Chattooga Wild and Scenic River

Forest Service finalizes regulatory updates for portions of Chattooga Wild and Scenic River

USDA Forest Service recently finalized an update to regulatory measures at 36 CFR 261.77 for the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River, which flows through the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina, the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in Georgia, and the Sumter National Forest in South Carolina.

The update makes the regulation consistent with current management activities of the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River. The revised regulation reflects the decisions that were made by the Forest Service in 2012 to allow floating activities on National Forest System lands above GA/SC Highway 28, with certain restrictions.

The proposal will be published in the Federal Register on November 7, and can be found at https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2023-24569.

For more information, see the full news release.

The Chattooga River begins in mountainous North Carolina as small rivulets, nourished by springs and abundant rainfall, high on the slopes of the Appalachian Mountains—the start of a 50-mile journey that ends at Lake Tugaloo between South Carolina and Georgia, dropping almost ½ mile in elevation.

The Chattooga was designated a wild and scenic river in 1974. It is one of the longest and most spectacular free-flowing mountain rivers in the Southeast. Over a distance of 50 miles, the river descends an average of 49 feet per mile from its headwaters in North Carolina to the state line between South Carolina and Georgia. The Chattooga offers some of the best whitewater boating and trout fishing in the region.

Many people lack the equipment or skill needed to run the Chattooga River safely. Expert and novice paddlers alike visit the Chattooga from around the world, and the river does not discriminate between them. The Chattooga has claimed many lives since the Forest Service began keeping records in 1970. Most have been paddlers -some of them expert paddlers. But the river has taken a toll on swimmers as well.

Three companies are commercially licensed to operate on the Lower Segment of the Chattooga River by the Forest Service (Sections III and IV). These companies also provide instructional clinics in whitewater canoeing and kayaking.

Water Gauge Web Links:

Please check the following link to the Chattahoochee Oconee Forest for area closures to Chattooga put-ins: www.fs.usda.gov/alerts/conf/alerts-notice,

Printable river safety and regulations guide.

General Information

Visit our Managing Recreation Uses on the Upper Segment of the Chattooga River page for background information and the Chattooga River Boating Access Environmental Assessment.

All visitors to the national forests in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia wishing to float the upper or lower segments of the Chattooga Wild and Scenic River must carry a self-registration permit at all times. Visitors can pick up a permit (free) at put-ins along the upper and lower river. Please place the top copy in the registration box at the put-in location and keep the yellow copy with you in a dry pack. Detailed rules and regulations are posted on information boards at each location, and are also printed on your self-registration permit. View a sample permit here.

Tubing is allowed between Earls Ford and Highway 28 with a valid permit (self-register at put-in information boards). It is prohibited below Earls Ford and north of Highway 28. A valid South Carolina fishing license is required to fish on the national forests. Detailed rules and regulations are posted on information boards.

LEASHED PETS ARE WELCOME

Contact Name: Andrew Pickens Ranger District Office

Getting There

Directions

Upper Segment of the River

North Carolina

North Carolina - Green Creek

Boaters will park at the Chattooga River Trail Head. Walk approximately 0.25 miles down the Chattooga River Trail and register at the information board. The information board shows a good route to the river.

North Carolina - Norton Mill Creek

Boaters will access this put-in/takeout off the old County Line Road located at the Jackson/Macon county line. Take Horse Cove Road east out of Highlands, NC for approximately 4.5 miles and keep left on Whiteside Cove Road at the fork in the road. The old road bed down county line is located 0.8 miles at the Jackson/Macon county line on the right. Only roadside parking is available in this area. The registration box is approximately 0.25 miles down this trail.

North Carolina - Bullpen Bridge

Boaters will park on the Bullpen Road west of the bridge. The registration board will be down the Chattooga Trail to the left.

Georgia

Georgia - Burrells Ford Bridge

Boaters can pick up a permit at the parking area at Burrells Ford Bridge on the Georgia side located along Burrells Ford Road. Visitors can access this road from Highway 28 from Warwoman Road in Clayton, GA or from Walhalla, SC.

South Carolina

South Carolina- Lick Log (take-out only)

Traveling North from Walhalla on Hwy 28, turn RIGHT onto Hwy 107. After 3.4 miles, turn LEFT onto Village Creek Rd. Travel another 1.7 miles and turn RIGHT onto gravel road Nicholson Ford. The first trailhead parking is 1.8 miles on your right. The second trailhead parking is another 0.4 miles staying right at the “PRIVATE ROAD” sign. Follow this to the end.

Once on the Foothills Hiking Trail, walk North and West toward the Chattooga River. Where the trail splits, turn left, walk down the hill and cross the footbridge over Lick Log Creek. The take-out will be downriver of Lick Log Falls at a small rapid. The total distance from the parking area is roughly one mile.

West Fork of the River

Georgia