Chattahoochee River

https://www.nps.gov/chat/index.htm https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chattahoochee_River_National_Recreation_Area Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area (CRNRA) preserves a series of sites between Atlanta and Lake Sidney Lanier along the Chattahoochee River, Georgia, U.S. The 48-mile (77 km) stretch of the river affords public recreation opportunities and access to historic sites. The Chattahoochee River is a stocked trout stream with 23 species of game fish. Year-round fishing is available with a Georgia fishing license and a trout stamp. Today the river valley attracts us for so many reasons. Take a solitary walk to enjoy nature’s display, raft leisurely through the rocky shoals with friends, fish the misty waters as the sun comes up, or have a picnic on a Sunday afternoon. Get Outdoors and experience your Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area as you have never done before. To find the Island Ford Visitor Center enter the physical address, 8800 Roberts Drive, Sandy Springs, GA 30350, into your GPS unit or your favorite map software. Once you have arrived at the park entrance turn onto Island Ford Parkway and follow the signs to the park headquarters. Island Ford Visitor Center The Island Ford Visitor Center is located in the historic Hewlett Lodge. Here you will be able to purchase your Annual Park Pass as well as any of the passes in the America The Beautiful series. While there pick up maps, obtain the latest information on the park, or pick up a souvenir from the Eastern National store. The park is spread over a 48 mile section of the Chattahoochee River and consists of the river and 15 land units beginning downstream from Buford Dam at Lake Lanier and ending at Peachtree Creek in metro Atlanta. Check out the directions link to chart your course to one of the many units. Family Time Two adult Great Blue Herons stand watch over their 3 young chicks in the nest. Great Blue Herons are plentyful along the river. Look towards the tree tops along the river to spot their nest. If you're lucky the whole will be home. Look Closely Park ranger showing a group of school children the critter on his arm. School children from the city enjoy visiting the park on a ranger-led hike. Marietta Paper Mill Stone ruins of the Marietta Paper Mill surrounded by lush green vegatation. All that is left of the Marietta Paper Mill is a few stone walls in the woods. Hike to the ruins and you'll get a closeup of Sope Creek that was harnessed by the mills. Landing A Rainbow Angler in waders landing a fish using a landing net. Fishing the Chattahoochee River can be a great way to spend an afternoon out of the office or as a diversion from rush hour traffic. Inviting Trail Trail heading off under a canopy of trees. Trails along the Chattahoochee River are calling you to visit. NPS Geodiversity Atlas—Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, Georgia Each park-specific page in the NPS Geodiversity Atlas provides basic information on the significant geologic features and processes occurring in the park. river running through rocky shoals 2014 Freeman Tilden Award Recipients Introducing the national and regional recipients of the 2014 Freeman Tilden Awards, given in recognition of new and innovative programs in interpretation. Two rangers holding a whale skull Changing Patterns of Water Availability May Change Vegetation Composition in US National Parks Across the US, changes in water availability are altering which plants grow where. These changes are evident at a broad scale. But not all areas experience the same climate in the same way, even within the boundaries of a single national park. A new dataset gives park managers a valuable tool for understanding why vegetation has changed and how it might change in the future under different climate-change scenarios. Green, orange, and dead grey junipers in red soil, mountains in background Judy Forte As a child growing up in the South during the 1950s and 1960s, Judy Forte’s life was heavily influenced by the US civil rights movement. She was only 11 years old when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Four decades later she became the first African American woman superintendent at Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historical Park—and she's not done yet. Close up of Judy Forte wearing her NPS ranger flat hat. Wadeable Stream Monitoring at Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area Wadeable stream habitat monitoring was conducted in May 2021 at Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area Three people measuring a stream bank. My Park Story: Sylvia Touchstone Meet Sylvia, a Mosaics in Science intern at Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Read her park story to learn how visiting parks with her family led to her to researching woody debris in the Cuyahoga River. A woman kayaking on a lake. Shaping the System Under President Jimmy Carter President Jimmy Carter oversaw one of the largest growths in the National Park System. Explore some of the parks that are part of the legacy of the presidency of Jimmy Carter, who served as the 39th president of the United States from January 20, 1977, to January 20, 1981. Historic photo of Jimmy Carter walking through a crowd at Harpers Ferry Updated Species Database Will Help Boost Amphibian Conservation Across the National Park Service To steward amphibians effectively, managers need basic information about which species live in parks. But species lists need constant maintenance to remain accurate. Due to recent efforts, the National Park Service now has an up-to-date amphibian species checklist for almost 300 parks. This information can serve as the basis for innumerable conservation efforts across the nation. A toad sits on red sand, looking into the camera. Guide to the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) Southeast Region Collection This finding aid describes the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) Southest Region Collection, part of the NPS History Collection. Landscape Stewardship Corps The Landscape Stewardship Corps, supported by the Inflation Reduction Act and the American Conservation Experience, is composed of 35 interns at 19 National Park sites. A young intern smiles with a hard hat and goggles on under a branch “Cracking the code” on mercury bioaccumulation Read the abstract and get the link to a published paper on a model to predict mercury risk park waterbodies: Kotalik, C.J. et al. 2025. Ecosystem drivers of freshwater mercury bioaccumulation are context-dependent: insights from continental-scale modeling. Environmental Science & Technology. DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.4c07280 A person stands in a field looking at a bug through a magnifying lens. Shaping the Southeastern Park Experience: How Monitoring Plant Communities Makes a Difference NPS scientists and staff work together to protect park vegetation and the ecosystems it supports. From prescribed burns in pine savannas to invasive species removal in coastal forests, many management actions begin with one thing: science-based knowledge of what’s changing and why. To facilitate understanding, scientists from the NPS Inventory & Monitoring (I&M) Division conduct long-term vegetation monitoring in more than 40 parks across the Southeast. A ranger speaks to a group of children, pointing to something on a tree trunk. Rooted in the Southeast: Learning from Plants in Familiar Places Southeastern national parks inspire millions of visitors each year as places to recreate and learn about the region’s culture and history, contributing to local economies. Yet alone, these parks cannot take care of themselves. Preserving parks for the public’s long-term enjoyment requires careful stewardship, active management, along with sound scientific understanding. This is achieved through NPS’s long-term vegetation monitoring programs. A ranger indicates something offscreen to a group of children surrounded by pines and saw palmettos. Southeastern Plants: Ecosystem Anchors Under Threat Long-term monitoring of plant community condition supports the National Park Service mission to preserve natural resources unimpaired for future generations. By detecting ecological trends and stressors—such as invasive species expansion, habitat degradation, and climate-induced shifts—scientists provide park managers with actionable data to guide adaptive management and maintain ecosystem resilience. A waterfall surrounded by vibrant fall foliage. Series: Long-Term Vegetation Monitoring in Southeastern Parks The National Park Service’s mission is to protect and preserve natural resources for present and future generations. In the Southeastern U.S., treasured resources in parks include time-worn mountains, white sand beaches, and several biodiversity hotspots. Protecting these resources requires careful, ongoing science. This series describes how long-term vegetation monitoring data are collected and used to guide management decisions so that parks and surrounding communities continue to thrive. A scientists uses a hand lens to peer up-close at small pink flowers in a grassy area.

Chattahoochee River National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior National Recreation Area Georgia Rafters at Devils Racecourse Rafters at Devils Race Course Shoals ©TOM WILSON Chattahoochee trout fisherman ©TOM WILSON A River, a City, a Park forests, and chipmunks, squirrels, and rabbits seem to be everywhere. Turtles, snakes, salamanders, lizards, frogs, and toads live in all the natural habitats along the river. Venture into the forest and you set off a noisy reaction as grasshoppers, dragonflies, and butterflies leap and fly to escape the foot you innocently placed. The river is the Chattahoochee; the city is Atlanta. The park is a series of parklands along a 48-mile stretch of the river—a place rich in natural and human history, each influenced by the river’s pervasive force. Usually clear, cold, and slow-moving, the river sometimes plunges as a muddy torrent through its rockbound shoals. For centuries people have been drawn to the river for food and transpor­tation and for power to sustain the mills, factories, and homes built along its banks. In any season, the Chattahoochee’s banks are a tangle of color. Dogwoods, redbuds, and trout lilies in early spring are followed by flame azaleas, asters, and wild violets. In the fall, cardinal flowers and the showy scarlet sumacs turn brilliant shades of red. A solitary walk enjoying nature’s display, rafting leisurely with friends, fishing on the misty waters as the Sun comes up, picnicking on a Sunday afternoon—this is the Chat­tahoochee River National Recreation Area. Today the river attracts us for different reasons. People come to float down the river, hike the trails along its banks, play touch football in the meadows, and simply relax. In its role as an outdoor classroom, the park promises to expand your horizons through nature walks exploring its plants and birds and the river. Beaver and muskrats live in burrows along the river’s bank, foxes and raccoons make their homes in the hardwood NPS Fish Weir Shoals, Chattahoochee River ©TOM WILSON Bloodroot Great blue heron with fish ©TOM WILSON On the River The Chattahoochee River is rated a Class I and II water­way, excellent for canoeing, kayaking, and rafting. Some sections can be Class III because of narrow passages, high water levels with erratic waves, and cold water. Currents can be strong around submerged rocks and jagged tree snags that crowd the river. Rubber-soled shoes are a must for tackling broken glass and slippery rocks. Check river conditions before you put in. The river can rise rapidly when water is released from up­stream dams. The Chattahoochee can be paddled any time of the year if you have your own watercraft. Rafts and canoes may be rented May through Labor Day from commercial businesses outside the park. Check the park website for a listing (www.nps.gov/chat). Glass containers are not permitted on the river from Buford Dam to Peachtree Creek. Remember to carry a plastic bag for litter. Fishing Fishing for trout, bass, catfish, and other species can be a great experience. Anglers must follow fishing regulations. A Georgia fishing license with a trout stamp is required for ang­lers 16 and older. All boats propelled by mechanical means must be registered with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. Use of PFDs/Life Preservers Water temperatures range from 44 to 58°F, and the river can rise rapidly from six to 11 feet when water is released from dam powerhouses. U.S. Coast Guard-approved personal flotation devices (PFDs) are REQUIRED TO BE WORN if you are boating, tube floating, or wading in areas between Bu­ford Dam and the Ga. 20 bridge, or downstream of Morgan Falls Dam and the Morgan Falls boat launch. On other sections in the national recreation area, you must have a PFD aboard for each person in the craft. Guard Against Hypothermia Hypothermia— lowering of the body’s core temperature—can occur when you are exposed to wet, cold conditions and/or wind. The river water is very cold. If you capsize, get out as quickly as possible and warm yourself. River Safety Tips • Know your put-in and take-out points and tell others your plans. • Check water-release schedules before entering the water directly below dams. • Watch weather and water conditions and head for shore if bad weather threatens. If lightning occurs, get out of the water, stay away from trees, and seek low shelter. Light­ weight, quick-drying clothing is adequate in summer. During cooler seasons wear clothes of natural and synthetic fiber blends. In cold weather wear wool—it retains heat even when wet. Wear ap­propriate footgear. • Drinking alcohol impairs coordination and judgment. • Never dive or jump into the river. There are dangers in the form of submerged rocks, murky water, and fluctuating water levels. Swimming is not recommended. Use caution below dams. The river rises rapidly during water releases. River Access Points NPS From To Distance (approx.) Approx. Float Time in Hours (D