Southeast

Blood Mountain via Appalachian Trail

4.6 mi1,500 ft gain

Guide to hiking Blood Mountain via the Appalachian Trail from Byron Reece Trailhead in Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests. Georgia's highest point on the AT at 4,458 feet, with panoramic views and a historic stone shelter.

9 min read

easy-moderateout-and-back

Brasstown Bald via Freeman Trail

6.2 mi1,200 ft gain

April through October

Guide to hiking Brasstown Bald via the Freeman Trail in Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests, Georgia. A 6.2-mile out-and-back to the state's highest point at 4,784 feet, with views into four states and a staffed visitor center at the summit.

7 min read

Dukes Creek Falls Trail

2.4 mi600 ft gain

Guide to the Dukes Creek Falls Trail in Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests, Georgia. A 2.4-mile out-and-back to a 250-foot waterfall cascade, with a viewing platform and a trail to the base of the falls.

7 min read

Panther Creek Falls Trail

6.8 mi600 ft gain

A 6.8-mile out-and-back to one of Georgia's finest waterfalls in Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests, following Panther Creek through hardwood forest to a 75-foot cascade near Toccoa.

6 min read

Raven Cliff Falls Trail

5 mi750 ft gain

Guide to hiking Raven Cliff Falls Trail in Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests. A 5-mile hike through a rhododendron gorge to one of Georgia's most dramatic waterfalls, where water pours through a massive cleft in the rock face.

8 min read

moderate-hardloop

Rich Mountain Loop

8.8 mi1,800 ft gain

An 8.8-mile loop through the Cohutta and Rich Mountain Wilderness areas in Chattahoochee National Forest, Georgia, with 1,800 feet of gain through some of the most remote hardwood forest in the southern Appalachians.

7 min read

strenuousout-and-back

Springer Mountain via AT Approach Trail

16.2 mi3,000 ft gain

Guide to hiking Springer Mountain via the Appalachian Trail Approach Trail from Amicalola Falls State Park. A strenuous 16.2-mile out-and-back to the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia.

11 min read

Apple Orchard Falls

3.2 mi800 ft gain

Guide to Apple Orchard Falls in George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, Virginia. A 3.2-mile out-and-back through a rhododendron and hemlock canyon to one of the tallest waterfalls in Virginia at 200 feet.

8 min read

Chimney Rock Trail

4.4 mi1,200 ft gain

A 4.4-mile out-and-back to a dramatic quartzite pinnacle in the Goshen area of George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, Virginia, with sweeping views down the Calfpasture River valley.

7 min read

Crabtree Falls Trail

3.4 mi1,500 ft gain

Guide to Crabtree Falls Trail in George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. The tallest cascading waterfall east of the Mississippi, a 3.4-mile out-and-back with five major cascades.

10 min read

Dragon's Tooth

4.6 mi1,600 ft gain

Guide to Dragon's Tooth in George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. A 4.6-mile out-and-back to Virginia's most dramatic rock scramble, featuring Class 3 climbing and a quartzite spire on the AT.

10 min read

Humpback Rocks Trail

2 mi800 ft gain

Guide to Humpback Rocks Trail in George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. A short, steep 2-mile hike to panoramic Blue Ridge views near the Blue Ridge Parkway.

11 min read

McAfee Knob

8.8 mi1,720 ft gain

Guide to McAfee Knob in George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. The most photographed spot on the Appalachian Trail, an 8.8-mile out-and-back hike to an iconic rock ledge overlooking the Catawba Valley.

11 min read

Tinker Cliffs

10.5 mi2,100 ft gain

Guide to Tinker Cliffs in George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, Virginia. A 10.5-mile out-and-back on the Appalachian Trail to a half-mile-long quartzite cliff band with sweeping views over the Roanoke and Catawba valleys.

8 min read

Whitetop Mountain Trail

4.2 mi800 ft gain

May through October

A 4.2-mile out-and-back to the second-highest peak in Virginia via the Lewis Fork Trail in George Washington and Jefferson National Forests, with above-treeline views into Tennessee and North Carolina.

7 min read

Black Balsam Knob

3.5 mi1,100 ft gain

May through October

Guide to Black Balsam Knob in Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina. A 3.5-mile out-and-back on the Art Loeb Trail to an open Appalachian bald at 6,214 feet with 360-degree views over the Southern Appalachian high country.

7 min read

Courthouse Falls

4 mi600 ft gain

easy-moderateout-and-back

A 4.0-mile out-and-back through old-growth forest in Pisgah National Forest to a 45-foot waterfall on Courthouse Creek, one of the quieter cascades in western North Carolina.

7 min read

Devil's Courthouse

1 mi250 ft gain

A short but dramatic 1.0-mile out-and-back to a quartzite summit at 5,462 ft in Pisgah National Forest, offering 360-degree views into North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee.

7 min read

easy-moderateloop

Graveyard Fields Loop

3.2 mi400 ft gain

Guide to the Graveyard Fields Loop off the Blue Ridge Parkway in Pisgah National Forest. A 3.2-mile loop through a unique high-altitude valley with two waterfalls and exceptional fall color.

10 min read

Looking Glass Rock Trail

6.2 mi1,700 ft gain

Guide to the Looking Glass Rock Trail in Pisgah National Forest. A challenging 6.2-mile out-and-back hike to the summit of one of the most iconic peaks in the southern Appalachians.

8 min read

easyloop

Max Patch

2.4 mi350 ft gain

Guide to the Max Patch hike on the Appalachian Trail in Pisgah National Forest. A 2.4-mile loop to a grassy bald with 360-degree views of the Blue Ridge and Great Smoky Mountains.

9 min read

easyout-and-back

Moore Cove Falls

1.4 mi200 ft gain

Year-round

Guide to Moore Cove Falls in Pisgah National Forest, North Carolina. A 1.4-mile out-and-back through a flat forest cove to a 50-foot waterfall you can walk behind, near Brevard, NC.

8 min read

Shining Rock via Art Loeb Trail

7.6 mi1,600 ft gain