2-state trail · Long-distance trail

Pinhoti Trail

335 mi long · across 2 states · centroid 62 mi from Atlanta

The Pinhoti Trail extends the Appalachian system southward from the Benton MacKaye Trail in Georgia to Flagg Mountain, Alabama (the southernmost peak of the Appalachian range over 1,000 feet). It is the southernmost link of the Great Eastern Trail and 335 miles long.

Pinhoti Trail
Photo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
States
Alabama, Georgia
Length
335 mi
Trail type
Long-distance trail
Network
Regional (rwn)
Centroid nearest city
Atlanta, GA · 62 mi · ~1.8 hr drive
Centroid coords
33.9326°, -85.4381°
Official site
pinhotitrailalliance.org
OSM relations
1 sub-relations on OpenStreetMap
From Wikipedia: The Pinhoti Trail is a Southern Appalachian Mountains long-distance trail, 335 miles (540 km) in length, located in the United States within the states of Alabama and Georgia. The trail's southern terminus is on Flagg Mountain, near Weogufka, Alabama, the southernmost peak in the state that rises over 1,000 feet (300 m). The trail's northern terminus is where it joins the Benton MacKaye Trail. The trail's highest point is Buddy Cove Gap, with an elevation of 3164 feet near the Cohutta Wilderness. Its lowest point above sea level is close to Weogufka Creek near Weogufka State Forest at 545 feet. Excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Pinhoti National Recreation Trail, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Termini

Start & end

Southern terminus: Flagg Mountain, Alabama.

Northern terminus: Benton MacKaye Trail, Georgia.

Plan your hike

Practical notes

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 Pinhoti Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.

Stay nearby

Affiliate · disclosed
Driving in? The nearest documented metro is Atlanta, GA — 62 miles away (~1.8 hr drive). See accommodation in Atlanta on Booking.com → RoamFound earns a small commission if you book through this link, at no extra cost to you. How we handle affiliate links.

Sources

Public data + curation

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.