Chattahoochee National Forest started to form in 1911 when the forest service purchased 31K acres in Fannin, Union, and Lumpkin counties from the Gennett family, who were saw mill owners. When the Forest Service reorganized in 1936 to follow state boundaries, then the Chattahoochee National Forest was born. In the beginning, the focus was on reforestation of the watersheds and prevention of flooding downstream with river damming. The Chattahoochee National Forest spans 750K acres across North Georgia and 40% or 106K acres of Fannin county’s land is national forest.
The Blue Ridge Ranger District of the Chattahoochee National Forest offers a ton of outdoor recreation that has attracted many visitors over the decades. The forest is home to 500 wildlife and fish species. Over 90K fisherman come to the national forest to fish the cold water steams. There are six campground and recreation areas and some require a day use fee for parking like Deep Hole Campground.
Here are 3 areas to explore.
MORGANTON POINT RECREATION AREA: Popular Lake Blue Ridge offers 37 campsites, 13 picnic tables, shelter, pebbled beach and a paved boat launch. The campsites offer a tent pad, grill, picnic table and are open from the middle of April to the middle of September. Campsites 1 – 20 are reservation only so call 877-444-6777. Campsites 21 – 37 are first come first serve.
DIRECTIONS: U.S. 515 south from Blue Ridge for 4 miles to GA 60; turn right (southwest) and go 3 miles to Morganton. In Morganton, stay straight at the fork and turn right at the sign for Morganton Point.
FRANK GROSS CAMPGROUND: This campground is located on Rock Creek near the Chattahoochee National Fish Hatchery. The trout fishing on Rock Creek and Mill Creek is good due to the stocking and wild trout. There is also hiking and camping during late March to October with 9 campsites (tent pads, picnic tables, grills).
DIRECTIONS: In Blue Ridge, take Hwy. 76 east for 5 miles to Morganton. Turn right on Highway 60 south toward Dahlonega for 15 miles. Turn right on Forest Service Road 69 for 5 miles.
COOPER CREEK CAMPGROUND: There are 17 campsites on Cooper Creek with grills, picnic tables, and tent pads. You can enjoy camping, hiking and many enjoy trout fishing in the Cooper and Mulky creeks for wild and stocked trout. The campground is open from late March to the end of October.
DIRECTIONS: Similar to Frank Gross above take Highway 76 east for 5 miles to Morganton. Turn right on Highway 60 south toward Dahlonega for 16 miles. Then turn left on Forest Service Road 4 for 6 miles.
DEEP HOLE CAMPGROUND: The Deep Hole Campground is a popular canoe trail and campground on the upper Toccoa River near Shallowford Bridge. There are 8 campsites equipped with tent pads and picnic tables. The canoe launch makes river access easy for a leisure float down the upper Toccoa River during the summer, so you’ll see many folks tubing from this point. Don’t be surprised to catch rock and small mouth bass, rainbow and brown trout on this part of the Toccoa River. The campground is open all year. Parking requires a day use fee.
DIRECTIONS: From Blue Ridge, take Hwy. 76 east for five miles to Morganton. Turn right on Hwy 60 south toward Dahlonega for 16 miles.
Wildlife Management Area (WMA)
Cohutta WMA is for seasoned fishermen and backpackers which spans 95K acres and the largest WMA east of the Mississippi River. 40K of these acres are in Georgia and Tennessee which is also known as Big Frog Wilderness Area. It is not uncommon to not see other hikers in this remote WMA. Several fishermen hike to the pure trout waters of the Jacks and Conasauga Rivers. For directions and more information call the Cohutta Ranger District 706-695-6736.