Blood Mountain hiking, backpacking & camping guide

It’s the tallest peak on Georgia’s stretch of the Appalachian Trail, offering stunning summit views. And it’s one of Georgia’s most popular hiking destinations. Blood Mountain draws day hikers and backpackers to its summit by the dozens every fair-weather weekend.

But there’s more to Blood Mountain than the often-hiked route from Neels Gap to the 4,458-foot summit. Explore the Blood Mountain summit’s beauty from all angles with this list of our favorite Blood Mountain hiking trails, and grab some serenity on the mountain’s lesser-traveled trails.

Blood Mountain: our favorite hikes and backpacking adventures

These are our favorite backpacking and hiking trails at Blood Mountain, listed in increasing difficulty and distance. And whether you hit the mountain for a day hike or a camping trip, please remember to help preserve the vast beauty of the Georgia wilderness by packing in everything you’ve packed out, and remember to leave no trace on your adventures.

Backpacking & Camping

Blood Mountain’s high elevations and rugged beauty make it a popular backpacking and camping destination. Camp fires are not permitted in the Blood Mountain Wilderness. Due to the Wilderness area’s popularity, and some irresponsible campers, black bears have begun to frequent the forest, so storing food in a bear-resistant canister is required from March 1 through June 1, and strongly suggested year-round. (Need one? We’ve got them in stock at our Trailful Outdoor Co. shop.)

Grab some solitude under the stars by backpacking in to one of the many trailside campsites on the Appalachian Trail or Slaughter Creek Trails (free, first-come first-camp). Most day-hikers scale the mountain from Flatrock Gap via the Byron Reece Trail, so find the most serenity on the Appalachian Trail on the mountain’s western face. The sites are most directly hiked via the Blood Mountain Loop Trail.

Prefer car camping at a campground? Tent camp on a glassy mountain lake at the Lake Winfield Scott campground (fees – view reservation info) and hike to Blood Mountain via the Jarrard Trail and Slaughter Creek Trail. Or spend the night at one of Vogel State Park’s cabins, electric or tent camp sites and hike to the mountain’s summit via Vogel’s Bear Hair Gap Trail, Coosa Backcountry Trail and Duncan Ridge Trails.

Wondering what to pack for a great camping adventure? Our camping gear list features our favorite tents, sleeping bags, furniture, cookware, and campsite essentials for an adventure under the stars.

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