Conasauga,

Chicken Coop Gap to East Cowpen Road (Upper Conasauga)

Usual Difficulty	III-IV (may vary with level)
Length	5.5 Miles
Avg. Gradient	80 fpm
Max Gradient	180 fpm

Gauge Information

Name	Range	Difficulty	Updated	Level
HOLLY CREEK NEAR CHATSWORTH, GA
usgs-02385800	300 - 2000 cfs	III-IV	00h44m	156 cfs (rc= -0.1 )

River Description

Northern Georgia Canoeing, Sehlinger, B. and Otey, D.
Appalachian Whitewater : The Southern States

Finding the put-in is the hard part. From the take-out drive up West Cowpen Road to Chicken Coop Gap. For lack of a better description, go about four miles up West Cowpen, then look for a turnout on the left. You should be able to just barely see the river at the bottom of the hill if there are no leaves on the trees some 250 vertical feet below.

From there carefully carry your boat down a shale and mud covered steep incline (borderline cliff) to the river.

Most of the rapids are class 3 plus with a couple of borderline class 4 drops. Some of the bigger rapids are Undercut (aka Room of Doom) and Whale Tail. They will be obvious, espcially Whale Tail with its impressive roostertail of water.

Keep an eye out for wood in all of the major drops. Another thing to watch out for is rebar in the drops. About 100 years ago this area was extensively logged and the rebar is leftover from the logging.

Most people take out where the river meets East Cowpen Road rather than paddle the 4 miles of flatwater thru the Alaculsy Valley to the Jacks River confluence.

The Upper Conasauga is a beautiful wilderness run. People have put on higher than Chicken Coop Gap and report that its a great run, tho it does require quite a bit of work to get to the river.

Directions to the Upper Upper put-in from Boatertalk:
"I don't remember the exact mileage, but from the take-out. Go back in the direction that you came in, take the first left up a steep hill. At the fork stay right, when the road T's, go left. This will dead end @ a trail head. It is probably a 20 minute hike downhill to the creek. Total driving distance is probably 8-10 miles. There is section below the put-in with class III - IV fun, it's all read & run same as the lower part. Hope that this helps."


Directions: From Atlanta take I-75 north to Highway 411 north. Continue north on Hwy 411 thru Chatsworth, Ga. to Cisco. In Cisco look for the Cisco Baptist Church. It's a stone church on the east side of the road at the intersection of Hwy 411 and Old Ga. Hwy 2, which turns into East Cowpen Road. Go east on East Cowpen Road into the Cohutta wilderness for about 7 miles.

The Conasauga take-out will be the first major stream on the right as you come thru the mountains and the Alaculsy Valley opens up. If you get to the steel trestle bridge and the Jacks River Trail Head you've gone too far.

On the way to the take-out you will pass a game checking station. The game checking station is where West Cowpen Road intersects with East Cowpen Road. Using a good topo-map, a compass, and a GPS, you should be able to find Chicken Coop Gap on West Cowpen Road.


From Boatertalk (Nov 27 2001):
"If you get on GA Hwy 2 east follow it all the way until you get to Hwy 411 intersection...there will be a gas station on your right and a church kind of in front of you and to the left...you are now in Cisco...drive straight across the intersection and go exactly 3.2 miles...you will see a guard station on your left....the take-out with the crooked tree is down the road past the guard station...just a little ways after the little wooden bridge (look for small creek on river left)....from the guard station go up the road to your right exactly 5.8 miles to the put-in...listen for water...there will be a 4-wheeler type trail behind you on the left and a sign that says no motor vehicles....then bring your rope because you are going down a steep freakin put-in....go straight down(don't go to right when trail looks like it goes that way)...don't carry your boat...bring a rope.... water is straight down there....Yes, I call that one undercut rapid(room of doom)....and Yeah Whale Tail is good to go... use gauge at Eaton, GA for Conasauga....but it drops fast and sometimes by the time that water gets to that gauge, it's already gone from the gorge....if the water table is up and we get a good rain, then get there early for a good level.
peace,
Jamie Smith"