Canoeing West Chickamauga Creek – Nature Bathing

Canoeing, kayaking, floating, swimming — I was born to be on the water. Lucky us: We LIVE on West Chickamauga Creek, the boundary between Walker County and Catoosa County in Northwest Georgia. Our 6-acre Spirit Tree Farms property is across the creek from the #ChickamaugaNationalMilitaryPark (actually in the Southeast corner of the park, where there’s a “bite” out of it.)

On the last Friday in July, 2022, (thanks to my company for giving me a day off: #BeF5 #AForceFor #NatureObservation and #NatureRenewal,) my wife and I took a S L O W canoe trip on the West Chickamauga Creek from Lee and Gordon’s Mill in Chickamauga, Walker County, NW Georgia, downstream (winding North) for 3.5 hours (about 4 miles) to our property across from the #Chickamauga National Military Park (about a mile upstream from the Alexander Bridge).

In our #MadRiverCanoes, we saw numerous birds, animals, and surprisingly few bugs bothered us. The day was warm, but not too muggy, with a nice breeze coming off the water. In the video, the background sounds are provided by the #NativeAmerican fishing weir rapids, bugs, frogs, etc. for #NegativeIon health benefit (#forestbathing + #CreekBathing).  The photography is from CreationGirl.com. (You can read her impressions of the trip at “Syncing Up With Nature / CreationGirl.com).

I’m making this video and blog as a practical way to introduce people around Chattanooga and Northwest Georgia to the joys of a VERY EASY yet VERY REMOTE float on the West Chickamauga Creek. The float, from Lee and Gordon’s Mill in Chickamauga, south to our property (and then beyond to the Reed’s Bridge or O’Charley’s takeout points) borders the Chickamauga National Military Park, created in the 1890s. Much of the left side of the creek bank is the same as it was just after the Civil War.

Lessons Learned Canoeing West Chickamauga Creek

We canoed in late July; not a lot of rain has fallen this summer. The creek is extremely low and slow flowing now, plus we picked up some litter on the way, so we’re paddling slower than normal. If the creek is low or even medium depth, 95% of the time if you dump out, just stand up (when the water is this low). Here are some things I learned:
 
Launching at Lee and Gordon’s Mill in Chickamauga is easy. There’s lots of parking (make certain to get back to the car you left in the parking lot before sunset!), and you can just drag your canoe or kayak down to the creek. For my records: To our property 5 minutes downstream from the Native American fishing weir: 4.5 miles from Lee and Gordon Mill. Took a total of 3.5 hours, canoe with light paddling, = about 1.5 miles/hr.

The biggest obstruction (besides some trees that fall in the creek on occassion, but which are usually cut apart by volunteers or swept downstream by the current) is a small waterfall (rapids) about 3-4 feet high at low water, about 2.5 hours south of the launch point. As you can see in the video, you can either walk your boat down, OR run it on the right or right-of-center side of the falls.

Warning! The West Chickamauga Creek Floods!

After heavy rains (usually in the winter, spring and late fall) the West Chickamauga Creek can flood anywhere from 10 to 15 feet (or more) above the stage when we floated it.  If the water is only 5-6 feet from the parking lot at the launch point, close to the top of the dam, I would not go. Why? There is A LOT of debris, logs, etc. in the creek. If you fall out — well, take a lesson from the calf in the video. Not to mention that at some points (fallen logs, bridges, etc.) there would be nowhere for you to go. And with the velocity of the creek at flood stage, you cannot turn around and go upstream.

Wait a few days for the water to go down. Don’t die.

Native American Fishing Weir

About 3-4 hours from the launch point is one of the highlights of the trip. If the water is relatively low, you can go through a pre-historic Native American fishing weir, two wings of rocks placed to form an inverted V with a small opening to the right of center.  (The video is shot from downstream, so the V is left of center). Native Americans would get in the creek upstream from the opening and splash their way downstream, forcing the fish through the opening. Below the opening, others would have nets and baskets to catch the fish.

The best place to “shoot the rapids” is through the opening. If the creek is too low (which it rarely is) you can get out and walk through the opening.  Because it is an archeological and historic site, PLEASE show the proper respect and do not move the rocks!
 

1st and 2nd Takeouts on the West Chickamauga Creek

From the fishing weir it’s about 1.6 miles to the bright yellow Alexander Bridge in the southeast corner of the #ChickamaugaNMP. Here, some of the first action of the Civil War Battle of Chickamauga happened, between the Confederates on your right, and the Union army on your left. Your trip from the launch point has totalled about 6 miles. Unfortunately, there is no takeout point there (the National Park, on the left side, doesn’t allow boat takeout there, and the other side is posted and private property.)

From Alexander Bridge it’s about 2 miles more to the Reed’s bridge takeout. From there it’s slightly over another mile to the takeout behind O’Charley’s Restaurant on Battlefield Parkway in Fort Oglethorpe, GA.

That means your kayak / canoe trip is a total of about 8 miles, a 5-7 hour trip from the Lee and Gordon Mill launch site to the first available takeout point at Reed’s Bridge, if you’re going REALLY slow in a canoe. From there to O’Charley’s restaurant in Fort Oglethorpe, it’s about another hour.
 
Hopefully these videos and descriptions of floating the West Chickamauga Creek through the Chickamauga National Military Park in Northwest Georgia are useful, inspiring and informative. If you see me sitting on the creek bank (or in the water), wave and say hello!  Be safe, and don’t forget your PFDs!

If the water is too low, walk your canoe down the falls of West Chickamauga Creek
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David Kuhns

Dave Kuhns is originally a quasi-city boy from suburban Milwaukee, but he spent weekends and summers in nature on Lake Winneconne in central Wisconsin. After raising his kids in a Seattle suburb, he moved to a small town in central Utah. He figured he’d buy some rural property there, or back in the Badger State.

Then he fell in love. Through a series of amazing events, he bought a rural property (a few acres) across the creek from the Chickamauga National Military Park (Civil War battlefield). There, he and his new wife are putting into reality the conservation, gardening and land management practices he learned from his grandmother, his forest ranger Dad, his little brother, and his own surburban experience.