Water Trails & Paddling
Chattahoochee River National Water Trail
Water Trail Information
The Chattahoochee River National Water Trail was the first designated National Water Trail in the country. The water trail offers 48 miles of river trail within the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area and is available for raft, canoe, kayak, and motorboat use year round. The trail begins below Buford Dam, offering cold-water trout fishing, class I/II shoals, and many accessible boat ramps to plan any length float. The river remains a cool temperature year-round, rarely getting warmer than 50 degrees Fahrenheit.
The National Park Service currently maintains 12 boat ramps along the water trail, while a few more are maintained by the cities of Duluth, Roswell, and Sandy Springs; U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and Georgia Department of Natural Resources.
Learn even more about points of interest along the river, see the latest data from water gauges and access a handy guide to wildlife in the area on the Georgia River Guide app.
River Basin
Chattahoochee
Location
Chattahoochee River between Buford Dam and Peachtree Creek
Distance
48 miles
Number of Access Points
17 Ramps / Canoe Launches
Classification of Trail
Some Class II Rapids
Outfitters
Guide Book
The Chattahoochee River User’s Guide, the second in a series of river guides from Georgia River Network and the University of Georgia Press, traces the 430-mile course of the Hooch from its headwaters at a spring on Coon Den Ridge near Jacks Knob in northeastern Georgia to its confluence with the Flint River, where they form the Apalachicola River. The Georgia River Network guides provide many little-known facts about Georgia’s rivers, bring to life these rivers’ cultural and natural history, and present river issues in an immersive and engaging manner that will inspire users to help protect their local waterways.
126 South Milledge Avenue, Suite E3, Athens, Georgia 30605 | (706) 549-4508 (phone) | info@garivers.org
