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Getting Started
About Fannin County, GA
"Trout Capital of Georgia"
Ü Enlarge
 Designated by
the Georgia State Legislature in 2010 as Trout Capital
of Georgia, Fannin County lies in the Appalachian Mountains, 90 miles north of Atlanta, bordering on North Carolina and Tennessee.
Extending from within the county seat of Blue Ridge to the county border north, south, east and west, more than 100 miles of trout streams and rivers wind through Fannin County across 100,000 acres of the Chattahoochee National Forest. Blue Ridge is a quaint mountain gateway town with art galleries, downtown shopping, delectable restaurants, a scenic railroad, and get-away cabins nestled on mountain ridges, in peaceful valleys and on scenic waters.
The headquarters for the Trout Adventure Trail in Fannin County is
the Ü Fannin County Chamber
of Commerce in Blue Ridge.
About Gilmer County, GA "Georgia's Apple Capital"
Ü Enlarge
 Gilmer County is Georgia’s Apple Capital and contains abundant National Forest lands, including Springer Mountain, the southernmost terminus of the Appalachian Trail in the Chattahoochee National Forest.
Gilmer County is located along Highway 515/GA Highway 5, about 75 miles north of Atlanta. At more than 430 square miles big, the heavily wooded landscape stretches across the southernmost reach of north Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains.
Ellijay, the capital and largest town in Gilmer County is an “Appalachian Trail Town” and is located about 40 minutes east of the Trout Adventure Trail. The official headquarters for the Trout Adventure Trail in Ellijay is
Ü North Georgia Mountain Outfitters.
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Knowledge From the Trout Adventure Trail
Hands-on education complements the hiking experience
The Trout Adventure Trail features a hands-on education and discovery experience enjoyed during hikes on the Appalachian and Benton MacKaye trails in the Chattahoochee National Forest. The educational component informally and subtly complements the hiking experience and should be fun!
The length of the hikes should be determined by the age, physical ability, attention-span and goals of the hikers. Scout groups, other organizations or families may have different goals for a hike. For example, knowledge topics can be centered upon ...
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entry into hiking and camping
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ethics in the outdoors
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watershed education
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discovery and identification of local flora/fauna, especially the trout and their streams!
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the sounds and the silence of the natural world.
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and more!
Supporting these topics and more, the partners of the Trout Adventure Trail developed the links below to help hikers discover, observe and take home both the real and intangible riches of a trek through the Appalachian Mountains.
Ü What is a Watershed?
Ü Leave No Trace
Ü Silence is Golden
Ü Trout Habitat Improvement
Ü Trout Food in Small Mountain Streams
Teaching Points
Educational materials for scout leaders, professional educators, parents, guardians and mentors are always in development under the combined planning initiatives of the Ü US Forest Service, Ü Trout Unlimited and Ü Boy Scouts of America. Currently, the scope of our materials are directed at conservation with an underlying emphasis of clean water and stream fauna, including trout, but the scope will also include ancillary topics such as hiking, map reading, outdoor safety, leave no trace, photography, forest habitat, forestry, and outdoor careers.
For more information, go to: Ü Teaching Points of the Trout Adventure Trail.
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| Did You Know? |
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The magnificent Eastern Hemlock tree, which provides shade and cover for trout streams in the southeastern US, is under attack by the Wooly Adelgid, an invasive insect species from Asia. The Wooly Adelgid threatens to destroy all our Hemlock trees unless a man-made solution stops them.
Ü READ MORE…
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The only trout native to North Georgia is not the rainbow trout and is not the brown trout. It is the brook trout.
Ü READ MORE…
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Trout require cold, clear water to thrive. The summer temperatures of the southern Appalachian Mountains can warm waters above 70 degrees (F), which can kill trout. Higher altitudes and shade trees and shrubs keep water cooler and safer for trout. Trees and shrubs also protect streams from erosion and runoff. Clouded water warms up faster and also makes it more difficult for trout to take in oxygen, which hurts chances for their survival. When
Ü hiking the Trout Adventure Trail, feel the water temperature of streams and measure water temperature with a thermometer if you have one.
Ü READ MORE ...
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The Appalachian Trail spans more than 2,175 miles from Georgia to Maine. The AT was planned, built and marked in the 1920s and 1930s by volunteers in trail hiking clubs under the leadership of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), a volunteer-based, nonprofit organization. To this day, the AT is maintained by volunteers.
Ü READ MORE ...
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