, Suwannee Riverkeeper, Georgia River Network, The Nature Conservancy.

Tallulah River Water Trail

Description coming soon!

Tugaloo River Water Trail
Forming the border between Stephens County, Georgia and Oconee County, South Carolina, the Tugaloo River Corridor comprises the only remaining untamed portion of the historic Tugaloo River. The Corridor extends ten miles from Panther Creek and the Yonah Dam area south to Broken Bridges at Georgia Hwy123 and Lake Hartwell. The area’s natural beauty is unparalleled. In the eighteenth century the Tugaloo River Corridor and its tributaries were home to a number of Cherokee towns and villages, including Estatoe, Noyowee, and Tugaloo Town—capital of the Cherokee Nation. Following the Revolutionary War, the Tugaloo Corridor became the ‘Gateway to the West’ as tens of thousands began their trek on Georgia’s first interstate highway to the west—the Unicoi Turnpike. Today Tugaloo River History paddles are conducted each Memorial and Labor Day weekend by the Stephens County Foundation, initial sponsor of the Tugaloo River Water Trail. Self-guided kayak tour brochures are also available. In addition to the historic nature of the River Trail, the Tugaloo Corridor boasts a river island, timber sluice, the remains of Prather Bridge (covered bridge), Longnose Creek Falls and grist mill, twisted rock escarpment evidencing the Brevard Fault zone, the Tugaloo Mound, the Southern Railway Viaduct, and the Stephens County Park.

Upper Oconee Water Trail
The Upper Oconee Water Trail (UOWT) will include 98 river miles on the North Oconee and Middle Oconee rivers (Jackson and Athens-Clarke counties) which converge to create the Oconee river (Oconee county), and then continue into Lake Oconee (Greene and Putnam counties), formed by Wallace Dam. There are currently 6 existing public access points and a portion of the UOWT flows alongside the Oconee River Greenway and the Oconee National Forest. The scenic UOWT passes along beginner Class I and II shoals, beautiful rocky bluffs, historic textile mill ruins, wide sandbars perfect for a picnic, and miles of secluded forest. A plethora of wildlife reside here, such as kingfisher, river otter, osprey, blue heron, bald eagle, and soft shell turtle…just to name a few. The UOWT is in the development phase with support from various stakeholders including Athens-Clarke County Unified Government, Oconee Rivers Greenway Commission, Georgia River Network, Upper Oconee Watershed Network, Lake Oconee Water Watch, University of Georgia – Office of Sustainability, and more. Learn more here: www.UOWT.org