Boat Ramp at the US Army Corps of Engineers’ Lower Pool West Park on the Chattahoochee River

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If you want to navigate the entire 48 miles of river within Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, you must start right below the Buford Dam and launch your motorboat, kayak, canoe, or raft from the boat ramp located on U. S. Army Corps of Engineers property at Lower Pool West Park on Lower Pool Road (see Directions and Parking). The ramp is located at the very end of the road that leads into the park.

While the Bowmans Island boat ramp is not on National Park Service property, National Park Service passes are good for entry into the the park. If you don’t have a pass, you must pay the standard entrance fee, which is currently $8. There is a credit card machine at the entrance, but your best bet is to purchase a pass (day or annual) in advance online at Recreation.gov. The credit card machines are often out of order, and cash payments are no longer accepted at the individual park units.

While I saw fishermen launch their motorboat, the water is very shallow here, and not too far down are some rapids and plenty of rocks at and just below the surface. I assume the motor was lifted from the water and the boat went through this shallow area just as a canoe or kayak would, but how in the world these guys would power their boat back up the river is beyond me. Either they knew something I didn’t or else they were in for a difficult return trip. In the photo below, you can see the rocks at the actual Bowmans Island, which is not too far from the ramp…and this isn’t even the bad part.