Kitten was a great tour guide and has a amazing sense of humor and vocabulary. Definitely a must go…read morein the area.

This was my first experience whitewater rafting and I had no clue what to expect!! But this was…read moreabsolutely one of the most top notch experiences ever!!!! If you go please recommend Billy!!! He was so great to talk with, has a lot of knowledge about the area and makes the trip a lot of fun!!! This may be a "smaller business" but the experience was the best! The whole team was terrific and we will come back for another adventure!!!!

We were looking to 'unplug' for a short time and booked a 4 night stay at Whitewater Express…read more This place is knee-deep in the woods and mountains; the area is truly beautiful. We were extremely happy with the courteousness of the staff all around the property! Check-in was a breeze and they had scheduled us to white-water raft twice (which we wanted), horseback ride, and mountain bike. They way they had scheduled everything was perfect! Gave us plenty of time to rest and relax, sight-see, and shop, with the adrenaline adventures in between. Now... about our cabin. We were so blessed to have gotten a deluxe cabin (Ranger's cabin) which was amazing! It was gorgeous, comfortable, and we felt like we had our own slice of heaven in the mountains. We were also lucky to have satellite TV (yes, we wanted to unplug, but we were extremely pleased that we could watch the hurricane details on the news of what was going on at home). The beds and furniture were comfortable, and to top it off, every night we had an awesome fire in the fireplace (thanks to the outpost for selling firewood and firestarter). The best part of the trip was the rafting. There are a lot of rafting companies in the area, but it was so convenient to just walk up to the outpost, check-in for rafting, and be bussed to the starting area. They also pick you up and bring you back. We rafted twice, once with Robert, and once with Abby. Though they were the same part of the river for each trip, the experiences were so different. Both absolutely wonderful! If you want a calm ride, let your guide know. If you want it wild, let your guide know. Our guides were absolutely fantastic and made the experience incredibly memorable. Can't wait to go again! Overall experience - 5 stars. The cabins are awesome. The staff here is amazing. The rafting is super fun. All we have talked about is that we can't wait to go back. There are so many cabin rentals not far from the Ocoee River - but we will just turn our head, because we're definitely going to be repeat customers of Whitewater Express.

some gal pals and I had the pleasure of rafting with this company and they really are the best!…read more they have great gear and the best team! such a great atmosphere! 10/10 recommend.

My girlfriend took me to Blue Ridge Offroad Adventures for my birthday, and this ended up being one…read moreof the best parts of our weekend. What really stood out to me was how the crew treated us. Everyone was friendly, down-to-earth, and professional. Before we got started, they took their time explaining everything, especially the safety side of the ride. They answered our questions and made sure we felt comfortable before heading out. At no point did we feel rushed or like we were just another group coming through. Once we hit the trails, that's when the real fun started! There was a nice variety of terrain. Some sections were easier where you could just enjoy the scenery and the ride, and then there were rougher sections that made it much more exciting. That combination was perfect for us. We were laughing, having fun, and enjoying ourselves the entire time. My girlfriend definitely picked a winner for my birthday! I've already been telling my friends that we need to come back and bring our girlfriends so we can all experience it together. If you enjoy off-roading or just want to try something different and adventurous while you're in the Blairsville area, put this place on your list. Great people, great trails, and an experience we'll be talking about for a while. We'll definitely be back!

We never even left the parking lot. Their vehicle was already broken, and somehow we were blamed…read morefor it. He screamed at us and kicked us out, and it was honestly the most disrespectful experience. We traveled far for this, were excited to be there, and within seconds we were being yelled at for their transmission breaking in their own parking lot. He even complained about how much it would cost to fix. If you can't afford to maintain a vehicle that breaks this often, you shouldn't be running a business around it. I truly don't understand how a business can operate like this. He claims he "does this every day," yet it's being run out of a garage and has zero reviews on Yelp or transparencies. Do not go here. On top of that, I was flirted with and the guy was extremely creepy.

We rented a pontoon boat from Shooks and we were not disappointed. Not only was the boat clean it…read moreran great. We are boat owners from Florida and we were not disappointed. The newly owned owners were amazing and were so welcoming it made our day start off even better then expected. The lake was really neat as we are not used to lake living but really enjoyed it. On top of it all they gave a military discount which was much appreciated. We will definitely do business with them again when we go back. Thank you to Shooks Marina for allowing my family and I to have a great day on the lake, we created unforgettable memories.

Great time in this beautiful lake-river! People at the Marina were so nice and helpful!read more

I went to SWO and I had Jonnyson as a river guide and he was amazing I had so much fun and I can't…read morewait to go back next year he made the experience so much fun he's an amazing guide

tried to email numerous times. no response. so here goes…read more It was our third trip to WW Express and we brought another friend with us this time. Everything from start to finish was top notch as with previous visits. We were lucky enough to get Stan as our guide, and he was incredible. Entertaining, very informative, and knew the river like the back of his hand. However, when we got home to purchase some of the pictures, we saw that a) there weren't that many of them b) there were 13 pictures of our assistant guide in the separate single raft! C)Two pictures were just of water. Not very many action shots as I saw of the other groups that day. Pretty disappointing as we really have no decent pictures for souvenirs. Stan was great, but I'm not sure if we would return. Still up in the air for next year.

Amazing memories made for my girls' first boat ride on the river. The Toonz team was friendly &…read moreaccommodating. The process was easy and convenient with their all inclusive services. Our only job for the day was to show up ready to enjoy the beautiful Blue Ridge River views. Can't wait to visit again!

We had such an amazing experience with the Toonz team. The pontoon boat was very nice. Easy to…read morehandle. They think of everything. We had everything we needed to float and relax AND get some awesome tubing in. The process was seamless and the team was wonderful. This was our third time using the Toonz team and we will be back every August for some good Lake Blueridge boating action!!!

Peaceful and beautiful and secluded. Site 6 very nicely fits our 28 ft motor home. No bugs and a…read morenice breeze from Lake Blue Ridge.

At Nicole's urging, we spent a hour on our inflatable kayak paddling and swimming from the rocky…read morebeach here in the balmy Blue Ridge Lake waters. It was truly exhilarating and also my wasp sting, sustained earlier in the morning, felt soothed in the water. Our little one was having a ball, as I raced her to closest buoy. Parking can be paid online $5/pp, or in an envelope deposited at the gate. The beach is more rock than sand so bring water shoes.

If you know me by now, all you have to say is hike and I don't care about the where, the how long…read moreor how tough. Jacks River Falls is one such hike where you may want to know the where, how long and obviously how tough. Before I talk about the hike, let's get into the road to the hike. It's a lot of gravel road....I mean a LOT of gravel road, which made me and my honda accord a bit squeamish that a tire might get popped. Something a bit more hefty like a truck or a jeep would probably serve you better on the roads, but just your Joe average sedan can navigate to the parking lot also. Once you leave the parking lot across the road from the trail entrance, I have to say it's kinda a poorly marked trail. No official blaze markers, although good samaritans spray painted a few choice areas for people up for taking on this hike. Jacks River Falls, I hate to say it, is not a pretty hike. There are no grand vistas, or post card shots. No, you really are coming here for the hike or the actual waterfall, which IS worth the hike. I went along with Richard R, and we did stumble our way through the trail, taking a wrong turn a time or two, but ultimately getting ourselves back on track. Note that if you come to a fork in the trail and you see a couple of signs, one saying "Horses prohibited beyond this point". Go in the direction of that sign...that will take you to the top of the falls. The actual falls themselves were in fact beautiful. Powerful, loud, clear water, and a size that wasn't insignificant. It's a great place to get a lot of photos, or walk right up to the falls to get the water money shots. Like I eluded to earlier, you come out at the top of the falls and have to climb your way down to get in front of the water. Sadly, what goes in must come out, and so we had to do a bit of bouldering to get ourselves back on the main trail. Yep, there was more trail going away from the falls, but with the time of day, unfamiliarity of the falls and just our energy level, we did the safe thing and went back the way we came. Jacks River falls, in addition to not being the prettiest trail, also isn't very forgiving either. Clocking in officially at 9.1 miles, I'm skeptical of that because both of my pedometers listed over 11 miles. Sure, getting lost and a few steps here and there may increase the mileage, but not by that much. I'm mentioning all of this because while my legs are usually rock solid, my left leg cramped up and there was some concern about getting out before dark. We did make it out, but we both took a breather before we got the car moving down the several miles long gravel road and back to civilization. When I left Jacks River Falls, I was all set to give it 3 stars or less. But thinking back, as well as revisiting my photos and videos helps me focus my review. If we're talking about the actual water fall only, It's easily 5 stars. Combining the trail pulls it down a star. Combining the long drive pulls it down to a 3.5....but i'm rounding it up to 4. Beautiful waterfall, great work out of a hike, and if you're a waterfall hunter, it's definitely worth your time. Check it out!

Love the waterfall, but not the hike or the drive to the trailhead…read more THE SCENE There are several trails that lead to Jack's River Falls. We chose Beech Bottom Trail because it is the driest. All trails had previously been closed due to storm damage that occurred on July 21st, 2018, but Beech Bottom recently reopened on Saturday, September 22nd. It currently is one of the only hiking trails open to the falls. Jack's River Falls is among the best looking Georgia waterfalls in both volume and drama. It is a type of chute waterfall, which is when a large volume of water goes through a very narrow passage creating a very strong and thunderous waterfall current. You can hear the deep baritone voice of this waterfall as it rushes through the rock-like funnel. The roar of the water alone is worth staying here all day! It has been on my hiking bucket list for some time now and I'm so very happy to finally check it off my list. However, the gravel road leading to the trailhead is very long and not well marked. We lost our GPS signal 25 minutes prior to reaching the parking area, causing lots of anxiety and concern for if we were driving the right direction. I highly recommend bringing a map or atlas as backup. --- BEECH BOTTOM TRAIL GUIDE I found the trail to be slightly worrisome due to the lack of traditional trail blazes, but ever so often there was a lime-green paint mark on a tree or rock. Several times we were troubled as the trail either disappeared or split, particularly when it intersects with Jack's River Trail at the river. There were no signs here indicating which direction to turn to find the waterfall, which by the way turn RIGHT. After our hike we ate lunch at a local BBQ joint where the owner said it was one of his favorite places to hike, yet he was surprised we actually found the falls on our first try. NOTE: Beech Bottom Trail was once an old road, but it hasn't been maintained since the 1970's. It is for this reason the Ranger office says it has not been marked with blazes. I requested adding a directional sign at the trail intersection near the river. Hopefully they will see the value in that and do so in the near future. Once you turn right at the river, about a half mile downstream the trail will cross a tributary flowing into the main river. It will then continue along a stone ledge as the river begins to cascade at first, then tumble and rumble over larger drops in elevation before its final plunge over the main fall. You must scramble over several large boulders to continue along the trail. We accessed the base along a steep and jagged side trail that was highly questionable in terms of safety. I doubt it was created by the park authorities because it is quite dangerous and difficult climb down. It is very steep and not at all user friendly! Not sure where there was another trail to the base, so we risked it by staying low and holding on to shrub branches on the way down (just in case we slipped). The main falls are nearly impossible to see from the top of the trail, so if you want to great picture, climbing down is your only option. Jack's River Falls was a glorious sight and it spoke with a thunderous roar. Most of the area within 100 yards of the waterfall is granite, including the riverbed. The clear waters were shallow enough to easily walk to the center for a great head-on pic of the falls. On our visit the water was no deeper than knee high. Not sure how deep the pool is in front of the falls but I'm guessing it's about 8+ feet. The hillside above the falls seemed to be noticeably devoid of trees, which made me wonder if the storm that closed the trail back in July had been a tornado. The few trees still barely standing were completely stripped of their leaves and limbs. Still, it did not take away from the absolute beauty of this magnificent waterfall. I've currently hiked over 30 trails to Georgia waterfalls and historic dam ruins. Jack's River Falls is easily one of my Top 10 favorite waterfalls in the state. OVERALL TRAIL LENGTH - 9.1 miles round trip according to Alltrails (although we calculated 12 miles) OVERALL ELEVATION GAIN - 974 feet AMOUNT OF TIME SPEND ON OUR HIKE - 4.5 hours (2h:10m there + 30 minutes at the falls + 1h:50m back). --- FINAL THOUGHTS Jack's River Falls is worth the hike no matter which trail you take, but be forewarned; If you prefer trails with pretty views or lush underbrush, Beech Bottom Trail is NOT at all scenic. The only view until you reach the river 4 miles away will be of the deeply wooded Cohutta Wilderness! More adventurous hikers that don't mind a longer, wetter hike should explore the more challenging Jack's River Trail. The shortest trail to the falls seems to be the Horseshoe Bend Trail found at the end of Old Hwy 2. ENJOY!!! TIP - Many of the other trails are still closed as of the date of this review. It would be wise to call the Conasauga Ranger District prior to your visit. The number is (706) 695-6736. 2018/57