The Cohutta Wilderness with Kids

Lake Conasauga sits at about 3,150 feet, the highest lake in Georgia. The loop around it is a flat mile, short enough for small legs and pretty enough that adults do not mind the pace. There is a campground on the shore, a swimming area, and stocked trout in the water, so a morning here can turn into a whole day without moving the car.

The road to the lake closes from December 29 until March 1. In those months you can still park at the gate, as long as you leave it clear, and continue by bike. On October weekends the small lots fill by mid-morning.

Next door, Songbird Trail runs a mile and seven tenths through habitat managed for birds, nearly flat the whole way, with a beaver pond partway around. The range sits on the Appalachian Flyway, and more than a hundred bird species pass through, which gives a child with binoculars something to count.

At the pond, look for gnawed stumps along the bank before you look for the beavers. The stumps are easier to find.

Grassy Mountain Fire Tower Trail is the step up. It runs four and a half miles round trip on a steady climb with no technical footing, and it ends at a standing fire tower. The tower is closed to visitors, and the walk up is still worth it. It is the most popular objective at the top of Old CCC Camp Road, so start early on weekends.

For younger children, the best afternoon in these mountains usually involves a creek and no destination at all. The water runs cold and clear over flat stones, and turning those stones is how kids find crayfish and salamanders. Put each rock back the way you found it. The animals under it live there.

Barnes Creek Falls is the easiest waterfall in the area for small children. It is a 15-foot slide beside FS 68 at the Barnes Creek Picnic Area, so there is no trail to walk, and a picnic table sits close by.

For real swimming, the Holly Creek picnic area has a bigger swimming hole that is safe for kids. On summer weekends it fills with families, so come early or on a weekday if you want room.

In summer, when the water is down, the first crossings on the lower Emery Creek Trail make a good wade and a short out and back. Skip it after rain.

The Conasauga River holds about 90 species of fish. Its watershed covers about 1% of the combined land of the Colorado and Columbia watersheds and supports more native fish species than both together. A child who puts a face in the water here sees a river full of small fish most people never notice.

The Forest Service runs guided snorkeling at the Conasauga snorkeling hole, across the Tennessee line in the Cherokee National Forest. Check with them for the current season and how to join.

There are no bridges inside the wilderness. The Wilderness Act does not allow them, which is why the river trails cross so often. These are steep watersheds, and rain upstream can raise a creek before the sky over you clouds up. If the water is off-color or running fast, keep the kids on the bank.

Copperheads and timber rattlesnakes live in these mountains. Teach children to look before they put a hand on a ledge or reach under a log. Black bears live here too, so keep food in the car or the cabin and never leave a pack on the ground.

Cell service fades well before most trailheads. Download your maps before you leave pavement, and tell someone your plan.

Sherpa Camp sits on Holly Creek at 1,800 feet, under Potato Patch Mountain, about 25 minutes from Ellijay. The creek runs past the porch, shallow enough for small children to wade, and the bunk room sleeps three. Barnes Creek Falls is five minutes down the road, and Lake Conasauga and the fire tower trail are close.