Named for the regional planner who envisioned the Appalachian
Trail and founded the Wilderness Society,
this trail journeys deep into the most remote
areas of Fannin County.
Beginning at Springer Mountain, the Benton MacKaye
skirts the ridge of Bald Mountain with occasional scenic views on the
trail or a short
walk from the trail. It returns to the AT to share its path up Rich
Mountain just after the Springer Mountain Day Use Parking Area. When
the AT leaves Rich Mountain and quickly descends to Stover Creek the
BMT continues on a much more gradual descent along an old logging road.
It rejoins the AT for the crossing at Three Forks. After the side path
to Long Creek Falls the Benton MacKaye turns left.
Over the next 7 miles the BMT crosses no roads, and
there are rarely any hikers until it crosses
Forest Service Road 333 and descends into
the Toccoa River Valley. Here the 265 foot
swinging
bridge crosses the Toccoa. From the bridge
to Highway 60 is a 3 mile hike. North of Highway
60 the trail climbs Wallalah and Rhodes Mountains
in a gentle arc as the trail swings from traveling
northeast to northwest. In the vicinity of
Wallalah the trail is treacherous ; there
are some excellent views from Rhodes. On the
top of Rhodes Mountain the Duncan Ridge Trail
leaves the BMT.
Once through Skeenah Gap, the trail offers additional
scenic views of distant mountains, then begins an easy climb up Deadennen
Mountain, descends to Lula Head Gap and ascends Wilscot Mountain
and descends to Highway 60 in Wilscot Gap. After the gap the trail
begins the steep climb to the top of Tipton Mountain, but its worth
the climb. At the top of Tipton are some excellent views regardless
of season. Watch the trail blazes in this area, for its easy to get
off the path.
From Tipton Mountain the trail falls to a gap, then
ascends Brawley Mountain. As the trail heads west it skirts the top
of Garland Mountain. There are some excellent views of the Toccoa River
Valley from the top of Garland, and there is an easy descent to Dial
Road. Here the Shallowford Bridge crosses the Toccoa, and the trail
follows Aska Road to Riverside Restaurant. The Benton MacKaye then
turns on Stanley Creek Road. In 2.5 miles the trail returns to the
forest, and begins the climb to Falls Creek Falls.
After visiting the falls on
a side trail, return to the Benton MacKaye
for the long climb to the top of Rocky Mountain.
*The above information
is from the Fannin
County Chamber of Commerce website. Be
sure to visit their site for more detailed
information.
About Bob Marcy & Mountain Living
Now
If you are looking for a lakefront
cabin or a secluded mountain home in North
Georgia , then you will need a partner to
help you every step of the way. Bob Marcy
is an experienced North
Georgia realtor that has the local knowledge
you need and the passion to find your perfect
slice of North Georgia real estate. Bob knows
you have many North Georgia realtors to choose
from and he is committed to providing a level
of customer service that sets him apart from
the crowd. He can help you find North
Georgia lakefront cabins, North
Georgia land for sale, North
Georgia mountain homes, Blue
Ridge real estate, North
Georgia river homes, North
Georgia lake homes and Blue
Ridge cabins.
Bob loves living in Blue Ridge and selling
real estate all across North Georgia, Eastern
Tennessee and Western North Carolina . He
has developed this custom website to help
consumers explore all that this area has to
offer. You can search the entire
North Georgia MLS including all North
Georgia properties and land for sale, even
properties listed by other North Georgia realtors.
You can perform custom North Georgia real
estate searches or take advantage of the time
saving 1 click searches he has built into
the site such as North
Georgia cabins under $300,000, North
Georgia lakefront cabins & homes,
North
Georgia river homes, North
Georgia land for sale under 1 acre, North
Georgia mountain homes under $300,000 with
views and all
Blue Ridge homes under $300,000.
If you see something you like or if you have
a question about a property or maybe just
where the best place to eat is, give Bob a
call at 706-258-7375 or shoot
him an email at bob@mountainlivingnow.com
.
