Chestnut Lead Trail
Mar 10th, 2009 by Admin 1
Chestnut Lead Trail
Short Description: Located in the Cohutta Wilderness. This is one of the shorter trails in the area at 1.4 miles one way and it leads from FS68 down to meet up with the Conasauga River Trail.
Nearest Town: Ellijay, Georgia
Trailhead Location: FS68 on right side of dirt road heading towards Conasauga Lake Rec Area.
Trail Length: 1.4 miles (2.8 to Conasauga River trail and back)
Difficulty: Moderate to Strenuous
Trail Marker: Blue Blaze (Faded)
Parking: No Fee
Directions: From Ellijay go west on Georgia Highway 52 for apprx. 7 miles and take a right on Gates Chapel RD. Follow this until paved road ends (past Bear Creek) and take a right on gravel road. Follow Signs for Conasauga and watch for sign for trailhead on your right.
We have been saving our money by sticking around the area lately, but after several local hikes around Canton, I thought it was about time to head up to the Cohutta Wilderness for a day-hike. Spring is definitely on its way now and if you stepped outside you know we had great weather over the weekend.
I know that FS road 68 is gated off early spring but I decided to park on the side of the road and hike down the closed road for what felt like a couple of miles to the Chestnut Lead Trailhead. This forest service road typically needs a good bit of maintenance prior to opening in the spring you can see an example of why in the picture below. If you plan to head up to the area you may want to call ahead to find out when the road is open. The sign near the bottom of this 10 mile dirt road says open March 1st but I assure it is not open as of March 8th, 2009.
I usually don’t listen to music while hiking but since I was on a dirt road for a while I pulled out the Ipod and headed down the road. I have to admit it was pretty nice with the early spring sunshine, views off the mountain through the trees on both sides of the road all while listening to a little Oregon without any interruptions!
The first half of the trail descends through the thick forest until meeting up with a tributary to the Conasauga River. The second half follows the tributary closely as you wind through rhododendron thickets crossing the stream a couple times along the way. At the end of the trail it T’s into the Conasauga River trail as it crossed the Conasauga River. The river is fairly wide at this point so if you are looking to keep your boots dry head upstream about 150 ft where a couple of logs lay over the river and then backtrack down the other side.
A wooden sign sits at this intersection signifying the Chestnut Lead which heads back up the mountain the way you came and the Conasauga River Trail heading southeast to Betty Gap and also northwest eventually meeting up with Panter Creek, Tearbritches and Cowpen trails.
There are also a few good spots for backpackers hiking the trail in this area which is are your typical Cohutta Wilderness camping spots right near the river and very beautiful.
From here I headed northwest for a couple miles before turning back around and heading back the way I came. I plan to head back up there soon to hit another one of these trails and can’t wait! This is one of my favorite areas in North Georgia but I do have a few other trails on the agenda first which hopefully I will get to later this week.
