Look no further than Toccoa River tubing near Blue Ridge, Georgia to stay cool and have some fun this summer.
One of the best Blue Ridge tubing spots is the Toccoa River. Just a twenty minute drive from Blue Ridge sits the dual-named town of Copperhill, TN and McCaysville, GA. In this scenic, historic town, you’ll find the Toccoa River with ample river tubing opportunities. Continue reading this guide to learn more about this excellent Blue Ridge tubing location.
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History of a Town by Two Names and the Toccoa River
Toccoa River or Ocoee River?
The main street through the town and even the river change names based on the state they’re in. Georgia is McCaysville with the Toccoa River while Tennessee is Copperhill with the Ocoee River. The old, metal truss bridge is the dividing line for the river, even though it’s entirely in the state of Georgia…supposedly. This bridge’s history is also muddied as the city of McCaysville’s website states that it was further south in Blue Ridge but later moved north to this location. Other sources suggest various different years for the building of the bridge and where it came from.
The Tennessee and Georgia State Line
Even the state line is not for certain, despite the popular tourist attraction of the blue dividing line where you can stand in two states at once. In fact, I have found it very difficult to nail down the exact history of this area. From what I’ve found, the state line has been argued numerous times between the states of Georgia and Tennessee respectively. And what makes the situation even odder is that the line divides a church building and used to divide a pub too. Which was extremely interesting as Fannin County (Georgia) used to be a dry county. Laws have recently changed making it more acceptable to alcohol, but this county is still bordered by two dry counties, Murray and Union, which I find most peculiar. Read this old blog post by a traveling couple from when Fannin County was still dry to see how interesting this made the local pub.
The Environmental Impact of the Copper Basin
One sad part of this history is for certain though. In the mid 1800s copper was found in the area and it became known as the copper basin. This attracted mining companies from all over to take advantage of this natural resource. Unfortunately, unnatural practices were done to obtain this valuable ore. As a result, the area was left desolate and the original inhabitants, plants and animals alike, were nowhere to be found for miles and miles. Repairing this area to its former glory took decades of hard work to undo the damage done by the mining companies. Today, we have the Cherokee National Forest, hiking and biking trails, and rivers for tubing and white water rafting to enjoy thanks to these efforts. For more information about the mining history and its impacts on this area from a local’s childhood memory, read this blog post about Copperhill.
Blue Ridge Tubing on the Toccoa River
Now you understand the location, so let’s talk about tubing on the Toccoa River. The Toccoa River runs north through Georgia before changing names in Tennessee. The river is dam controlled by TVA via the Blue Ridge Dam which creates Blue Ridge Lake. Since this river is dam controlled, it’s important to remember this while planning your river tubing adventure. Typically the water flows shallow before noon, but by early afternoon the water is a couple feet higher and flowing much faster. TVA can change their schedule at any time so it’s hard to say for sure when there will be more and faster water or less and slower water. My rule of thumb is that in the summer months, they’ll follow the schedule I just stated, unless there’s significant rainfall. Expect more water to be spilled sooner leading up to, during, and after rain events.
You may also see a Blue Ridge Scenic Railway train go by. We did while we were floating and it was a really cool experience! This train ride is a four hour excursion that allows you to visit McCaysville and Coppertown as well as see the scenic views along the Toccoa River. Hopefully I’ll get to share this experience with y’all one day.
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Toccoa River Tubing and Rolling Thunder River Rental Options
If you’re new to river tubing and want a test run, or just don’t have the space, multiple vehicles, or a need for your own tubing equipment, there’s two river tubing rental companies available to use in town. Both companies float the same section of river. Note, I have not tried either of these places, nor have I floated this section.
Toccoa River Tubing Company offers Toccoa River tubing including an additional cooler float option. This includes a shuttle to the put-in and getting out where you parked. You will find this location right on Toccoa Avenue beside the river in Georgia.
Rolling Thunder River Company offers Toccoa River tubing and kayak rentals. This also includes a shuttle to the put-in and getting out where you parked. You can see this location called “Tooberoo” right on Toccoa Avenue beside the river in Georgia.
Tackle Toccoa River Tubing Yourself
If you want to make river tubing a regular summer activity (I highly recommend), then investing in your own gear and planning the trip is easy and affordable. Learn more about what you need and where to get it in my river tubing gear blog post.
There’s two Toccoa River tubing routes to choose from. As stated earlier, the rental companies use the same route. This is the northern part of the river. Launching from Horseshoe Bend Park and taking out at McCaysville. If you wish to do this route yourself, plan to take out at Toccoa River Park. This float is about 1½ hours or even 30 minutes, depending on the flow of water. Both Horseshoe Bend Park and Toccoa River Park have free parking and restrooms as well as boat ramp river access.
The other route option is going further south. This is a longer float ranging from 4 to 2½ hours, depending on water flow. For this route, the put-in is Curtis Switch Bridge and take-out at Horseshoe Bend Park. Again, there’s free parking and restrooms at Horseshoe Bend Park. However, there’s no restrooms at Curtis Switch Bridge, but there’s still free parking. Both places have boat ramps for easy river access as well.
The Toccoa River Tubing Route We Took
We chose the latter of the two routes which was nice because we had the entire river to ourselves. Plus, I believe a longer float makes the trip more worthwhile, despite the inevitable sunburns. Since the tubing rental companies float the other section, the only people we saw were at the put-in and take-out, not on the river itself. This allows for everyone to space themselves out if they want and enjoy a peaceful float.
I was under the impression that this was a lazy river float. Which, it kind of is, but this may be misleading. Instead, I would say this is a lazy-ish river float. What I mean is, overall, the float is easy. I would say 75% of the float is calm waters with no rapids. However, that other 25% does very much include rapids or obstacle avoidance. The rapids are mostly small and easy to pass through without much drama. The obstacles consist of some fallen trees along the shoreline and a couple of islands to navigate around in the center of the river. Overall, the Toccoa River is wide, making it easy to float and avoid most obstacles. And due to its calmer nature, it’s definitely the laziest river float near Chattanooga.
River Tubing Planning Tips
Be sure to plan appropriately. Planning a river tubing trip on your own is easy, but requires some preparation. First, be sure you have all the tubing gear you’ll need. Second, make a plan. Gather a group of family and friends to join you. In order to have a smooth tubing adventure, you’ll need to coordinate with everyone and choose a put-in and take-out vehicle(s). Now here’s where things can get a little tricky. I suggest downloading my free Tubing Checklist to make sure everyone is on the same page and nothing gets forgotten. This list is designed to help you organize packing the car for the road trip, packing the put-in vehicle, packing the take-out vehicle, and prepping your tube for the river.
Download my FREE Tubing Checklist to prepare for your Chattanooga tubing adventure!
In Closing
Toccoa River is definitely my new favorite river tubing location near Chattanooga. Be sure to watch the YouTube video where you’ll see that I messed up on packing the take-out vehicle properly and really could have used this Tubing Checklist.
I also enjoyed learning about Copperhill, TN and McCaysville, GA. There’s so much history to unpack in this small town so I plan to visit again someday. Of course, I’ll bring y’all along with me then. Until next time, enjoy exploring Chatt!
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