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Georgia trails · Benton Mackaye

Benton Mackaye

A 68.2-mile point-to-point in Georgia, with 2,173 ft of climbing. Reaches Hemp Top and other pass/summit destinations. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.

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Length
68.2 mi
Elevation gain
2,173 ft
Difficulty
Expert
Max grade
53%
Steepest mile
+848 ft
Tread at ≥10% grade
30.4 mi
Shape
point-to-point
Bikes
yes
Horses
yes
Managed by
U.S. Forest Service

Elevation profile

1,558 – 3,705 ft1917253341495765

The climbing is spread fairly evenly along the route. It gives back about 16,364 ft along the way, so it rolls rather than climbing steadily.

3-D terrain

3-D terrain view of Benton Mackaye

USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5

Reaches

Heads up

Stream ford: expect at least one unbridged crossing.
Terrain graded T2 (SAC scale).

Getting there

Benton MacKaye Trail access — parking nearby. 34.78387, -84.30246 · directions

Daylight at the trailhead

On August 31, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 6:43 a.m., the sun rises at 7:09 a.m. and sets at 8:05 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 8:31 p.m. (EDT) — 12 h 56 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 68.2-mile route works out to roughly 26 h 21 min of walking — more than a single day of daylight here, so plan it as an overnight or hike it in sections.

Across the border

Nearby trails