Bartram Trail itinerary
Every mile marker on the Bartram Trail route, in order, with the distance and elevation change between each one, and which permit each stretch needs. To set alerts for your dates, go to the Bartram Trail Thru-Hike permit page.
Which permit covers this route
The Bartram Trail. One reservation is a trailhead or zone plus an entry date; you roam after that, issued by walk-up.
The permit is issued for a named entry point. Russell Bridge (Southern Terminus) and Jones Gap and Hickory Knoll Road and Wallace Branch Trailhead and Winding Stairs Parking Area are the ones on this list.
- Stops mapped
- 15
- Across the markers
- 110.0 mi
- Published route length
- 110 mi
- Ascent, at least
- 10,091 ft
How long it takes: 8-12 days for a thru-hike; most people section-hike it over multiple trips. That is the figure the permit publishes. This page does not divide the route into days, because no source records which stop you sleep at.
The stops below are the route's published mile markers, in order, with the elevations recorded against each one.
Distance and elevation change on each leg are the difference between the two published figures either side of it, so the legs are arithmetic on the markers and nothing more.
The Bartram Trail route, stop by stop
Mile 0.0
1,593 ft
Russell Bridge (Southern Terminus)
Entry point: the permit is issued for this trailhead
Southern terminus on the West Fork of the Chattooga River, along Highway 28 about two miles south of Warwoman Road; a metal suspension bridge crosses the river near a granite trailhead marker.
15.2 miles · 1,347 ft up to Rainy Mountain
Mile 15.2
2,940 ft
Rainy Mountain
12.1 miles · 272 ft up to Wilson Gap
Mile 27.3
3,212 ft
Wilson Gap
Backcountry campsite and trailhead marking the end of the Warwoman Dell section and the start of the climb toward Rabun Bald.
5.0 miles · 1,484 ft up to Rabun Bald
Mile 32.3
4,696 ft
Rabun Bald
Georgia's second-highest mountain at 4,696 feet, on the Eastern Continental Divide, topped by a CCC-built fire tower offering 360-degree views over 100 miles on clear days.
7.9 miles · 1,006 ft down to Bartram Trail map kiosk (Rabun County, GA)
Mile 40.2
3,690 ft
Bartram Trail map kiosk (Rabun County, GA)
A trailside interpretive map/kiosk feature along the ridge north of Jones Gap.
6.6 miles · 659 ft up to Jones Gap
Mile 46.8
4,349 ft
Jones Gap
Entry point: the permit is issued for this trailhead
North Carolina trailhead reached from US 64 east of Franklin via Gold Mine Road, on the Fishhawk Range spine with views into the Little Tennessee River Valley.
7.1 miles · 1,243 ft down to Trail viewpoint (Fishhawk Range spine)
Mile 53.9
3,106 ft
Trail viewpoint (Fishhawk Range spine)
A signed south-facing overlook along the Fishhawk Range ridge between Jones Gap and Hickory Knoll Road, in the section the Conservancy describes for its views into the Little Tennessee River Valley.
2.2 miles · 1,003 ft down to Hickory Knoll Road
Mile 56.1
2,103 ft
Hickory Knoll Road
Entry point: the permit is issued for this trailhead
Trailhead south of Franklin, NC off Highway 441/Riverside Drive, where the trail turns toward a road-walk and greenway route through downtown Franklin, past the historic Nikwasi Mound.
11.4 miles · 137 ft up to Wallace Branch Trailhead
Mile 67.5
2,240 ft
Wallace Branch Trailhead
Entry point: the permit is issued for this trailhead
USFS trailhead parking area at the foot of the climb toward Wayah Bald; camping exists along the branch near the trailhead but becomes scarce past Trimont Ridge.
11.4 miles · 3,102 ft up to Wayah Bald
Mile 78.9
5,342 ft
Wayah Bald
The trail's high point, a historic grassy bald crossed by both the Bartram Trail and the Appalachian Trail; its 1937 CCC stone lookout tower gives views into Georgia, Tennessee and both Carolinas.
7.5 miles · 2,316 ft down to Lake Nantahala
Mile 86.4
3,026 ft
Lake Nantahala
The trail follows a short road-walk on Wayah Road beside this reservoir lake before turning off toward Appletree Campground.
5.8 miles · 302 ft down to Appletree Campground
Mile 92.2
2,724 ft
Appletree Campground
Developed USFS campground on the Nantahala River where the trail begins its longest remote stretch without road access, on an early-20th-century roadbed built by landowner Nimrod Jarrett.
9.9 miles · 158 ft down to Beechertown
Mile 102.1
2,566 ft
Beechertown
End of the Appletree Campground section and start of the approach to Winding Stairs, in the small community of Beechertown.
2.6 miles · 613 ft down to Winding Stairs Parking Area
Mile 104.7
1,953 ft
Winding Stairs Parking Area
Entry point: the permit is issued for this trailhead
Trailhead for the final, strenuous 5.1-mile climb to Cheoah Bald along Ledbetter Creek, reached via Wayah Road from Franklin or Highway 129 from the north.
5.3 miles · 3,090 ft up to Cheoah Bald (Northern Terminus)
Mile 110.0
5,043 ft
Cheoah Bald (Northern Terminus)
Official northern terminus of the registered Bartram National Recreation Trail, where it converges with the Appalachian Trail; named for a former Cherokee town whose name means 'otter place'.
Getting a Bartram Trail for the dates you want
Planning the route is the easy half. Bartram Trail dates go fast, and the ones that come back are cancellations. They return to the booking system without warning and are gone again quickly. PermitSnag checks Bartram Trail around the clock and alerts you the moment a date opens.