Northwest High Country

The Northwest High Country is a sub-region of Georgia's Historic High Country region. The northwest corner of the state borders Alabama and Tennessee. The nearest large city is Chattanooga, Tennessee and accordingly Lookout Mountain, Ruby Falls, and Rock City. The largest city, Dalton is well known for its carpet industry. Other attractions include Cloudland Canyon State Park, Fort Mountain State Park, Chief Vann House Historic Site, and the Chattahoochee National Forest.

Map of the Historic High Country. Northwest High Country counties are in red

Cities

• 🌍 Chatsworth
• 🌍 Dalton
• 🌍 Lafayette
• 🌍 Wildwood

Other destinations

• Summerville
• Cave Springs
• Lyerly
• Menlo

Understand

Get in

Get around

See

View from the Cohutta Overlook

• 🌍 Chief Vann House Historic Site, ☎ [phone]. The first brick residence in the Cherokee Nation, this house was owned by Cherokee Chief James Vann. 
• Cohutta Overlook. Located off of Highway 52, this overlook offers panoramic views of the Cohutta Mountains. 
• 🌍 New Echota Historic Site, ☎ [phone]. This historic site encompasses New Echota, the capital of the Cherokee Nation from 1825 to their forced removal in the 1830s. 

Do

Hiking

Cloudland Canyon

• 🌍 Cloudland Canyon State Park, 122 Cloudland Canyon Park Road Rising Fawn, GA 30738, ☎ [phone]. 7 a.m.–10 p.m. State park in Dade county that straddles a deep gorge. Cloudland Canyon's depths range from 800 to 1,980 feet. Contains 30 miles of hiking trails 
• Crockford-Pigeon Mountain Wildlife Management Area, ☎ [phone]. Contains several hiking trails on Pigeon Mountain. Points of interest include the Pocket Branch Falls, the Blue Hole, Petty John's Cave and Ellison's Cave. As its name suggests, hunting is also allowed in the WMA. GORP ($6 online for individual 3 day pass). 
• 🌍 Fort Mountain State Park, 181 Fort Mountain Park Road Chatsworth, GA 30705, ☎ [phone]. 7 a.m.–10 p.m. The park has over 25 miles worth of hiking trails, leading to a CCC fire tower, an ancient stone wall and overlooks that offer majestic views of the Cohutta Mountains. Park also contains a reservoir with a lakeside beach. 
• 🌍 James H. Floyd State Park, 2800 Sloppy Floyd Lake Road Summerville, GA 30747. State park located near Summerville at the base of Taylor Ridge. Features two lakes, boardwalks, pedal boat renatls and 5 mile of hiking trails. The Pinhoti Trail is only a 1.6 mile away from the park. 
• Johns Mountain Wildlife Management Area, ☎ [phone]. The Johns Mountain WMA is located inside the Chattahoochee National Forest. Trails inside this WMA lead to features such as the Keown Falls and the Johns Mountain Overlook. As a wildlife management area, hunting is allowed inside this park. 

Lakes

• 🌍 Carters Lake. A 3,200 acres lake in Murray and Gilmer counties. The lake is also more than 450 feet (140 m) deep 
• 🌍 Lake Conasauga (Take U.S. 411 north from Chatsworth for 4 miles to Eton. Turn right (east) at traffic light in Eton. Follow Forest Service Road 18 east for 10 miles, then turn left (northwest) on Forest Service Road 68 for 10 miles.). A 19-acre lake located near Grassy Mountain in the Cohutta Mountains. It is the highest lake in Georgia at 3,150 feet (960 m) above sea level. Hiking, fishing, picnicking and non-motorized boating allowed. $10 a night per site. 

Caving

• Ellison's Cave. A cave on Pigeon Mountain in Walker County. Features the deepest, unobstructed underground pitch in the continental US. 
• Petty John's Cave. Cave on Pigeon Mountain. A mostly horizontal cave. 

Rock climbing

• Rocktown. A free face rock climbing area on top of Pigeon Mountain. 

Eat

The Tavern in Trion GA has some of the best southern cooking you'll find anywhere. Ballenger's in Summerville, GA has excellent steaks. Home-made salad dressings and also excellent Spaghetti and Lasagna.

Drink

Stay safe

Go next

• West High Country
• Central High Country
• Northeast High Country
• East High Country