r/GeorgiaCampAndHike • u/Soft_Round4531 • 8d ago
Photo Cohutta Wilderness Hike
Beautiful hike down Beech Bottom Trail to Jacks River and the Jacks River Falls.
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u/Stories-With-Bears 8d ago
I would love to do this hike some time! How was it?
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u/Soft_Round4531 8d ago
It was fantastic. It was a little more than 9 miles round trip. Little elevation gain and good trail. It exceeded my expectations
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u/Informal_Park_6535 8d ago
How was the trail? I’ve been interested in this hike but recent comments mention a lot of blowdowns from the storm
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u/Sudden_Breakfast_522 7d ago
I’m pretty sure the Cohutta Wilderness trail volunteers have been working on this trail quite a bit over the last few months.
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u/Soft_Round4531 7d ago
There are some blowdowns but they aren’t difficult to get over or under. They were no issue at all
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u/theGWN 7d ago
Great picture! How were the roads getting to the trailhead?
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u/Soft_Round4531 7d ago
They were in good shape. There were some pot holes toward the bottom but you could get around them. Most of it was in fantastic shape
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u/Celestial__Bear 7d ago
Awesome! Can you backpack out here?
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u/Soft_Round4531 7d ago
There are areas that you can but not in this area of the river. I’m not sure of the reason and I don’t think it’s a permanent thing. Further up the trail you can and I think you can in the winter when the road is closed. I’m more of a backpacker than a day hiker myself and seeing those signs really disappointed me.
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u/lgduckwall 7d ago
Dispersed camping is allowed pretty much anywhere in Cohutta Wilderness except trailhead parking lots and “posted areas”. You used to be able to camp right at the falls 10+ years ago (not sure how recently)but they shut it down because its kind of easy to get to and people were camping like douchebags.
But there are a lot of places to camp in the Cohuttas along the Jacks River Trail, Conasauga River Trail, Rough Ridge trail, etc. I have backpacked and camped a good bit in the Cohuttas.
editing to add that the Cohuttas are pretty strenuous to hike in a lot of places.
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u/aracauna 7d ago
It was my first backpacking hike. I've taken my kids. I've taken my dogs. I've accidentally scared bears twice. I tell people this is my favorite spot in Georgia.
The view from the top of Panther Creek Falls is incredible. (Although make sure it's in the Cohutta Wilderness area and not one of the apparently 500 different Panther Creek in the South.
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u/LizardsandRocks999 8d ago
I love this hike so much! Over the years it seems there’s some confusion on which falls are the actual jacks river falls (pictured). Ppl end up crossing the river and going wrong way towards the smaller falls up stream. At the end of the hike where it’s not super clear which way to go. It’s been years since I’ve been, hopefully it’s marked better now.