Conasauga River Trail

The Conasauga River Trail is the second longest trail in the Cohutta Wilderness at 13.1 miles. It is the focal point of the western part of the wilderness with 4 trails that converge on it. From the south to north, they are Chestnut Lead, Panther Creek, Tearbritches, and Hickory Creek Trail.

Walking the trail end to end requires 38 river crossings. Many of the crossings on the opposite side of the Conasauga River use to have an aqua-green blaze on a tree indicating where to cross. Where the blaze is not apparent or nonexistent, it is usually clear where the trail begins the crossing. Doubtful today and it may be moderately difficult to sometimes determine where it continues afterward. Just remember that the trail parallels the Conasauga River, so at each crossing, the trail will continue on the opposite side, though it may take a moment to locate it.

Most hikers start from the high elevation trailhead at Betty Gap, which begins near the headwaters of the Conasauga River. Poplar Springs Branch, Cowpen Creek, and Birch Creek make up the headwaters of the Conasauga River. From the Betty Gap trailhead, the trail follows and crosses Birch Creek until it convergences with Cowpen Creek at the headwaters of the Conasauga River.

From its Betty Gap trailhead elevation of 3,094 feet, the footpath descends rapidly into the river valley. In the first 1.2 miles, the trail crosses Birch Creek numerous times before coming to a tree marked with a blue 2 that marks the first crossing of the Conasauga River at the exact convergence of its headwaters around mile 1.4. Cowpen Creek and Poplar Springs Branch merge to the northwest right before combining with Birch Creek to form the Conasauga River. This first crossing is easy being more creek than a river.

After this crossing, the footpath, covered in rhododendron, turns into an old roadbed that widens into a beautiful section paralleling the Conasauga River on its right, arriving at the junction with Chestnut Lead around mile 2.1. Chestnut Lead Trail crosses the river just downstream from where Chestnut Creek joins the Conasauga. The Chestnut Lead Trail junction has a nice campground next to the river, with big boulders creating small waterfalls and waterholes. The Conasauga River Trail crosses the river for the second time here, below the campsite, heading east to west. A blaze may mark this crossing.

Over the next 3.0 miles, the trail will cross the Conasauga River 16 times. Between these frequent crossings, the trail hugs the river, virtually staying on top of it. This stretch of the river is beautiful, with large boulders throughout—a feature that distinguishes it from the Jacks River.

The final ford before Bray Field is east to west, arriving at the Panther Creek Trail junction at approximately mile 5. Panther Creek flows into the Conasauga from the east. The Panther Creek Trail junction is on the west bank of the river. To continue on this trail and reach Panther Creek Falls, you must re-cross the Conasauga, west to east. Panther Creek Falls is 1.5 miles to the east on Panther Creek Trail. During high water, it is one of the most scenic waterfalls in Georgia.

From the Panther Creek Trail junction, the trail detours left, away from the river for the first time. It ascends slightly up a small bluff and follows a horseshoe-shaped path before descending as quickly as it ascended. It then crosses Tearbritches Creek at the low-elevation terminus of Tearbritches Trail, which begins atop Grassy Mountain. Tearbritches, Conasauga, and Hickory Creek Trails all converge here, around mile 5.4, at a location called Bray Field.

This important trail intersection in the western Cohutta Wilderness is a former farmstead. Tearbritches, Hickory Creek, and Conasauga River Trails converge 0.4 miles downstream from the Panther Creek Trail. Hickory Creek Trail continues east, crossing the Conasauga River, and winds 6.5 miles northeast to its terminus at FS51. Tearbritches is primarily a ridge trail starting atop Grassy Mountain.

Bray Field is an old farmstead that nature has mostly reclaimed, but it offers one of the few campgrounds next to the river where the sun is unobstructed. It gets dark here earlier due to its interior location on the east side of Grassy Mountain.

From Bray Field, the Conasauga River Trail and Hickory Creek Trail share the same wide roadbed for the next 1.3 miles, detouring from the river before passing a large spring on the right. After this, the trail rejoins the Conasauga River for a short stretch before detouring again, eventually ascending to a ridgeline with a beautiful view of the river below. It then descends back to where Hickory Creek and Conasauga River Trails diverge—Hickory Creek to the west, and the Conasauga River Trail rejoining the river. Little Rough Creek joins the Conasauga from the left just beyond this divergence.

This is a idyllic spot for a lunch break—arguably more appealing than Bray Field—with a bigger, more turbulent river. Slightly past the halfway point at mile 6.7, it offers ample sunlight, a campsite, and large boulders for relaxing before fording the river again.

At this point, the river is noticeably wider and marks the beginning of 20 more river crossings over the next 5 miles. The trail’s 19th crossing is west to east at the lunch break location.

The 20th crossing is upriver from a pretty cascade. After crossing east to west, the trail ascends to the top of a small bluff, offering a scenic view. The 21st crossing—3rd from the midpoint—presents a challenge, as the blaze is missing. However, the trail continues west to east, ascending a small bluff. The trail always crosses nearly straight across—no more than 30 degrees off from where it entered.

Starting at the 23rd ford, the trail resumes paralleling the river and frequent crossings. From this point, the trail continues for 4 miles. The trail has had signiificant volunteer work from Team Conasauga on it since the 2016 brush fire but you never know. Takes one bad storm and you may have some more deadfall. Welcome to the Wilderness!

Around mile 8.8, you reach the 31st crossing. After crossing west to east, the trail enters a 0.9-mile stretch with substantial fire damage. Remember, the trail parallels the river. Around mile 9.7, the trail crosses the river for the 32nd time from east to west. The west bank here shows no fire damage. The next 1.0-mile section hugs the left bank of the river, which becomes wider and more scenic, continuing for about a mile.

Around mile 10.7, the trail begins a series of five crossings in the next 0.6 miles. After rainfall, these crossings can be very challenging—exercise caution. To the west, the bluffs appear to fall away as the trail descends to 1,400 feet in elevation. The trail crosses the river for the final time—right to left—around mile 11.7 and begins its final 1.4-mile ascent westward, climbing away from the river and gaining several hundred feet in elevation to its northwestern (low-elevation) trailhead on Forest Road 17B.

There are five ways to access the trail from trailheads located in the Conasauga River Watershed. The northwestern trailhead (low elevation) is located on FS17B. The southeastern trailhead (high elevation) is at Betty Gap. You can also hike in near the halfway point from the Hickory Creek Trailhead at FS630. From this trailhead, it is slightly less than 2 miles to where Hickory Creek Trail merges with the Conasauga River Trail.

This trail merger marks the 6.7-mile point of the Conasauga River Trail when hiking downstream. If hiking upstream, Hickory Creek Trail shares the same path with the Conasauga River Trail for 1.3 miles, arriving at Bray Field. This is the only instance where two wilderness trails share the same path.

Tearbritches Trail is a 3.2-mile climb followed by a steep descent to Bray Field, which is located at the 5.4-mile mark when hiking downstream. Chestnut Lead Trail is a 2-mile descent to the river, arriving at mile 2.1 when hiking downstream.