4.3 MILES(ROUND TRIP)
MORE DIFFICULT
Blood Mountain: hiking the Appalachian Trail from Neels Gap.This mountain is one of North Georgia’s most popular day hikes, and it’s the highest-elevation summit on the Appalachian Trail in Georgia. Stunning views. A heart-pounding workout on the relatively steep ascent to the Blood Mountain summit. It’s one all-around fantastic hike.

While the views from Blood Mountain are fantastic year-round, this route’s busiest season is autumn. North Georgia’s hardwoods explode in vibrant fall leaf color, painting the surrounding mountains and valleys in vivid, colorful beauty. This is an extremely popular route to the summit, though, and parking at the trailhead is extremely limited, so be sure to hit the trailhead early on weekends and in peak seasons. An early morning drive on North Georgia’s winding roads and a cup of coffee at the mountain’s summit: the perfect way to start a weekend of adventure.
The trail meets the Appalachian Trail at Flatrock Gap at .7 mile after an ascent of over 400 feet. The hike turns right at the signed trail intersection, following the white-blazed Appalachian Trail westbound.

The forest canopy opens suddenly. The Appalachian Trail hikes through the first of many rocky clearings at .8 mile, catching a preview of the stunning views on the mountain’s higher elevations. The clearing’s grooved rock slabs and boulders contrast brilliantly with the vibrant green moss and smoky green lichen that covers their surface.

The climb intensifies at 1 mile as the AT meanders through tight switchbacks along a boulder-dotted slope. The trail exits the switchbacks at 1.4 miles, leveling at a clearing before scrambling over several large boulders. The hike reaches sweeping, vast views at 1.7 miles.The trail climbs over lichen-covered outcrops and boulders at 2 miles, entering a high-elevation forest of mountain laurel, moss, wind-swept pine, and rhododendron. The hike reaches the Blood Mountain summit at 2.15 miles, having climbed 1400 feet elevation from the Byron Reece trailhead. At 4459 feet, the mountain is the Appalachian Trail’s highest-elevation ascent in Georgia.A rock building at the summit, constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s, offers shelter for through-hikers on the Appalachian Trail during their 2000+ mile, epic-length hike from Georgia to Maine. The views at the Blood Mountain summit are outstanding, especially from the massive outcrop that towers beside the shelter.
Departing the summit, the hike retraces the outbound route in reverse to return to the trailhead. The AT reaches the Byron Reece Trail intersection at 3.5 miles, turning left to follow the blue-blazed BRT through the Flatrock Gap Valley. The hike reaches the Byron Reece Trail trailhead at 4.3 miles, completing the view-packed adventure.

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