Cohutta Wilderness Trails

With more than 40,000 acres in Georgia and Tennessee (known as Big Frog Wilderness Area), the Cohutta Wilderness comprise the largest wilderness east of the Mississippi. The Cohutta Mountains are part of the oldest known mountains in the world. They run from Fannin County northeast to the Tennessee-North Carolina border, where they are known as the Smoky Mountains. It is from these mountains that the Cohutta Wilderness Area gets its name.

The Cohutta Wilderness has peaks that rise to 4,200 feet and around 94 miles of hiking trails. Within the Wilderness Area itself are 13 trails that total more than 87 miles of unusual remote hiking. Other than the famous Jacks River Trail, it is possible to hike in this area for days during the Spring and Fall and not see other backpackers.

There are two rivers (Conasauga and Jacks) that flow through the Cohuttas, forming the major valleys on the east and west sides of the Wilderness Areas. 

Waterfalls in the Cohutta Wilderness

The Cohutta Wilderness is also home to 2 of the most spectacular waterfalls in Georgia. The most popular is Jacks River Falls an 80-foot waterfall with smaller rolling falls flowing into it.

Panther Creek Falls is located on Panther Creek Trail which is an interior trail in the western part of the wilderness. Its 70-foot waterfall is located in the heart of the wilderness.