Georgia Traverse Trail

[North40overland]

Questions (and hopefully Answers) on the Georgia Traverse Trail

I have spent most of 2020 and the better part of this year cataloging the Georgia Traverse Trail route. I started with the route established by the fine people at georgiaoverland.com and I have been updating and adding to it. I speak to several other folks that travel the trail on a regular basis and together we are trying to cover every nook and cranny. I don't have all the answers but if there is anything I can do to help you, or any information I can provide, just let me know. Also, if you travel the trail system often and have info to share to this thread please feel free. The more you know... and all that :-)

 

[grubworm]

very cool. the wife and i have been to gatlinberg numerous times and drive thru trenton, ga on the way there and back. one trip, the wife found cloudland state park just a few miles off the interstate at trenton. excellent camping with some gorgeous hiking and waterfalls. after that, we headed more east to vogel state park just under helen. we are now pretty hooked on georgia and have gone several times and even ventured up to tallulah falls were Deliverance was filmed. we stayed at americolola state park one time and went on a backroad in that area. long story made short...my semi-lifted tundra with camper shell and cargo rack barely made it. some of the turns were pretty tight and several trees had fallen and just barely left room for me to pass. it was about 15 miles long and was a single lane with NO way of turning around, so had i not been able to clear...it would have sucked big time trying to back up around a curvy muddy road for 10 miles in reverse.

so...my question is: what parts of the traverse would you recommend for a larger truck? we really want to see more of the back roads, but that one and only experience has left me a bit worried about trying more. georgia is awesome and the state parks we stayed at were top notch. i would love to take the small camp trailer and set us a base camp at one of the parks and then go venture on some of the traverse. i see your map, but cant really make out details of places where i could get on and off the traverse. i'm sure there are some places the tundra wouldnt fit

 

[North40overland]

very cool. the wife and i have been to gatlinberg numerous times and drive thru trenton, ga on the way there and back. one trip, the wife found cloudland state park just a few miles off the interstate at trenton. excellent camping with some gorgeous hiking and waterfalls. after that, we headed more east to vogel state park just under helen. we are now pretty hooked on georgia and have gone several times and even ventured up to tallulah falls were Deliverance was filmed. we stayed at americolola state park one time and went on a backroad in that area. long story made short...my semi-lifted tundra with camper shell and cargo rack barely made it. some of the turns were pretty tight and several trees had fallen and just barely left room for me to pass. it was about 15 miles long and was a single lane with NO way of turning around, so had i not been able to clear...it would have sucked big time trying to back up around a curvy muddy road for 10 miles in reverse.

so...my question is: what parts of the traverse would you recommend for a larger truck? we really want to see more of the back roads, but that one and only experience has left me a bit worried about trying more. georgia is awesome and the state parks we stayed at were top notch. i would love to take the small camp trailer and set us a base camp at one of the parks and then go venture on some of the traverse. i see your map, but cant really make out details of places where i could get on and off the traverse. i'm sure there are some places the tundra wouldnt fit

Great Question. I would highly recommend staying on the main trail route. You can find the main route .GPX files on Georgia Overland's Website: The Georgia Traverse Download Page - GEORGIA OVERLAND The main trail has a fair amount of traffic and most all of us carry chainsaws. When a tree falls it is typically cleared by someone (I have done several myself) within a couple of days. I would avoid the Charlies Creek section (immediately west of the Tallulah water crossing) if you are running a larger truck because it requires some narrow squeezes around large wash outs (unless you are on 35" or better tires) Other than this the rest of the main trail is really good. Tray mountain section is a great spot for full size trucks, also the Cherry log and Cohutta are great areas with the exception of the TN part of the Cohutta loop. It gets tight in there in several places and might not be good for full size trucks. I have included a photo below is the areas I recommend avoiding for full size trucks highlighted. Of course, any time you go off the main trail where there is less traffic there is always the possibly of obstacles. I always recommend folks bring a chainsaw with them and at least a tow strap to drag trees out of the way. The appalacian mountains are basically the North American rainforest so limb scratches and tree falls are part of the experience. Hope this helps and thank you for the questions. Have fun and let me know what you find.

 

[Lil Bear]

very cool. the wife and i have been to gatlinberg numerous times and drive thru trenton, ga on the way there and back. one trip, the wife found cloudland state park just a few miles off the interstate at trenton. excellent camping with some gorgeous hiking and waterfalls. after that, we headed more east to vogel state park just under helen. we are now pretty hooked on georgia and have gone several times and even ventured up to tallulah falls were Deliverance was filmed. we stayed at americolola state park one time and went on a backroad in that area. long story made short...my semi-lifted tundra with camper shell and cargo rack barely made it. some of the turns were pretty tight and several trees had fallen and just barely left room for me to pass. it was about 15 miles long and was a single lane with NO way of turning around, so had i not been able to clear...it would have sucked big time trying to back up around a curvy muddy road for 10 miles in reverse.

so...my question is: what parts of the traverse would you recommend for a larger truck? we really want to see more of the back roads, but that one and only experience has left me a bit worried about trying more. georgia is awesome and the state parks we stayed at were top notch. i would love to take the small camp trailer and set us a base camp at one of the parks and then go venture on some of the traverse. i see your map, but cant really make out details of places where i could get on and off the traverse. i'm sure there are some places the tundra wouldnt fit

Yeah its pretty tight up around the backside of Vogel. I've been through there with my Nissan Titan and it was a lot of rubbing lol. At one point I remember a guy on a lifted golf cart(gasser) and he was laughing at me saying I wasn't going to fit through. Definitely not a place where you want to have to try and turn around or back up far.

 

[North40overland]

very cool. the wife and i have been to gatlinberg numerous times and drive thru trenton, ga on the way there and back. one trip, the wife found cloudland state park just a few miles off the interstate at trenton. excellent camping with some gorgeous hiking and waterfalls. after that, we headed more east to vogel state park just under helen. we are now pretty hooked on georgia and have gone several times and even ventured up to tallulah falls were Deliverance was filmed. we stayed at americolola state park one time and went on a backroad in that area. long story made short...my semi-lifted tundra with camper shell and cargo rack barely made it. some of the turns were pretty tight and several trees had fallen and just barely left room for me to pass. it was about 15 miles long and was a single lane with NO way of turning around, so had i not been able to clear...it would have sucked big time trying to back up around a curvy muddy road for 10 miles in reverse.

so...my question is: what parts of the traverse would you recommend for a larger truck? we really want to see more of the back roads, but that one and only experience has left me a bit worried about trying more. georgia is awesome and the state parks we stayed at were top notch. i would love to take the small camp trailer and set us a base camp at one of the parks and then go venture on some of the traverse. i see your map, but cant really make out details of places where i could get on and off the traverse. i'm sure there are some places the tundra wouldnt fit

I have linked my Gaia folder for the Georgia Traverse. You should be able to access all my routes and waypoints from there. Let me know if you have any issues and happy trails!

GaiaGPS - Georgia Traverse Trail

www.gaiagps.com

 

[grubworm]

I have linked my Gaia folder for the Georgia Traverse. You should be able to access all my routes and waypoints from there. Let me know if you have any issues and happy trails!

GaiaGPS - Georgia Traverse Trail

www.gaiagps.com

awesome! thanks @North40overland ...we wont be going again until it cools down, but i will definitely go off your info.
much appreciated!

 

[gritt]

Great Question. I would highly recommend staying on the main trail route. You can find the main route .GPX files on Georgia Overland's Website: The Georgia Traverse Download Page - GEORGIA OVERLAND The main trail has a fair amount of traffic and most all of us carry chainsaws. When a tree falls it is typically cleared by someone (I have done several myself) within a couple of days. I would avoid the Charlies Creek section (immediately west of the Tallulah water crossing) if you are running a larger truck because it requires some narrow squeezes around large wash outs (unless you are on 35" or better tires) Other than this the rest of the main trail is really good. Tray mountain section is a great spot for full size trucks, also the Cherry log and Cohutta are great areas with the exception of the TN part of the Cohutta loop. It gets tight in there in several places and might not be good for full size trucks. I have included a photo below is the areas I recommend avoiding for full size trucks highlighted. Of course, any time you go off the main trail where there is less traffic there is always the possibly of obstacles. I always recommend folks bring a chainsaw with them and at least a tow strap to drag trees out of the way. The appalacian mountains are basically the North American rainforest so limb scratches and tree falls are part of the experience. Hope this helps and thank you for the questions. Have fun and let me know what you find.

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Thanks for this. I was planning to do the Cohutta/Big Frog loop this fall sometime, but like the OP, I drive a Tundra.