CHATTOOGA NATIONAL WILD AND SCENIC RIVER

ELLICOTT ROCK - JANUARY 15, 2000

The Chattooga River begins in the mountains of North Carolina as small rivulets, nourished by springs and abundant rainfall, high on the slopes of the Appalachian Mountains.  The water drops a half mile in elevation over fifty miles as it winds its way to Lake Tugaloo where the river ends between South Carolina and Georgia.

The Chattooga is one of the few remaining free-flowing streams in the Southeast, and the setting is primitive with dense forests and undeveloped shorelines on most of its route.  On May 10, 1974, Congress designated the Chattooga a Wild and Scenic River - a honor reserved for rivers with outstanding scenery, recreation, wildlife, geologic, and cultural values.

Ellicott Rock is along the Chattooga, and Congress established the 3,300 acre Ellicott Rock Wilderness in 1975.  They made additions to the wilderness in 1984 and it now contains 9,012 acres in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The wilderness straddles the 15,432 acre Chattooga Wild and Scenic River Corridor, providing a large undeveloped land area within easy driving distance for millions of Americans.

Andrew Ellicott, a noted surveyor, was commissioned by North Carolina and Georgia to determine the boundary between the states. He completed his survey in 1811 by chiseling an inconspicuous mark on a rock on the east bank of the Chattooga River. This rock is found inside the Ellicott Rock Wilderness, and it is named Ellicott Rock after its founder.

Our hike to Ellicott Rock was an easy one that followed the Chattooga River Trail and Foothills Trail northbound from the Burrells Ford Parking Area and passed the very scenic Spoon Auger Falls.  Here the two trails part ways and we continued along the Chattooga River to a campsite just south of Ellicott Rock.  There are numerous sites along the water, and this hike can be done as either a day or an overnight trip.