My Backyard: Destinations
Urban Escapes: Atlanta
By Christopher Percy Collier
Sep 22, 2004, 14:09

There’s more to Georgia than boiled peanuts and Coca-Cola. Every spring, drivers shuttle backpackers from Hartsfield Airport to the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail in North Georgia; days later, the drivers get phone calls from defeated hikers on payphones—wanting rides back to the airport. Here are a few easier adventures to try.

Photo By Bruce Hyer

Half Day: Fly Fish the Hooch
The Chattahoochee River is the southernmost wild brown trout river in the country and one of only three trout-rich rivers in the world to run straight through a major metropolitan area. You can wade it or fish it in a float tube, or you can run it in a drift boat with a guide from River Through Atlanta (770-650-8630; www.riverthroughatlanta.com). Hit seven miles of seasonal catch-and-release trout water inside the I-285 beltway, then find 15 miles more on an “artificials only” (no bait) stretch near Jones Bridge. If fishing isn’t your bag, miles of wide trails line the river, perfect for trail running or hiking.

Full Day: Rock out in ’Nooga
Roll into Chattanooga, Tennessee, less than two hours northwest of Atlanta, and you’ll find yourself smack in the middle of a sprawling sandstone belt with a half-dozen stellar climbing sites. Hook up with a guide through the Adventure Guild (423-266-5709; www.theadventureguild.com), based atop 2,100-foot Lookout Mountain, to get your hands on Sunset Rock (site of a famous Civil War battle). Then drive along the back of the mountain to Rocktown, where you can sink your fingers into hunks of sandstone bigger than most starter homes. Not spent? Cruise over to T-Wall, where 150-foot climbs and cracks await inside Prentice Cooper State Forest (423-634-3091; www.state.tn.us/agriculture/forestry/stateforests).

Overnight: Paddle the Nantahala
About four hours from downtown Atlanta in western North Carolina is the epicenter of whitewater paddling instruction. Nationally known for its top-notch paddling program and forward-thinking water safety philosophy, the Nantahala Outdoor Center (800-232-7238; www.noc.com) literally hangs over the fabled Nantahala River near Bryson City. It’s where whitewater guides go to become great. Get serious in a kayak—or get giddy in a raft while shooting down Class I to III whitewater. Then grab a mountain bike and head for Tsali Recreation Area near Bryson City ($2/day usage fee; www.mtbikewnc.com), where you can crank through some of the East’s best singletrack.

don’t miss:
>>Lookout Mountain is within 90 minutes of more than 9,000 caves, including Ellison—the deepest freefall cave pit in North America.

>>The Nantahala River has the only salmon run in the Southeast. Left over from stocking experiments performed in the ’60’s, remnant populations of landlocked Kokanee salmon come shooting up the Nantahala every fall.