Kayaking in Dahlonega, GA

I had never been kayaking before, always wanted to but never did. Until this weekend. I decided the family was going on an adventure, but since none of us had ever kayaked and had no real idea of what to expect, I needed something easy. One Google search and I found just what I was looking for, Chestatee River Adventures in Dahlonega, GA.

I have visited Dahlonega many times over the years, but mostly the tourist, gold rush side. This was the first time I had been that I didn’t go to the town square.

I chose Chestatee River Adventures because they were very reasonably priced and they had some wonderful reviews, with the advantage of being on a very calm river. It seemed like the perfect place for us greenhorns to start our water adventures. I was right.

We arrived early and were greeted with a warmth and kindness like old friends more than awkward customers that have no idea what they are doing. Once we signed our waivers, the young men took us to the river where our kayaks waited and off we went.

The river twists and turns peacefully for about 2.5 hours before you reach the exit area. For the most part, it is quite shallow. It has just enough baby rapids to make sure you get plenty wet, but nothing a child can’t handle.

One of the most unexpected delights was an area just over halfway through that had turtles everywhere, sunbathing. They lined logs along the river, rocks in the middle of the river, trees that hung a little too low.

We genuinely could not have been introduced to kayaking by a more gracious and accommodating group of young gentlemen. We changed plans on them last minute and they took care of everything. We will definitely visit again. Who knows, maybe I’ll bump into you.