Paddle Georgia 2011 Journey Details

Join us for the 7th Annual Paddle Georgia as our rainbow-colored flotilla of canoes, kayaks and paddlers embarks on the Oconee River from Georgia’s “Classic City” of Athens to Dublin, Georgia’s “Emerald City.” Paddle Georgia 2011 will cover some 12 miles of the Middle Oconee and 94 miles of the Oconee.

From suburban Athens, you’ll stroke through the Piedmont, portaging around two historic dams before spilling into the backwaters of Lake Oconee. Another portage around lakes Oconee and Sinclair will take you to historic Milledgeville, and finally into the Coastal Plain where the river winds with wild abandon to Dublin, the Altamaha River and the Atlantic Ocean.

Once the boundary between the Creek Nation and the young State of Georgia, the Oconee is steeped in history, and a journey down its length provides a glimpse of Georgia from the late 1700s to the present—from frontier forts to hydro-power facilities and cotton fields to kaolin mines. Along the way, you’ll experience Athens’ Ben Burton Park, Georgia’s State Botanical Gardens, Scull Shoals Historic Area, Oconee National Forest, Lake Oconee, and Cow Hell Swamp.

Off river, you’ll have the opportunity to learn more about these rivers and the region through water monitoring opportunities, tours of area attractions and nightly activities at campsites that include entertainment, games and programs highlighting the river’s cultural and natural heritage. An educational adventure for the whole family, Paddle Georgia will show you Georgia as you’ve never seen it before.

VIRTUAL JOURNEY
Click on the links below to view the 2010 virtual tour.

	Day 1: Middle Oconee Merengue —A journey through the wild side of Georgia’s Classic City of Athens, this 12-mile stroke along the Middle Oconee will float you over shoals, around lazy bends and finally to the historic dam at Whitehall Forest. Click here to view the virtual tour
	Day 2: Barnett Shoals Bop — Ghost towns of the Oconee dot this 15-mile route that includes a portage around the 40-foot cascade at Barnett Shoals Dam, a circa 1900s hydro-power project. This Dam and other river-harnessing projects once fueled thriving riverside villages; today only the ruins of these robust centers of commerce remain. Click here to view the virtual tour
	Day 3: Lake Oconee Lindy — Georgia’s newest large hydro-power project—circa 1980 Wallace Dam and Lake Oconee—dominate the landscape on this 12-mile paddle as the Oconee River gives way to the swampy backwaters of the lake where ducks, geese, cormorants and ospreys gather. Click here to view the virtual tour
	Day 4: Antebellum Capitol Cotillion — Starting in the shadows of Sinclair Dam, this eight-mile jaunt takes you through the heart of historic Milledgeville, Georgia’s State Capital from 1803-1868. On the river, you’ll paddle across the fall line, the rocky fault that separates Georgia’s Piedmont from the Coastal Plain. Click here to view the virtual tour
	Day 5: Kaolin Can Can — Rocks and shoals give way to sandbars and kaolin bluffs as the Oconee flows into the Coastal Plain, meandering in graceful loops and bends and surrounded by seemingly endless floodplain forests and oxbow lakes. The 15-mile jaunt ends at a working kaolin mine. Click here to view the virtual tour
	Day 6: Oxbow Buck — Never one to stay in one place long, the Oconee carves an ever-changing course through the 20-plus miles of floodplains in Washington and Wilkinson counties, leaving oxbow lakes, “dead rivers” and enough wet wildness to hold the Coastal Plain’s largest predator—the American alligator. Click here to view the virtual tour
	Day 7: Dublin on the Double — The longest day of the journey and perhaps the most rewarding. With the exception of Ga. 57 near the launch site, you won’t see a bridge of any kind in this 22 miles of river that takes in the uniquely named Cow Hell Swamp before sliding into Dublin and our River’s End Celebration. Click here to view the virtual tour

Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Research Project

Join Georgia Adopt-A-Stream to assess the health of the Oconee River and its tributaries. During the trip, volunteers will learn about Adopt-A-Stream monitoring protocols and participate in monitoring activities to better understand this dynamic river system. All volunteers will have the opportunity to become a certified Adopt-A-Stream Chemical Monitor upon completion of the workshop. No prior training needed. Simply check the box on the registration form to receive information about this opportunity.