USFS · Georgia, Tennessee

Cohutta Wilderness

Most of mountainous Cohutta, the state's second largest Wilderness, lies in Georgia and within the Cohutta Wildlife Management Area. But a small portion runs over the border into Tennessee. Immediately northeast of Tennessee's portion, and sharing a border, lies Big Frog Wilderness. Although loggers worked their way through 70 percent of the forest between 1915 and 1930, oak and pine have all but reclaimed the forest, and a rich growth of hardwoods now fills out the lower elevations: magnolia, maple, buckeye, hornbeam, sassafras, holly, silver bell dogwood, and chestnut, to name but a few.

Description from Wilderness Connect (wilderness.net).

Wilderness37,033 acresUSFSGATNDesignated 19758 campgrounds within 10 mi18 trails
Official page at Wilderness Connect ↗
Cohutta Wilderness
Photo from Wilderness Connect, wilderness.net
4 fires
active
Rx - Rymer Camp (prescribed burn) · 15 mi from the center · 381 acres
3 more within 50 miles
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationWilderness
Managed byU.S. Forest Service
StatesGeorgia, Tennessee
Size37,033 acres
Designated1975, by Congress
Center point34.93° N, 84.58° W
Night skyAbout as dark as the ground gets (Black Marble reading 11)

Boundary map

1 outline

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees Federal campground

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Cohutta Wilderness40°50°60°70°80°January: 4.88 inches of precipitationFebruary: 4.71 inches of precipitationMarch: 5.26 inches of precipitationApril: 5.02 inches of precipitationMay: 4.64 inches of precipitationJune: 5.54 inches of precipitationJuly: 5.43 inches of precipitationAugust: 4.30 inches of precipitationSeptember: 4.32 inches of precipitationOctober: 3.45 inches of precipitationNovember: 4.56 inches of precipitationDecember: 5.39 inches of precipitationJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 40.5°F averageFebruary: 44.0°F averageMarch: 51.4°F averageApril: 59.5°F averageMay: 67.4°F averageJune: 75.1°F averageJuly: 78.5°F averageAugust: 77.6°F averageSeptember: 72.0°F averageOctober: 61.0°F averageNovember: 50.2°F averageDecember: 43.3°F average0 in2 in4 in6 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Chatsworth 2, 16 miles from the center point at 710 feet, station USC00091863 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 58 inches a year. The station sits about 1,700 feet lower than the center point, so temperatures on the ground run cooler.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Where to camp

Campsite Atlas →

None of the 8 federal campgrounds within ten miles sit inside the boundary. Nearest first. Distances are from the campground point to the boundary edge, from the Campsite Atlas index.

FS · 0.4 mi
Lake Conasauga Campground
Reservable36 sites
FS · 0.4 mi
Cottonwood Patch Campground
Reservable8 sites
FS · 0.9 mi
Lake Conasauga Overflow Campground
Reservable6 sites
FS · 1.3 mi
Hickey Gap Campground
First-comeGA
FS · 2.3 mi
Tumbling Creek Campground
First-come8 sites
FS · 2.4 mi
Jacks River Fields Campground
First-come8 sites
FS · 5.7 mi
Thunder Rock Campground
Reservable38 sites
FS · 7.7 mi
Parksville Lake RV Campground
Reservable16 sites

Trails

Trailhead Atlas →

18 named Forest Service trails enter this wilderness, 192 miles in all. The 10 longest are listed here.

TrailMiles
Benton Mackaye ↗57.9
Benton-McKaye ↗48.1
Jacks River ↗15.9
Conasauga River ↗11.9
Hickory Creek ↗8.6
East Cowpen ↗6.7
Rough Ridge ↗6.7
Hemptop ↗5
Hemptop ↗4.8
Beech Bottom4

Lengths and allowed uses come from the Forest Service trail layer by way of Trailhead Atlas. This trail list was copied from Trailhead Atlas on November 1, 2026 and is copied again on each weekly run. Trails in plain text have no page there yet.

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Prescribed
    Rx - Rymer Camp

    15 mi from the center point · 381 acres

  • Prescribed
    Pinnacle Kv Rx

    34 mi from the center point · 246 acres

  • Prescribed
    Rx - Buck Branch

    35 mi from the center point · 652 acres

  • Prescribed
    North Dicks Creek Rx

    36 mi from the center point · 201 acres

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Register listings within 15 miles · 18 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for Georgia

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Hiking Georgia
    Donald Pfitzer and Jimmy Jacobs, 2020
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • 50 Hikes in the North Georgia Mountains
    Johnny Molloy, 2017
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Afoot and Afield: Atlanta
    Marcus Woolf, 2015
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Cohutta Wilderness?

37,033 acres.

Source: Wilderness Connect

Who manages Cohutta Wilderness?

The U.S. Forest Service.

Source: Wilderness Connect

What state is Cohutta Wilderness in?

The boundary crosses Georgia and Tennessee.

Source: Wilderness Connect

When was Cohutta Wilderness designated?

Congress designated it in 1975.

Source: Wilderness Connect

Can I camp at Cohutta Wilderness?

Camping inside a wilderness is usually allowed away from roads, with no facilities, and the managing agency page has the permit rules. The federal campgrounds within ten miles are listed under Where to camp.

Source: Where to camp

How do I get to Cohutta Wilderness?

A point inside the boundary is at 34.929° N, 84.577° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: Wilderness Connect

Is there a fire near Cohutta Wilderness right now?

4 active incidents within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Rx - Rymer Camp at 15 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Are there historic places near Cohutta Wilderness?

The National Register has 18 listings within 15 miles, including Central Headframe and Copperhill Historic District (Boundary Increase).

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name, acreage, designation year, states and description: Wilderness Connect.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Trailheads and sites: the Forest Service Recreation Opportunities layer, points inside the boundary.
  • Trails: the Trailhead Atlas open-data file of Forest Service trails, matched on the wilderness each trail enters.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.