The Flint River Is One Of The South’s Greatest Natural Wonders

It could be said that more people have stood atop the headwaters of the Flint River than that of any other one on earth. And most of them had no idea, busy as they were navigating TSA and Chick-fil-A lines en route to their airplane gates. Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport was built above the headwaters of the Flint, which flows undammed for more than 200 miles.

At first, you can only hear the river. Years ago, before I embarked on a source-to-sea canoe trip down the Flint, Ben Emanuel of the environmental nonprofit American Rivers led me to a storm drain in a strip mall parking lot in Hapeville, Georgia. We crouched, tried to ignore the traffic hum, and listened to the sound of the water 10 feet below us.

That portal in the asphalt was a deceiving first impression of the river I joined farther downstream and rode to the Gulf. The solo journey took me idly spinning below sandstone cliffs, bumping down metamorphic ledges glinting with turtles and shiny mica, camping on broad sandbars, and gliding unknowingly past secret “blue holes” hidden in the woods where the pristine Floridan aquifer emerges from the depths. I was captivated as the water pulled me through an exotic, complex corridor of the South.

The Wild Flint

The Flint snakes down Georgia, a safe distance from I-85 and I-75, before joining the Chattahoochee River in Lake Seminole and cutting across the Florida Panhandle as the Apalachicola River. It is home to the endemic and feisty shoal bass and also to one of the country’s most beautiful and rare flowers, the shoals spider lily. It has a history with a few American Presidents. Franklin D. Roosevelt fished in the river, which was near his Little White House, and decades ago, it was saved by Georgia’s own Jimmy Carter. Yet the Flint remains somewhat obscure, which is both a benefit—for those seeking quiet refuge—and a liability. If the past has proven anything with this river, as with other wild places, you have to know it to want to protect it.

On a recent trip back, I brought my young daughter, Ada. We rented a canoe at the Flint River Outdoor Center, a rambling waterside outpost near Thomaston. The shuttle van brought us 5 miles upriver to Sprewell Bluff Park. On the way, we stopped at an overlook 700 feet above the water with a miles-long view up the undeveloped valley covered in a canopy of oaks, elms, chestnuts, and pines. Fifty-one years ago, then-Governor Jimmy Carter likely took in this same vantage on his way to paddle the Flint. Carter grew up playing on the Choctahatchee Creek, a lower Flint tributary, where he says, “We had an immersion in the natural world that has marked my whole existence.”

In 1973, a few months after canoeing the Sprewell Bluff section, Carter vetoed a dam proposal that would have inundated some of the Flint’s most iconic areas. These included Dripping Rocks, named for the numerous springs; The Cove, a geologic oddity and longtime home to early settlers, some of whom allegedly sold moonshine to President Roosevelt; and countless historic sites of Eastern Woodlands Native Americans, who called the river Thronateeska, or “Flint Picking-Up Place.”

Experience the Flint River

Fall and spring are the best times to visit the river, with fewer bugs and more brilliant colors. Most sections are beginner friendly, but Flat Shoals and Yellow Jacket Shoals can be tricky. Be sure to check with an outfitter to gauge water levels. Flint River Outdoor Center has half-day, full-day, and overnight trips on and above the Sprewell Bluff section with canoes, kayaks, rafts, and a shuttle service. The Riverside Country Store in Woodbury is a newer operator offering canoe and kayak rentals and shuttle service for the upper Flint River near Flat Shoals. A food truck serves breakfast sandwiches and barbecue. Sprewell Bluff Park cabins are modest accommodations providing amazing vistas from atop the bluffs with river access and miles of hiking trails nearby.

Ada and I had an easy half-day float from Sprewell Bluff to the Flint River Outdoor Center. A handful of shoals—bedrock ribs that poke the water’s surface—created narrow chutes and demanded attention, especially with a kindergartner aboard. We sneaked up on sunbathing turtles and laughed when they would scuttle into the river. We limboed under Spanish moss-covered branches jutting out from the bank. We caught an eddy at the edge of a patch of shoals spider lilies, the flowers full and open and as bright as a wedding dress.

I tried to impart to Ada how fortunate we were to catch the lilies during their short bloom. Then I remembered her world is full of mind-blowing firsts all the time, like a bend in a new river. How lucky. At my age, it’s rare to find something wild in the everyday.

Nearing the end of our trip, I beached the canoe on a small island. We pulled aside chunks of quartzite and sandstone, looking for ancient flint arrowheads. The sun emerged from behind a cloud. I waded into the river with Ada on my back and lay down in the shallow flow, holding the bedrock to keep us in place, our heads at water level. The warm stream swept around our shoulders and over our backs. For a second, I imagined that the current was time and I was capable of holding us there, laughing and immersed.

More Wild Southern Waters

Explore our region’s beloved rivers and unspoiled scenery.

Virginia

About an hour and worlds away from Washington, D.C., the Rappahannock River traverses the Blue Ridge foothills with moderate rapids and great fishing. Day trips or overnights are offered through Ashby Gap Adventures. ashbygapadventures.com

Mississippi

Perhaps the wildest place in the South can be found between the levees of the lower Mississippi River. Quapaw Canoe Company has overnight and day excursions with expert guides piloting hand-built wooden canoes, some big enough to hold a dozen people. island63.com

Florida

If it weren’t for its famous beaches, The Sunshine State would be known for its fresh water, including many rivers that are fed by crystal clear springs. Florida has developed hundreds of miles of paddling trails to facilitate recreation on scenic rivers like the Santa Fe, Suwannee, Withlacoochee, and Chipola. floridapaddlingtrails.com