These hiking trails at Fort Mountain State Park are one of our favorite things to do when visiting the North Georgia Mountains. They’ll take you past unique historical landmarks, a 17-acre lake, a fairytale tower, an mysterious stone wall, and rugged mountain terrain overlooking the Cohutta Wilderness. There’s 4,058 total acres to explore in the park, including over 60 miles of trails to hike or even ride by horse. Some are easier than others, and from personal experience, these are our absolute favorites. So don’t miss these 8 fort mountain hiking trails on your next visit to Fort Mountain State Park in Chatsworth, Georgia:
1 West Overlook Trail
Trail Distance: 0.8 Mile Out
Trail Distance When Combined into the West Overlook, Stone Tower, Stone Wall Loop: 1.5 Mile Loop
Trail Difficulty: Easy (West Overlook) to Moderate (Full Loop)
Time to Complete the Hike: 30 Minutes for West Overlook Trail, 50 Minutes for the Combined Loop
The West Overlook Trail is my favorite hike at Fort Mountain State Park. It’s most often combined with the Stone Tower Trail and Stone Wall Trail to form the Combination West Overlook, Stone Tower, and Stone Wall Trail Loop. The West Overlook Trail leaves the parking lot and heads approximately 0.8 mi to the prettiest mountain view overlook in the entire park.
It’s an incredibly short hike, but be prepared for lots of stairs and uphill walking.
From there, instead of turning around and returning the way you came, most visitors opt to follow the Stone Tower Trail, which will lead you back to where you started but first passes by a beautiful old stone tower that will likely remind you of a scene straight out of a fairytale, with Rapunzel waiting for her prince to come save her.
2 Stone Tower Trail (Connects From the West Overlook Trail)
Trail Distance When Combined into the West Overlook, Stone Tower, Stone Wall Loop: 1.5 Mile Loop
Trail Difficulty: Moderate
Time to Complete the Hike: 50 Minutes for the Full West Overlook, Stone Tower, Stone Wall Trail Loop
The easiest and best way to reach the Stone Tower Trail is by first hopping on the West Overlook Trail and reaching the viewing platform that overlooks the Cohutta Mountains. From there, you retrace your steps back up the platform stairs and then follow the signs pointing towards the Fire Tower to join the Stone Tower Trail. You’ll reach the Fire Tower in a flat clearing located at a little over a mile into the full hike from the parking lot (with the West Overlook Trail included in that distance).
The Stone Tower is actually a 1934 decommissioned fire lookout tower. It was built after the infamous Big Blowup wildfire of 1910, which consumed one million acres in a 24-hour period. By the time it had stopped burning, it had destroyed three million total acres, and thousands of fire watch towers sprang up across the nation in response to the resulting need for better fire prevention measures.
Today it’s just a really cute landmark that you can visit at the top of Fort Mountain while hiking its easiest trails. This is one one my favorite things to see at the park because it just looks so majestic and magical to me. I like to pretend it’s a castle tower and that I’m on an adventure in some faraway, medieval land.
From the Stone Tower Trail clearing, you can return to the parking lot by either continuing another 3/8 mile down the Stone Tower Trail until it rejoins the West Overlook Trail, or hop on the Stone Wall Trail at this intersection and follow it back to the parking lot for roughly the same distance: 3/8 mile or 0.4 miles. We recommend taking the Stone Wall Trail because its mysterious history is the entire reason that Fort Mountain was named as such.
Read Next: 15 Best Things To See and Do at Fort Mountain State Park
3 Stone Wall Trail
Trail Distance When Combined into the West Overlook, Stone Tower, Stone Wall Loop: 1.5 Mile Loop
Trail Difficulty: Easy (for the Stone Wall Trail section) to Moderate (for the full loop hike)
Time to Complete the Hike: 50 Minutes for the Full West Overlook, Stone Tower, Stone Wall Trail Loop
While it can be trekked on its own, the Stone Wall Trail is most often visited as the final leg to the combined West Overlook, Stone Tower, and Stone Wall Trail Loop, which takes roughly 1.5 miles to complete. Fort Mountain’s namesake is derived from the mysterious, ancient Stone Wall which runs alongside part of this trail at the top of the mountain.
Archaeologists believe the wall was constructed sometime between 500 and 1500 CE, but the true purpose as to why it was built remains a mystery to this day.
4 Gahuti Trail (with the Cool Springs Overlook)
Trail Distance: 8.7 Mile Loop
Distance to Cool Springs Overlook: Just steps from the parking lot and trailhead! (No hike needed!)
Trail Difficulty: Moderate to Hard
Overlook Difficulty: Super Easy! Find it just steps from the parking lot!
Time to Complete the Hike: 5 Hour Hike
Pro Tip: You can stop by the Cool Springs Overlook without needing to complete the lengthy Gahuti Trail (or do any hiking at all). It’s just steps from the trailhead parking lot and is accessible to almost anyone via a paved, asphalt walkway.
The Gahuti Trail is one of the longest hikes at Fort Mountain State Park, so plan on needing around 5 hours to complete this beautiful mountain trek. The trailhead for this scenic, 8.7 mile loop begins at the Cool Springs Overlook, which can conveniently be accessed just steps from the Gahuti Trail parking lot. This is especially wonderful for anyone who decides that the entire hike is too much for them (or who cannot complete it for medical reasons) because you can still easily visit the overlook and experience one of the 15 best things to see at Fort Mountain State Park. If you decide to tackle the entire 8.7 mile hike, however, it’ll take you around the edge of the park, where you’ll experience pretty mountain views as you pass just below the summits of both Cohutta and Fort mountains.
5 Big Rock Nature Trail
Trail Distance: 0.75-Mile Loop
Trail Difficulty: Moderate
Time to Complete the Hike: 50 Minute Hike
The Big Rock Nature Trail is also commonly referred to as the waterfalls trail at Fort Mountain State Park. It’s not the only place you can see waterfalls at Fort Mountain, but it is the easiest way to see them, so it’s the one most frequently recommended by park rangers.
This 0.75-mile loop trail takes a little less than one hour to complete and passes by several small cascades during the trek. You’ll descend from the ridgeline near Fort Mountain Lake down into a mountain hollow before crossing a dividing ridge and then returning up Gold Mine Creek.
The Big Rock Nature Trail is technically considered a moderate hike due to the rocky terrain encountered throughout parts of the trail, but it is still overall one of the easiest hikes available at Fort Mountain State Park.
6 Lake Loop Trail
Trail Distance: 1.2-Mile Loop
Trail Difficulty: Easy
Time to Complete the Hike: 30 Minutes
This Fort Mountain trail is perfect for water lovers, as it loops for 1.2 miles around Fort Mountain Lake. You can enter this trail from the Big Rock Trail parking lot, or if you’re staying at the park, it can also be reached from the cottages, campgrounds, or picnic shelter #5. Foot traffic and bikes are both permitted, and you can travel in either direction around the loop. For the easiest experience, however, you’ll want to hike the trail clockwise because it will enable you to descend 75 lineal feet at 20% grade in this direction.
7 The 301 Mountain Bike Trail (Permit Required)
Trail Distance: 14.6-Mile Loop
Time to Complete the Trail: 4 Hours by Bike
We have not taken this trail ourselves, but it’s been rated by park staff, visitors, and media as one of the most beautiful and challenging mountain bike trails in the Southeast. The East-West Bike Loop takes travelers from the top of the mountain ridge to the bottom of the valley floor, passing through laurel thickets, upland hardwoods, and cove forests along the way. You’ll also ride past old mines before eventually reaching waterfalls and rhododendrons along Hassler’s Mill Creek before finally returning back up the mountain.
You don’t have to have a bike to complete this trail, however. It’s also open to hikers traveling by foot. Park rangers do ask that you register and obtain a permit at the visitor’s center first if you are interested in completing this trek.
8 Horse Trails at Fort Mountain State Park
Trail Distances: 3 to 16 Miles, Varied
In addition to hiking and biking trails, Fort Mountain State Park also has over 25 miles of horse trails available for anyone who has their own horse and wishes to go horseback riding. To find the horse stables, head to the west side of the park. This is where you’ll register and provide proof of a negative Coggins test before beginning your trip.
The horse trails feature beautiful landscapes, including rugged cliffs, waterfalls, and even old mines. There are numerous trails to choose from, ranging in length and difficulty from short three mile loops to longer sixteen mile trails. The shortest trails are the easiest, with most at a 20% or less grade. On longer trails, you’ll also have access to horse watering stations at approximately two-mile intervals.
For any additional questions you might have, you can also contact the stables at 706-429-5075.
Fort Mountain Trail Map
Georgia State Parks has a detailed Fort Mountain Trail Map that can better help you plan out your next hiking trip to the park.
Other Hikes Nearby
If you’re visiting the North Georgia Mountains, you might also want to check out the pretty blue waterfall pool at Cloudland Canyon State Park or the enchanted fairytale gardens at Rock City. There’s a gorgeous waterfall located just past a suspension bridge at the top of the mountain, and you can see seven US states while standing at the top! If you visit the cute German town, Helen, Georgia, you can hike to the twin waterfalls at Anna Ruby Falls, or see the pretty falls just down the street at Dukes Creek.
All of these hikes are especially beautiful during fall in Georgia, but the mountains in Georgia are honestly perfect to visit any time of the year!
If you love waterfalls, we also have a list of over 100 waterfall quotes that you might love, complete with pretty photos!
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