Benton MacKaye Trail
290 mi long · across 3 states · centroid 53 mi from Knoxville
The Benton MacKaye Trail runs 290 miles from Springer Mountain, Georgia (also the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail) through the southern Appalachians to Tennessee. Named for Appalachian Trail visionary Benton MacKaye, it offers a quieter alternative route along the same range and shares a few miles with the AT.
- States
- Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee
- Length
- 290 mi
- Trail type
- Long-distance trail
- Network
- Regional (rwn)
- Centroid nearest city
- Knoxville, TN · 53 mi · ~1.5 hr drive
- Centroid coords
- 35.1987°, -83.8169°
- Official site
- bmta.org
- OSM relations
- 1 sub-relations on OpenStreetMap
Termini
Southern terminus: Springer Mountain, Georgia.
Northern terminus: Big Creek Ranger Station, Tennessee.
Plan your hike
Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.
Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.
When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.
If you've hiked Benton MacKaye Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.
Stay nearby
Other trails within 50 miles
Lakeshore Trail
20 miles from this trail's centroid
Arkaquah Trail
22 miles from this trail's centroid
Bartram Trail
23 miles from this trail's centroid
Forney Creek Trail
27 miles from this trail's centroid
Scott Mountain Trail
30 miles from this trail's centroid
Forney Ridge Trail
30 miles from this trail's centroid
Sources
Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.