Holly Creek, Georgia, US
|
|
Cohutta Wilderness
| Usual Difficulty |
IV(V) (for normal flows) |
| Length |
3.21 Miles |
| Avg. Gradient |
165 fpm |
| Max Gradient |
260 fpm |
Ledge above Turkey Split
Ledge above Turkey SplitPhoto of Simon Bishop by Michael Kinsey taken spring 02 @ low water
Gauge Information
River Description
Holly Creek runs through a deep roadside gorge in the Cohutta Wilderness. For most of the run the
road is a steep 200 to 300 feet above the creek.
From the junction of Old CCC Camp Road and Mulberry Gap Road down to the gauge bridge the river
drops as follows: 80, 170, 240. Total drop for the 3.2 miles is 526 feet.
As of the Winter of 2002 the upper 2 miles is still choked up with wood. 4 spots are completly
choked. The most dangerous is just after the split to the right. Many portages and limbos if you
run this one. Most of the rapids are clear except for a few.
Thanks to a few boaters from Atlanta Patagonia for the work they have done. Locals are slowly
making progress on the upper 2 miles.
Local Expert Simon Bishop.
Directions:
From Atlanta take I-75 north to Highway 411 north to Chatsworth. In Chatsworth go east on Highway
52 for about 2 miles, then north on Holly Creek Road. Holly Creek Road deadends into Ccc Camp Rd.
Go right (east) on Ccc Camp Road into the Cohutta Wilderness. The road will turn to dirt when you
cross into the wilderness area. Holly Creek will run alongside the road.
The take-out will be a large marked parking area where the road turns away from the river. The
put-in will be the second bridge crossing upstream.
Other runs close by include:
Conasauga River
Jacks River
and the Ocoee.
StreamTeam Status: Not Verified
Last Updated: 2003-02-26 19:19:59
No rapids entered. If you know names, and locations of the rapids please contact and advise the StreamTeam member for this run. 
User Comments
to this creek at this level, but its close to me so its great for an afternoon run. At this level
there isn't push, however Im a big guy and didn't have to wheelchair. At this level make sure to
boof heading right at Turkey Drop and land in the slot sideways going right at Turkeys Turn by
driving up on the shelf on the right. -Zach F.
is reading that the water is coming up currently (6:30) and we left about and hour ago and the
water had peaked and was falling. So don't go by the gauge you have to scout it out yourself and
make your own calculations. Great day on the water!! Edit
trail to the split. Mucho Grande !! 1400 @ peak would be good to go. 1500 and rising is definitely
pushing the limits of sanity! Ran it @ 1200 2 wks ago awesome level!
o.k. most certainly would have enjoyed more water. Some wheelchairing, one portage, but still fun.
No major strainers, very clean, lets keep it that way!
and the paddlers take-out gage read 5". Waaayyy too low to run this section. The
"park-n-huck" stuff 1/4 mile above the put-in was ELF (Extremely Low Flow).<br>
<br>
On 2/22/05 the USGS Holly Creek gage (Falling) read 1100 with the Holly Creek paddler's gage at 1
foot. A good level.<br>
<br>
On 2/21/05 the creek was flooding: over the road and just under the gage bridge when the USGS Holly
gage was only 912 cfs (but rising fast).<br>
<br>
Minimum levels for Holly Creek are very dependant on whether the level is rising or falling on the
USGS Gage. It sounds like 400 cfs might be a good minimum level if Holly Creek is rising quickly.
If Holly is falling 800 might be minimum.<br>
<br>
If you run Holly, please check the bridge gage and report your Date, Time and Levels to
H2OLevelCheck@boatingbeta.com