How to Go River Rafting Near Atlanta, Georgia

Check with the rafting company to see if it has trips that allow older children.

When most people think of Atlanta they don't think of river rafting. It's more famous as a big-city corporate center and for Sherman's scorched-earth march to the sea during the Civil War, But look closer and you'll find a plethora of opportunities in whitewater and rolling water experiences throughout the Atlanta metro area.

Things You'll Need

• National Park Service map of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation area
• Good road map of the Atlanta metro area

Instructions

1. River rafting in Atlanta is known locally as "shooting the Hooch." The Hooch is the Chattahoochee River. The National Park Service oversees 48 miles of the river throughout the Atlanta metro area, including access points for rafting. You can bring your own raft or rent one.

2. There are licensed vendors who rent rafts, boats, canoes, kayaks, inner tubes, etc. for day use on the river. These vendors are on National Park Service land at river access points both above and below Morgan Falls Dam.

3. Depending on water releases from dams upstream, your rafting experience will vary from day to day. On days of water releases, you will experience Class I and II rapids. On off-days you will just be floating down the river and rarely get above a Class I rapid.

4. For more whitewater action than the Chattahoochee has to offer, consider these, all within 25 miles of Atlanta: Annewakee River, Big Creek, Marsh Creek, Rottenwood Creek, Sope Creek, Sweetwater Creek and Yellow River.

Tips & Warnings

• The Chattahoochee River is the major drinking water source for the metro Atlanta area, so don't litter, though you may see plenty of it from your raft.

• Check with the National Park Service for up-to-date information on water releases.

References

• Atlanta Rafting: Whitewater Rafting Rivers Near Atlanta
• NPS Chattahoochee River