Blood Mountain — Attraction in Dahlonega

We went up to the Blood Mountain summit through Byron Reece trail, coming down on the Freeman trail. Up to the top both trails have the exact same route, but from the top the Freeman trail comes down in a loop and it’s much longer than the Byron Reece trail (where you take the same trail to go down as you did when you went up). Don’t let some people fool you here, this is a very HARD trail that felt much longer than its actual length. It was muddy and slippery on some areas and there are big rocks on so many parts of the trail that you really need to make an effort to go up there—but coming down is even harder because of the big rocks and slippery surface. Sometimes we had to “walk” through small creeks. Hiking sticks would’ve been a tremendous help. If you want to do the Freeman trail loop you need at least half day so that you can do it comfortably. It was getting dark by the time we got back to the parking lot. Parking is free but most likely you won’t find a spot as SO many people come to this trail that cars park even on the side of the road. It’s a pretty crowded trail too so not one where you’ll be alone and can enjoy silence and calm. With that said, the view from the top is breathtaking (you can only see the Atlanta skyline!) and the entire trail is quite picturesque and fun (but exhausting!). Also, the trail is very well marked up to the top but if you continue on the Freeman trail it’s very easy to get lost as there were long sections where there were no marks whatsoever and the terrain is so rough that it’s not obvious where you...

The directions for this location will actually put you out right by the local store for this area. It has all the trinkets and everything. In order to actually get to one of the trails you have to go about a minute further down to the Byron Reese trail. Do not allow these reviews to lie to you. Blood mountain is not for a beginner level hiker. And when they talk about it being easy they are talking about it for experienced hikers. We went up Byron Reese trail and when we got to the first crossroads with the Appalachian trail I knew at that point we needed to turn around and head back. The connecting trail is Freeman trail. If you go up Freeman trail you need to understand that it is 70% rocks that you will be walking over and up. This is the hard part. If you have bad knees or don't come with the appropriate hiking shoes this will be a very hard trail for you to complete and come back down. We started at 11:00 a.m. and got out around 4:00. . We were...

There is no way to give Blood Mountain anything BUT five stars. I had been up and down US19/129 scores of times over the past 40 years. But until March of '25, I had never hiked the mountain itself.

Try to go on a clear day. I had heard that it's possible to see the tall buildings of downtown Atlanta from the top. It's absolutely true. They're visible from 80 miles away.

This is a strenuous trek; there's no getting around that fact. Not only is most of it quite steep, but it is very rocky, also. Even though the AT is a world-renowned trail, I was somewhat surprised by the fact that it is not marked any better than it is. Take note of the fact that there are a number of places where blazes are non-existent. Again, this surprised me. We lost the trail a couple of times. AllTrails is your best friend.

Take plenty of water with you as there is none at the top. Take your time, be safe, have fun, and enjoy the view...