Windy Gap OHV

Windy Gap is a small, demanding trail system in the Cohutta area of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest in Murray County, Georgia. It is built around three trails: Windy Gap, Milma Creek, and Tibbs. Windy Gap is the one that matters to a dirt bike rider. Below its junction with Milma Creek it is shared with ATVs, and above that junction it is reserved for motorcycles. Riders describe the upper section as steep, rocky singletrack with big rocks, roots, and switchbacks, so plan on some experience. It is a linear trail, so you finish the ride by turning around and coming back the way you came.

Milma Creek and Tibbs are the ATV trails, with creek crossings and rocky, gravelly stretches. Motorcycles are allowed on them too. The forest lists the whole system as suitable for motorbikes and mountain bicycles, and vehicles must be 50 inches wide or less, so full-size 4x4s and side-by-sides are out. RiderPlanet counts about 12 miles of trail and calls the system lightly maintained and better suited to amateur and expert riders than to novices. Treat that mileage as a rough figure.

Getting there

The staging area is a gravel lot on Forest Service Road 218, about two miles up from Old CCC Camp Road on the right. The lot has a loading and unloading ramp and an information board, and the trail starts on the opposite side of the road. The forest is clear that ATVs and four-wheelers may not use FS 218 itself and can only run on the trail system. The Conasauga Ranger District office is in Chatsworth, and the nearest fuel is a few miles away.

Fees, permits, and rules

The Forest Service page lists the site as free, but the same forest also sells a $50 annual OHV Special Recreation Permit that it says is accepted at Windy Gap, Milma Creek, and Tibbs. Ask the district office at 706-695-6736 which applies before you haul a bike up. Stay on the marked OHV trails. Off-highway vehicles that are not street legal are not allowed on Forest Service roads in this forest, and violations can bring fines of up to $5,000. A spark arrestor is a must, and RiderPlanet also reports a noise limit and a ban on trailblazing.

When to ride

The forest closes the Windy Gap system for January, February, and March. Motorized trails on the forest also close when conditions are wet, to prevent erosion into streams, so call before you go after rain. As of late September 2026 the Forest Service page also showed the site as temporarily closed for road maintenance with heavy equipment on Muskrat Road. Check that page or call the ranger district before planning a trip.