Conasauga River

The Conasauga River is a river that runs through southeast Tennessee and northwest Georgia. The Conasauga River is long and is home to 90 species of fish and 25 species of freshwater mussels. The Conasauga River watershed encompasses over 500000acre in two states, multiple counties, and two ecologically different regions.LocationThe Conasauga River is the most westerly trout water on public land in Georgia. It is the only river in Tennessee that is not a part of the Mississippi River watershed.The only road access to the Conasauga is found via Old GA 2, GA 2, and Carlton Petty Road. Access via foot trail is located on Forest Service road (FS) 64 in Betty Gap. Three other trails descend from the west off FS 17 to intersect the river trail. From south to north they are the Chestnut Lead, Tearbritches Trail, and Hickory Creek Trail,. Primitive camping is allowed all along the river.Natural informationAt the core of the Conasauga watershed is the 35268acre Cohutta Wilderness, located in Fannin, Gilmer, and Murray counties in Georgia and Polk County in Tennessee. The United States Forest Service manages the area as part of the Chattahoochee National Forest and Cherokee National Forest. The preserve covers over 95000acre and contains approximately 15mi of the Conasauga.