The Georgia Traverse for Forest and Off-Road Road Enthusiasts
I enjoy driving my Jeep on forest roads, away from the beaten track. I’ve done boondocking trips all over the country, but one of my favorite areas is close to home. Living here in Knoxville, there are plenty of opportunities to do that, especially with the Appalachians to the south and east and the Cumberland Plateau to the north and west. A great way to get started is the same way I did — taking the Georgia Traverse. You can do the whole thing or sections.
The Georgia Traverse is 390 miles mapped out going from northwest Georgia, near the Alabama border, and ending in northeast Georgia, near the Georgia/South Carolina border. 226 of those miles are unpaved, consisting of dirt/gravel. Most of the paved section is getting from the Cohutta Wilderness over to the most western part. You can download the GPS route and waypoints here. Note there is a loop in the Cohutta Wilderness that you can take up to TN — however, recently a part was blocked off, which means you should be prepared for washouts, closed gates, and other variations. On most sections you can usually bail if you need to.
The Traverse has many offshoots not mapped on the official route since it goes through a number of National Forests and Wildlife Management Areas. You can shoot north up to the Smoky Mountain National Park, the Cherokee National Forest…
