Name: Lake Conasauga
Rating: 4

Hikes Map Explore

Lake Conasauga Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, GA

LENGTH 1.4 MILES

DIFFICULTY 1.1 Easy

DURATION 1 hour

ELEVATION GAIN

120

feet

TRAIL TYPE

Loop

Lake Conasauga

Hike a short loop around Lake Conasauga, the highest elevation lake in Georgia. Enjoy this remote lake on an easy hike or add other trails in the area for a longer adventure.

From the trailhead at the day use area, follow the wide path down to the lake. There's a couple splits, one at the restrooms and another each direction. For this description, just stay right, heading past a picnic shelter. Either way you take will lead to the lake. However, if you go left before the restrooms, stay right along the picnic tables. A side trail leads away to the left on the way down.

Hiking around the lake counter-clockwise, at just under half a mile you'll reach the campground and some more open lake views. From here, follow the gravel road along the lake shore for less than a tenth of a mile before the trail re-emerges on the left. At two thirds of a mile, hike past the signed side trail to connect to the Songbird and Grassy Mountain Tower trails.

The trail continues to loop around the lake, crossing over several small bridges. There is one obvious side trail that is easy to ignore. As you approach the swimming area and where you began the hike, you can take any of the paths that leads up back to the parking lot.

Lake Conasauga.
Lake Conasauga day use parking area.

Lake Conasauga.
Picnic shelter. If you want to head around counter-clockwise, just stay to the right and pass in front of the shelter. The loop trail is just ahead.

Lake Conasauga.
Plenty of picnic tables.

Lake Conasauga.
Great views along the campground side.

Lake Conasauga.
At the campground the trail connects to a gravel road for a short distance before turning off back to the lake.

Lake Conasauga.
The trail sticks close to the lake.

Lake Conasauga.
Cross over a few foot bridges.

Elevation Map Length (miles) by Elevation (feet)

Slope Breakdown

Elevation Gain

Elevation Range

Grade Range

Length

Elevation Gain

0 - 250 ft/mi

~ 0 - 5 %

0.6 mi

54 ft

250 - 500 ft/mi

~ 5 - 10 %

503 ft

41 ft

500 - 750 ft/mi

~ 10 - 15 %

361 ft

43 ft

750 - 1000 ft/mi

~ 15 - 20 %

140 ft

22 ft

1000+ ft/mi

~ 20+ %

0 ft

Elevation Loss

Elevation Range

Grade Range

Length

Elevation Loss

0 - 250 ft/mi

~ 0 - 5 %

0.4 mi

55 ft

250 - 500 ft/mi

~ 5 - 10 %

367 ft

24 ft

500 - 750 ft/mi

~ 10 - 15 %

442 ft

49 ft

750 - 1000 ft/mi

~ 15 - 20 %

50 ft

9 ft

1000+ ft/mi

~ 20+ %

121 ft

23 ft

Terrain Map Click to control map

Details

length1.4 miles

difficulty1.1 Easy

duration1 hour

features Dog Friendly Lake

trail typeLoop

blazeNone

elevation gain120 ft.

state Georgia

park/forestChattahoochee-Oconee National Forest

ranger districtConasauga Ranger District
3941 Highway 76
Chatsworth, GA 30705
706-695-6736

parking fee$2/vehicle

trailhead coordinates 34.857776, -84.650667 (Degree Decimal, DegDec)
N 34°51.47, W 84°39.04 (Degree Minutes, MinDec)
N 34°51'28'', N 34°51'28'' (Degree Minutes Seconds, DMS)

Trailhead Directions

N 34°51.47, W 84°39.04

Google Map It

See road conditions in notes below.

Parking Capacity

25-30 vehicles.

Notes

A higher ground clearance vehicle is suggested as you'll be driving 10 miles on rough gravel roads. I did see a couple sedans but image they had to navigate around many ruts and potholes.

Many forest service roads close during winter months. For current road closures, check fs.usda.gov/alerts/conf/alerts-notices or for a full google map, check fs.usda.gov/goto/road_status. Click on each road in the google map for closure information.

The campground and day use area are closed for the season on October 31st, usually opening by April 1st depending on weather. Trails should still be accessible until January when the roads close and open again by early March. Check out the road closure links above.

October 2019: Restrooms and drinking fountains are currently out of order until repairs are made. Because of this, there is currently no parking fee.

Nearby Hikes

Grassy Mountain Tower

Bear Creek Trail to the Gennett Poplar

1.7 mi

1.8

Gahuti Backcountry Trail

8 mi

13.3

Fort Mountain West Overlook Trail System

0.9 mi

1.7

Similar Hikes

James Floyd Lower Lake Loop

1.2 mi

James Floyd Upper Lake Loop

1.2 mi

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Fort Mountain Lake Trail

1 mi

0.7

Black Rock Lake Trail

0.8 mi

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Arabia Mile Rock and Forest Loop

1.9 mi

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Reviews / Comments

Average Review Rating

4 (1)

New Review New Comment

hikethesouth-5 years ago

Nice Lake

This is a short easy hike that really isn't worth driving up here just for this but is great if you're camping in the area or want to add the Grassy Mountain Tower or Songbird Trails onto your adventure. Still a very pretty remote lake.

Easy | Hiked Fall 2019

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Disclaimer: Hiking can be dangerous. The information on this site is meant as a guide and represents trail conditions at a given time. Always let someone know where you are going. A basic knowledge of first aid, backcountry navigation, and some common sense are highly encouraged. The difficulty and duration ratings are subjective and will not be representative of everyone's experience.

Disclaimer Disclaimer: Falling off a cliff, drowning in a river, or being eaten by a bear is still a better way to go than dying of a heart attack while sitting in traffic on the way to the office.