Natural Fun in Georgia's Blue Ridge Mountains

New! Some High Flying Adventures
Ziplines, canopy tours and helicopter tours are great ways to experience the adventure of the Georgia's Blue Ridge mountains. At Firewire Ziplines, located on Highway 515, you will be launched through a tree-top tunneland find yourself flying over rolling pastures with a panoramic view of the mountains. Firewire also operates the Blue Ridge Canopy Adventure, Blue Ridge's mountain top canopy experience. Zipline Canopy Tours of Blue Ridge is located on 165 acres of beautiful countryside, only six miles from downtown Blue Ridge. And if those aren't high enough for you, see the beauty of the mountains from the best view in town with Blue Ridge Helicopter Tours.

Hiking
Two of the greatest outdoor adventures in the world begin at the southern border of Fannin County. Both the Appalachian and the Benton MacKaye Trail start at the top of Springer Mountain. The Appalachian Trail, better known and longer of the trails, begins a 2,000+ mile journey to Maine through many of the states on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. The Benton MacKaye, more remote than the Appalachian, begins a 286 mile trek along the western slopes of the Appalachian Mountains, rejoining the AT in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

Hike the Benton MacKaye north and at 14.4 miles it crosses the pristine Toccoa River on a structure known simply as the "Swinging Bridge." It is the longest suspension bridge east of the Mississippi and was built by the Forest Service and the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club in the mid-1970's. The Benton MacKaye continues through some very remote areas of Fannin County for approximately 54 miles, where it then enters Tennessee from Fannin's Cohutta Wilderness.

Fun in the Water
On any given weekend the Toccoa River is a popular destination for tubing, canoeing, kayaking and trout fishing. Beginning at Deep Hole, a Forest Service Campground, paddlers make the 17-mile Toccoa River Canoe Trail journey, passing under the swinging bridge and into the Aska Adventure Trails Area, where hiking and mountain biking are also popular.

Fishing the Trout Capital of Georgia
As the Toccoa River slows, Lake Blue Ridge is formed by the TVA dam. Here boating and fishing are popular pasttimes for the outdoor enthusiasts. Once the Toccoa River leaves Lake Blue Ridge the river begins its journey down the wide valley known as the McCaysville Basin. Trout fishermen frequent this area of the river, as settlers and Native Americans did before them. Then, as the Toccoa leaves McCaysville its name changes to the Ocoee. World-class whitewater and the Ocoee Whitewater Center are just a few miles ahead.

Offroad Excursions
Hummer Tours are the new thing at Zipline Canopy Tours of Blue Ridge with plenty of room for adventure at their 128 acre location on Old Cashes Valley Road.
Firewire Ziplines is offering Super Trucks, a Blue Ridge Offroad Adventure, at their location on Hwy. 515 beginning in April, 2013.
Tank Town USA is the ultimate heavy equipment playground, whether you want to drive a military tank, military trucks on construction equipment.


More Outdoor Experiences
West of the valley the Cohutta Mountains rise so high that the Cherokee Indians considered them to hold up the sky. Waterfalls, remote backpacking, hiking and camping are some of the recreational opportunities here. Beyond Fannin County are more incredible opportunities. From the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Southern Highroads Trail to the incredible beauty of the Smoky Mountains, Fannin County, Georgia is truly the Gateway to the Blue Ridge Mountains!

Toccoa River & Lake Blue Ridge
Upper Toccoa River & Ocoee River
Waterfalls & Whitewater
Outdoor Adventures Hiking Access Points
Outdoor Adventures Biking Access Points
Cohutta Wilderness Self-Guided Driving Experience