Georgia trails · East Cowpen
East Cowpen
A 6.7-mile out-and-back in Georgia, with 2,333 ft of climbing. Reaches Buckeye Mountain. Managed by the U.S. Forest Service.
Elevation profile
The climbing leans toward the first third: 54% of the ascent falls between mile 0.0 and mile 2.2.
3-D terrain
USGS 3DEP ELEVATION × ESRI WORLD IMAGERY · VERTICAL ×1.5
Reaches
- Buckeye Mountain (summit)
Getting there
RICE CAMP TRAILHEAD — parking nearby, restroom, water. About 1 h 19 min drive (37 mi, 10 of them unpaved) from Dalton. 34.95028, -84.60472 · directions
Daylight at the trailhead
On October 14, 2026 — the day this page was generated — first light reaches this trailhead at 7:17 a.m., the sun rises at 7:43 a.m. and sets at 7:05 p.m., and the last usable light fades about 7:30 p.m. (EDT) — 11 h 22 min of daylight. At about 2.7 mph plus 30 minutes per 1,000 feet of climbing, the 13.5-mile round trip takes roughly 7 h 20 min, so leaving the trailhead at sunrise puts you back around 3:02 p.m. — 4 h 02 min before sunset.
Loop options
- Hickory Creek + East Cowpen — 11.1 mi loop, 2,662 ft gain
- East Cowpen + Panther Creek + Conasauga River — 13.4 mi loop, 3,710 ft gain
Nearby trails
- Iron Mountain — 2.9 mi
- Rough Ridge — 4.8 mi
- Jacks River — 5.0 mi
- Tear Britches — 6.4 mi