Motels and Cabins in Murray County, Georgia

For a real "mountain getaway" feeling, you might want to try cabins or one of the local conference centers. Keep in mind, though, this is the mountains. For malls on every corner or restaurants within walking distance, choose something in town! Chatsworth is not a "tourist town," so you won't find fancy shops. There are a few local shops and some antique shopping here and there.

Wilderness View Cabins

Chatsworth, GA. Wilderness View Cabins offer both seclusion and luxury. Located on Fort Mountain outside of Chatsworth, Georgia, they cater to individuals who want a nice, secluded mountain getaway. The cabins are located a large, gated property, with beautiful views of the surrounding blue ridges. Cabins feature lots of amenities, including telephone, outdoor hot tub, fireplace, fully-equipped kitchen, porch/deck, and gas grill. Nearby recreational opportunities include horseback riding, hiking, and swimming. I can't personally vouch for them ~ found them on-line by accident, but their number is locally listed. I called their office and got a courteous response ~ they seem nice and friendly.
Website: Wilderness View Cabins
Office address: 9420 Highway 52, Chatsworth, GA 30705. Phone: 706-517-8810

Cohutta Lodge Restaurant and Conference Center

Near Chatsworth, GA. Cohutta Lodge was located on top of Fort Mountain, about halfway between Chatsworth and Ellijay, Georgia. Cohutta Lodge Restaurant has closed (updated 2009). Possibly, the lodge will reopen under new management.
Website: Cohutta Lodge Restaurant & Conference Center
Address: 500 Cochise Trail, Chatsworth, GA 30705.

Cohutta Springs Conference Center

Crandall, GA. Cohutta Springs Conference Center is a beautiful, secluded resort located in Crandall, Georgia. It is particularly wonderful as a quiet retreat or get-away. Cohutta Springs offers motel and conference facilities in a Christian atmosphere. The non-profit organization caters to business and church groups of all denominations. The motels and main lodge of the facility are located on a small peninsula that juts out into a lovely lake, nestled among natural mountain ridges. There is a hiking path around the lake. Residential facilities include three motels, chalets (houses), RV sites, and tent sites. Several meeting rooms are available. All motel rooms have windows that face the lake. Some motel rooms and both suites have balconies, as well. Cabins are available only in the off season (winter), but are generally not available in summer due to long-standing, contractual group reservation. Motels, chalets and cabins have heating and air-conditioning. Wireless internet is available in the motels, cabins, and main lodge. Cell phone reception is poor and often unavailable, due to the surrounding mountain ridges. Recreational opportunities includes canoeing, swimming, picnicking, hiking, tennis, paddle-boats, and bicycle rentals. (Paddle-boats and other water activities may not be available during the off season). Additional recreational activities are available to groups only (as they must be pre-arranged by group leaders). These include horseback riding, pontoon-boat rides, movies, and gold panning. The dining hall is available to groups by contract only. Individual reservations are accepted (though some amenities are not available to individuals). Cohutta Springs is convenient to U.S. Highway 411. Convenience stores with ATMs, General Dollar, First National Bank (Eton/local), Murray Mountain Medical Center (small walk-in clinic) and Living Well Pharmacy are approximately three miles south of Cohutta Springs Road in Eton, Georgia. Chatsworth, seven miles away, has grocery stores, local dining and fast food, several banks, and other stores. Dalton, Georgia, and Cleveland, Tennessee, are about 25-minute drives.

Things to know:

Cohutta Springs is a private resort, not a state park. It is not open for hiking or day activities except by registered guests. Day passes are not available. Cohutta Springs is owned by the Georgia Cumberland Conference of Seventh-Day Adventists. Saturday is the Sabbath day. Sabbath lasts from sundown on Friday until Sundown on Saturday. Store and snack sales are not available on Sabbath. Most recreational activities must be scheduled for other days. Alcohol is not allowed on campus, which includes motels, chalets, cabins and RV or tent sites. Currently, recreational fishing is limited or not available due to recent re-stocking of the lake. Motel rooms do have microwaves and small refrigerators. Chalets have full kitchens. Most of the RV sites have water and sewer hook-ups, plus access to a bathhouse.
Website: Cohutta Springs Conference Center
1175 Cohutta Springs Road, Chatsworth, GA 30705. Phone: 706-695-9093.

Best Western Motel

Chatsworth, Georgia. Best Western Motel is located in town, yet is within easy driving distance of various mountain recreational facilities and historical places. It is on Highway 411 (3rd Avenue is just our local stretch of U.S. 411 ~ ya can't get lost!) The courthouse is just a few blocks down. Ihop is next door. There are several favorite local eateries and hang-outs nearby: Creme Hut restaurant (my favorite ~ ask for "home" fries!), Edna's Home Cooking (just about everybody's favorite ~ try the peanut-butter pie), Biscuit Box, The Village (on 2nd Avenue), Big V Drive-In for great burgers, Doc Holliday's Sports Bar (across from the courthouse), and Dillon's Hickory-Smoked Barbecue (ahem, that's "hickory," as in logs chopped from a hickory tree ~ and if you've never had Southern pit-cooked barbecue, this is a great place to start!). Pizza Hut, Pizza King, and Subway are very close by. Just down the road are KFC, Wendy's, Hardee's, Arby's, and Waffle King. I think Little Caesar's and Dominoes are within delivery distance.
Website: Best Western (Chatsworth)
Address: 651 S. 3rd Ave, Chatsworth, GA 30705
Phone: 1-800-307-2517. Local number (confirmations): 706-695-1411

Key West Inn

Chatsworth, Georgia.
Key West Inn is located at the corner of GA Hwy. 52 and US Hwy. 411. It is right beside Walgreen's Drug Store and Waffle King (pretty much like Waffle House, but fries instead of hash-browns). Key West Inn is surrounded by fast-food restaurants and grocery stores. Video rental is just across the street. They have weekly rates and cater to day-workers, I believe. The inn looks nice from the outside, but I can't give a personal review ~ it has been years since I've been inside there. I called to ask general information and the receptionist had a little trouble understanding what I needed. English may be a problem.

Fort Mountain State Park

From Chatsworth, Georgia: Fort Mountain State Park is an 20-minute drive up Fort Mountain. There's a pullover spot on the way up for a nice "overlook" of the foothills. Residential facilities include cabins, tent spaces, and RV sites. The park has picnic tables, playground, hiking, and (in season) other recreational activities. It is frequented by locals who often go up on summer days for a family picnic. An old, historic CCC lookout tower stands at the top of the mountain, though it is no longer used. For those who have moderate stamina, there's also a great hike up to an overlook of the valley ~ uphill all the way, but well worth it. Not recommended for old couch potatoes, though a young'un might make it. (There are flat-rock steps, but only a few stopping points. Some of the old "mystery" rockpiles that gave Fort Mountain its name are visible as you start up the trail. They're not much to look at, but you can puzzle over how they got there ~ there are quite a few theories about them).
Information at: Georgia State Parks website (search or follow links to Fort Mountain State Park.

Grassy Mountain & Lake Conasauga

Grassy Mountain is wild and wonderful, as I recall ~ but don't go there unless you know how to camp the old-fashioned way. It features a 70-square-mile federal wilderness area as part of the Chattahoochee National Forest. Off-the-trail wilderness camping is allowed, and they also have a few sites where you can put a few bucks in a drop-box and put up a tent (but camping on Old Grassy is seriously not recommended for any but the most experienced campers. Don't be fooled by those tame pictures of sturdy brown picnic tables on the U.S. Forest Service website. It's not your typical family campsite, unless you're planning to barbecue your four-year-old and feed him to the bears. Grassy Mountain Trail itself is called an easy ascent from the dam, but I wouldn't take that at face value. Perhaps the hiking trail is easy, but I can tell you that the drive to get up to it in the first place is no picnic. The last time I drove up Grassy Mountain (all dirt road, sharp curves, very few pullovers), the valves in my '72 Ford LTD pinged a concertina on the way up. I turned around at the fork where the sign said "11 miles to Cohutta Wilderness." I went up the old CCC Camp Road, but there are shorter routes. (That was in 1999 ~ I haven't actually been up to Lake Conasauga since 1975.) My friends went up old Grassy to camp a few years back, but said the campers were leaving one by one as the bear sightings got too close for comfort. (One fisherman said a black bear stood behind him licking its lips, begging him to bait an extra hook. I don't know if that is true.) Our local 9-1-1 goes in there at least once a year to haul out an experienced tour guide with his bushel of greenhorns. In all fairness, even the tour guide won't cross the Jacks River during a flash flood. Take my advice and go in a four-wheel drive. Take a GPS or compass ~ the wilderness map looks like a jigsaw puzzle with a couple of pieces missing. Oh, and take a pal with you ~ one you can throw to a bear if it starts eyeing you as dinner...

Conasauga Lake. For those who are adventurous, outdoorsy types, Conasauga Lake, atop Grassy Mountain, is a beautiful sight to see! Day trips are possible, but I would still recommend four-wheel-drive and good maps. Of archaelogical interest are some ancient pictographs up there (I had forgotten). You can hear the coyotes' high-pitched howling at night. There aren't many wild boars left (I hope ~ my, those things are ugly). Black bears are a given ~ it wouldn't be North Georgia without 'em. You may or may not see some. View U.S. Forest article, below, but before you say, "Gosh, picnic tables!" read this nice article on Grassy Mountain by some Georgia Wiccans (witches). They advise members not to camp there unless they are experienced campers. Sabrina can't help you here!
Web Article: Lake Conasauga: Feature of the Week (June 30, 2004) For the brave at heart, call: Conasauga District: 706-695-6736 to plan a visit.

Nearby Cities

Area cities & towns: Chatsworth, Eton, and Crandall are in Murray County. Dalton is in Whitfield County (about 12 miles from Chatsworth). Calhoun is in Gordon County. Cleveland is in Bradley County, Tennessee (35-45-minute drive from Chatsworth). Chattanooga is in Hamilton County, Tennessee (about 45 miles from Chatsworth). Dalton has many more motel and dining opportunities than Chatsworth, but is not as close to Fort Mountain.

Larger cities: Chattanooga, Tennessee, is about 45-50 miles north of Chatsworth. Atlanta, Georgia, is about a 1 1/2-to-2-hour-drive south from Chatsworth, Georgia.

Nearby Historical Places & Parks

Chief Vann House, New Echota, Tunnel Hill, Red Clay.

State Parks, Hiking & Camping

Fort Mountain State Park (family friendly), Conasauga Lake on Grassy Mountain (maps and 4-wheel-drive vehicle recommended), Cohutta Wilderness (for experienced hikers and campers only).

ALWAYS CHECK WITH LOCAL MOTELS FOR CURRENT INFORMATION BEFORE PLANNING A VACATION!
This page was created on 6 June 2008. It will be updated as time permits, but may not always be up to date.