National Park Guide: Georgia's Chattahoochee River

— -- Meandering from an Appalachian Mountain spring southward through Georgia, the shallow, scenic Chattahoochee River serves as a tranquil getaway, boating magnet and robust fishery for the Southeast's largest metropolitan area.

"This is a national recreation area that you can get to within 20 minutes from downtown Atlanta. You can be fly-fishing for reproducing brown trout. You can be kayaking through scenic parkland, where you see rocky shoals and evidence of the Brevard Fault Zone. Or, you can be hiking along the river," says Sally Bethea, founding director of the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper environmental group.

"Personally, my favorite thing to do is to throw my kayak into the river from Powers Island down to Paces Mill. It appears to be very remote," Bethea says.

The Chattahoochee River NRA protects 48 miles of this waterway's corridor, winding from Buford Dam to the Atlanta suburbs. The park boasts 18 public-access points and more than 70 miles of hiking trails, says Patty Wissinger, park superintendent.

Thanks to 50-degree water released from Buford Dam, the river is stocked as America's second-southernmost trout habitat. Bass, perch, catfish and bream are also plentiful.

In February, Interior Secretary Ken Salazar designated the Chattahoochee River NRA as America's first "national water trail." This new distinction is intended to promote outdoor recreation in and near urbanized areas.

Park attendance has continued increasing since the 1990s, Bethea says. Today, Wissinger estimates that nearly 1 million visitors a year take to the river via canoe, kayak, raft or inner tube. "It's a tradition for a lot of our young people to 'shoot the Hooch' and float down the Chattahoochee River. Most of our visitors at this park tend to be young people," Wissinger says.

"You cannot believe that you're in this metro area when you're on this river," Wissinger says.

***

About the park

Size: 48 miles of river

(10,000 acres)

Visitors: 3,161,297 in 2011

Established: 1978

History: Grass-roots advocates lobbied to protect the river from Atlanta's rapid metropolitan growth.

When visiting: Island Ford Visitor Center, 1978 Island Ford Parkway, Sandy Springs, Ga. 30350. Visitor info: 678-538-1200.

Of note: Chattahoochee means "river of painted rocks."