Beech Bottom is a very popular trail in the combined Big Frog/Cohutta Wilderness because it is the easiest and shortest route to Jacks River Falls. In warm weather, it is one of the more popular outdoor swimming spots in North Georgia. In the winter after sustained rainfall the falls whitewater is epic.
Most of the trails in the Cohutta Wilderness are either ascending or descending or extremely wet crossing water. Beech Bottom Trail is the exception offering an easy out and back with a minimal change in elevation and no significant water crossings.
From its trailhead, in the Cherokee National Forest, the trail winds to the southeast on a former forest service road. The trail enters Georgia and the Chattahoochee National Forest at approximately the 1/4 mile mark. It then winds back west and then northwest back into Tennessee and the Cherokee National Forest for less than a .1 of a mile before hooking back to the southeast for its general direction to Jacks River.
The trail descends slightly and crosses a small creek at mile 1. After this, the trail begins gradually climbing until mile 2.5 gaining over 300 feet. Mile 2.5 to 3.5 is level. After descending into the Beech Bottom flood plain the last half mile is an easy level hike to Jacks River.
At mile 2.9 there is a winter vista of Hemp Top Ridge to the east and Rough Ridge to the south. The pyramid shape of the top of Big Frog Mountain which Hemp Top Trail traverses is a common sight from many trails in the Cohutta Wilderness, especially during the winter. Also from this point, if there has been sustained rainfall then the falls can be heard below on the trail.
Continuing the trail swings back to the north traversing the top of a ridge with Beech Creek coming into view below. The view of Beech Creek from above is really intimate with the trail virtually standing 150 feet above it. The trail descends slightly and to the right traveling south now into an old camping area and crosses Beech Creek at mile 3.5. The trail continues on a level grade for another .5 miles to its junction with Jacks River Trail and its namesake river.
Camping has been banned in the Beech Bottom/Jacks River Falls area from April 1st to October 31st for over a decade now due to the ecological damage caused by campers.
The floodplain is apparent at the end of the trail and sometimes omits an unpleasant odor in some areas. At the Beech Bottom-Jacks River trail junction take a right and hike downstream on Jacks River Trail for approximately .7 miles to the top of the first of two waterfalls.
The falls are their highest after sustained winter rains or spring rains. During this time the falls intensity is impressive. However, during summer droughts, the falls become a trickle, still with terrific waterholes.