Eagle Mountain & Hollifield Ridge Loop

Eagle Mountain (4,240'), located in the Southern Nantahala Wilderness Area, is one of Georgia's highest peaks and sports some fantastic vistas at its summit. The Georgia side of the Southern Nantahala Wilderness Area is almost completely devoid of maintained trails, so it contains some of the most unspoiled land in the State.

Although there are no official maintained trails in this part of the Wilderness Area, there are a number of old logging roads and unmaintained trails which we'll follow to the top of Eagle Mountain. The trails/paths going to the top of Eagle are fairly wide in most places until reaching the Wilderness Area boundary. We will hike approximately 4.25 miles along these 'trails' to reach the summit of Eagle Mtn, After we reach the summit, there are a couple different overlooks which provide views of the Hiawassee River Valley, Lake Chatuge, the white quartz dome of Bell Knob, Brasstown Bald, Tray Mtn, Unicoi Gap, etc. We will find a nice spot to eat lunch at one of the overlooks while enjoying the views. After lunch, we will head “off-trail” down Hollifield Ridge for about 1.25 miles passing a couple more overlooks on the way down. We will eventually come to an old logging road/trail which we'll follow for about a mile until we get back to the main trail which we'll take back to the cars.

On the way back, and if time permits, we may make a stop at Bell Mtn to observe the views from the newly constructed platforms. This is just a short drive from the trailhead, and on the way back.

This hike will be approximately 9 miles long, with about 2,300 feet of ascent, and have about 1.5 miles of off-trail hiking... so it should be considered at the upper end of the D4 range. If you do not have recent D4+ hiking experience, then the trip leader will be contacting you to determine if this hike is appropriate for you.

N34° 57.424' W83° 43.335'