Overview
The 37,000 acre Cohutta Wilderness is located  in north-central Georgia and extends into southern Tennessee. You can drive from one end to the other without crossing a single paved road. Within the wilderness, you can see the highest lake campground in Georgia, many mountain vistas, numerous waterfalls, whispering streams, roaring creeks, bubbling springs, black bears, deer, bobcats, and according to some, mountain lions. The term Wilderness is literal. It is truly a wilderness. When you are in the wilderness, the only sounds you hear are the natural sounds of the wind in the trees, rushing water in the stream, and the sounds of wildlife all around.

There are numerous camping spots in the Cohutta Wilderness, mostly unimproved. Lake Conasauga is a great example of an improved wilderness campground with a 19 acre lake. although the campground is very nice, it's located several miles from a paved road, so taking a large RV in may not be the best idea. The roads are very well maintained, but the hills can become washboard-like, which I imagine would be pretty demanding on a large RV. If you want a bit more refined campground, we recommend Fort Mountain State Park, our favorite campground.

There are several ways to access the Cohutta Wilderness. We typically enter from the East, through Eaton (CCC Camp Rd), Crandall (Mill Creek Rd., or Cisco (Historic Old hwy 2). There are other access points from the South and West, just look at the map. Regardless of where you enter, never enter the Cohutta Wilderness without plenty of gas and properly inflated tires. If you break-down in heart of the wilderness, it's a very long hike out.

Adventure Journal
Entry Date: March 2011
The Tribe gets around. We like to see new places and do new things. But sometimes, it's nice to revisit an old friend. Sometimes a sure thing is better than a gamble. This is a very busy time of year for our family, so, to decompress, we decided a to visit an old friend, Fort Mountain State Park (located at the Southern edge of the Cohutta Wilderness). It's a mystery to me why more people don't take advantage of parks like this in the Winter and early Spring. We enjoyed 70 degree weather in paradise, practically by ourselves.

It was a little chilly first thing Saturday morning, so we decided to take a short ride in "Willie B" the Jeep. Fort Mountain is located adjacent the Cohutta Wilderness. We wanted to see if we could spot a bear, and maybe do a little rockhounding around the water falls. We founds lots of quartz of varying colors, just the kind of stuff gold likes to hide in.

When we got back to Fort Mountain State Park, we put the canoes in the lake and spent the rest of the day paddling around, fishing, and playing at the playground on the opposite end of the lake. We closed the day with a beautiful sunset, games, and grilled steaks and baked potatoes.

Altogether, it was just about as perfect a day as I can remember. Fort Mountain can get a little crowded in the Summer, especially the beach. But camping here this time of year is a no brainer. We can't wait to come back to see our old friend again soon.
                        
The Richardson Tribe



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Features

 Rating (1-10)

Description
Official website 8 The DNR's recreation.gov website is overall a pretty good site. Unfortunately, the information is skimpy, and there are few if any pictures. I really like pictures.
Campground(s)

9.5

 There are a number of places to camp in the Wilderness. Lake Conasauga is the highest lake campground in the state, and it is absolutely beautiful. The campground is miles from a paved road, so I don't recommend taking in a large RV (although it's certainly possible). Fort Mountain State Park, located on the Southern edge of the Wilderness, is a fantastic place to camp. Fort Mountain has 70 Tent, Trailer, RV Campsites (**$25-$28) - Water, electric, cable - no sewer (the only reason it's not a 10). Beautiful campground with large level sites. Not a bad one in the place.
NOTE- The absolute best campsite at Fort Mountain is #50 in the first loop, lakeside.
Cottages/Cabins - Reserve *

Fort Mountain also has 15 Cottages (**$125-$145)
Hiking/Mountain Biking 10 With over 36,000 acres of wilderness, hiking and mountain biking is virtually unlimited. The 335 mile Pinhoti Trail passes through the wilderness.
Horseback Riding *  Fort Mountain Stables provides many miles of horseback riding.
Geocaching

*

 Numerous Geocaching opportunities.
Rockhounding

8

 There is always rockhounding available, but we have not spent a lot of time searching for rocks at Fort Mountain. There's just too much to keep you busy. We have panned for gold here with very little success (but I know it's here).
Local Attractions

9

 Chief Vann House, New Echota (Cherokee Capitol), Ellijay (Apple Fest), Fort Mountain State Park, Lake Conasauga, Carters Lake, and more...
*Note: We rate only the amenities we have personally reviewed.

No financial consideration or favor has been received for listing in PB&J Adventures' website. We are in no way affiliated with this facility or any other facility we review. Any paid advertising seen on this site was arranged after the destination was reviewed. You can trust the reviews to be unbiased.

March 2011