Atlanta Hiking Trails
Atlanta’s best hiking trails – our top 10 favorite hikes
Explore Atlanta's outdoor beauty, and hike our top 10 favorite Atlanta hiking trails within 40 miles of the city. These hikes explore gorgeous, rolling forest, scenic rivers, historical remains and catch the best, most stunning mountaintop views near Atlanta.
Spectacular hikes fill Georgia’s rolling mountains and coastal plains, offering a great outdoor escape from Atlanta’s urban life. Fueled with a hunger for fresh air, nature, and the chance to unplug from technology, we’ve trekked many of Georgia’s best trails, eager to find the best hikes to waterfalls, mountain summits, and mossy, whitewater-filled trout streams.
And, granted, many of the most popular Georgia hiking trails are less than two hours from Atlanta, including the famed Appalachian Trail and the beautiful waterfalls at Panther Creek Falls.
But busy weekends don’t always allow time for a drive to the Appalachians and time on the trail. The local Atlanta area has many hiking trails that equal the adventure on the fantastic hiking trails in the North Georgia mountains. And some local Atlanta hikes provide scenery so visually stunning you’ll be left guessing if you’re even in Georgia, let alone an Atlanta suburb. These are our top ten favorite Atlanta hiking trails. All are within a 40-mile drive of Midtown Atlanta – and a few are even within the I-285 Perimeter loop.
Top places to hike near Atlanta: our favorite trails
Arabia Mountain Top Trail
1.3 miles
Explore a beautiful, diverse landscape at Arabia Mountain, located just 30 minutes from Midtown Atlanta. Explore Arabia Mountain’s scenic summit on this beginner- and kid-friendly adventure, catching views of Arabia Lake and abundant natural beauty. You’ll be close to Atlanta’s perimeter – but will feel seemingly worlds away.
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Sweetwater Creek State Park
2 – 4 miles
Explore rugged outdoor beauty minutes from Atlanta on the rocky, boulder-lined banks of Sweetwater Creek State Park. Hike our favorite Sweetwater Creek trails through sun-dappled forest, and then follow the sandy and bluff-filled banks of Sweetwater Creek to explore Civil War mill ruins, tumbling whitewater and small waterfalls.
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Sawnee Mountain Indian Seats Trail
4 miles
The Indian Seats Trail climbs the summit of Sawnee Mountain, catching beautiful summit views of the North Georgia mountains. The hike climbs to a lofty, view-packed summit, offering far-reaching views to the southern Blue Ridge range on the far horizon.
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Sope Creek Trail
1.5 miles
Hike the Sope Creek Trail at Sope Creek Park, one of the most popular (and scenic) parks in Atlanta’s Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. The trail meanders through a young forest to a rushing, boulder-filled creek, and explores Civil War paper mill ruins before circling the banks of a glassy pond.
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East Palisades Trail at the Chattahoochee River
3.4 miles
Hike the East Palisades Trail at Indian Trail and Whitewater Creek to some the most scenic Chattahoochee River views in the Atlanta area. The East Palisades Trail follows the banks of the shoaling Chattahoochee River, hikes through a bamboo forest, and scales several large bluffs to stunning overlook views of the river.
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Kennesaw Mountain Trails
1.3 – 11 miles
Hike the enormous trail network at Kennesaw Mountain National Battlefield to explore stunning Atlanta skyline views and terrain drenched in Civil War history. Climb the double peaks of Kennesaw Mountain, explore the grassy expanses and rocky terrain at Pigeon Hill and Cheatham Hill, and hike through a stream-filled forest. Civil War artifacts and monuments pepper the trails’ length, offering an Atlanta history lesson alongside abundant natural beauty.
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Pine Mountain Trail near Allatoona Lake
4.5 miles
Hike the Pine Mountain Trail near Cartersville through a rocky coniferous forest to views at the Pine Mountain summit, grabbing stunning long-range views of Lake Allatoona and the Atlanta skyline on a clear day.
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Vickery Creek Trail at Roswell Mill
3 miles
Hike the Vickery Creek Trail to the historic mill ruins at Roswell Mill in Atlanta’s Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. The trail also visits a covered bridge and a rushing, cascading waterfall at the historic Vickery Creek dam.
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Stone Mountain Cherokee and Walk-up Trails
Combine Stone Mountain’s Cherokee and Walk Up Trails for a hike through the most popular, scenic, and serene sections of Stone Mountain Park. This hike summits the mountain, catching stunning Atlanta skyline views before climbing over, down, and around the circumference of Stone Mountain’s massive granite face.6.8 miles
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Iron Hill Loop Trail at Red Top Mountain
3.8 miles
Hike the Iron Hill Trail to beautiful, reflective views of Allatoona Lake on a peninsula at Red Top Mountain State Park, north of Atlanta. The hike grabs nearly continuous views of the lake’s glassy, calm inlets and crosses multiple wooden boardwalks while following the Allatoona shoreline.
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Powers Island Trail at the Chattahoochee River
2.4 miles
The Powers Island Park is so much more than overflow parking for its popular neighbor, the Cochran Shoals Trail. Hike across the park’s bridge to trek through an old-growth riverine forest on Powers Island and loop down the Chattahoochee River for views from its boulder-filled banks.
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Hiking the Yellow River Trail at Yellow River Park
3.2 miles
Hike through rolling forest on the banks of this smooth, wide-flowing river on the Yellow River Hiking Trail. The trail hikes to scenic overviews, following the river’s meandering contours at Yellow River Park near Stone Mountain.
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Cochran Shoals Trail: hiking to Sope Creek
8.5 miles
Grab some great intown trail miles on this two-trail combo stretching from the popular running and walking trails at Cochran Shoals to the mill ruins and pond at Sope Creek. A connecting trail spans the two popular parks, passing by weather-worn headstones in a small, old cemetery in the middle of the forest.
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Our favorite hiking gear
What to pack for a local Atlanta hiking adventure?
Ready to hit the trail, but wondering what to pack? Our hiking gear list features our favorite, trail-tested hiking gear for day hikes on local trails and in the Georgia backcountry. Our outdoor apparel reviews feature our favorite trail-worthy hiking boots, running shoes, jackets, and layering essentials for the South. And no matter what you pack in, pack it all back out. Please leave no trace and help preserve Georgia’s beauty.
OUR HIKING GEAR LIST
Bonus hikes: a few more of our favorite Atlanta trails
Crossed off our favorite Atlanta hikes on your bucket list? Congrats! Here’s a few more of our favorite Atlanta trails:
More great outdoor adventures near Atlanta
Escape sidewalks and crosswalks on our top ten Atlanta running trails – they’re equally great for walking or a weekend stroll with the family. Visit Georgia’s rolling southern Appalachian mountains on a hike to a stunning summit in our list of top ten hikes in North Georgia. And love waterfalls? Hike to our favorite falls on our top ten list of Georgia waterfall hikes.
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Eric Champlin is a writer and photographer who loves to hike, run, backpack, kayak and cycle the southeast. He’s the editor and founder of Atlanta Trails and Asheville Trails, online magazines that cover the South’s best outdoor adventures. His mission? To inspire others to get fit outdoors and explore the South’s incredible scenic beauty.Thank you for your support! - the Atlanta Trails crew
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