Conasauga River Trail (Description and Directions)

This weekend I went backpacking on the Conasauga River Trail in the Cohutta Wilderness. It was a perfect weekend trip. From the beginning of I-575 to the trail head is under two hours. The trail is 13.1 miles long and crosses the river 38 times, so be prepared to get wet. Most of the crossings are only ankle deep, but some were knee deep. You can park a car at each end and hike through, or hike out and back. There were multiple areas along the trail that had obviously already been used for camping. You can utilize these sites to minimize your impact on the environment. According to one website the trail is marked with a yellow blaze, but I only saw aqua blazes, and they were few and far between, but the trail was easy to follow. If you are coming from Atlanta, the best route is to take 575 north. It will turn into 5 and 515 near Ball Ground. Continue north until you reach East Elijay, then go west on 52. If you are coming from another direction, you can get on 52 from the town square in Elijay. From the town square go approximately 9.5 miles west on 52. On the left side of the road you will see a big green sign that says Lake Conasauga Recreation Area. Turn right on to FS 18 at the sign. Before I got to the green sign I did see a wooden sign that said the same thing, but I have no idea where that road goes. After 1.3 miles on FS 18 the pavement ends. This is the important part. Normally you would go straight, and this is what I did, but there is a bridge out. The detour sign at the end of FS 18 is missing. When the pavement ends on FS 18, take a right onto the gravel road. It will go a couple of miles and come to a T intersection. Take a left at the intersection onto FS 9o (there should be a detour sign there). Go until you see the next sign and take a sharp right going uphill. You will come to another T intersection at the top of the mountain. Take a right and you will come up on the Conasauga River Trail in about a mile. You can contact the Ranger Station at (706)-695-6737. They are extremely helpful, and will give you directions, or answer any questions. Drive with caution on the back roads. They are very narrow and curvy, and there is more traffic than you would expect. Watch out for morons on dirt bikes going too fast around sharp curves, several tried to plaster themselves on the hood of my truck, but I was too quick for them and got out of the way.

Matt B