Pinhoti Trail Thru-Hike Permit

No. The Forest Service pages for both the Alabama (Talladega National Forest) and Georgia (Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest) sections state camping and trail-use rules but no permit or self-registration process for hikers. The one exception is hunting: a current Alabama hunting season permit and, in a Wildlife Management Area, a WMA license are required, but only for hunters, not for hikers passing through.

335 miles end to end. Alabama's Talladega National Forest carries the southern roughly 170 miles and Georgia's Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest carries the northern roughly 160-plus miles, per the Forest Service's own Georgia trail page.

The southern terminus is Flagg Mountain in Coosa County, Alabama, inside Weogufka State Forest, at 1,156 feet: the southernmost Appalachian peak over 1,000 feet, per the Alabama Forestry Commission. The trail's northern end meets the Benton MacKaye Trail at the South Fork of Jacks River in Georgia's Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest, from which hikers can continue on the Benton MacKaye Trail to Springer Mountain and the Appalachian Trail.

On national forest land, dispersed camping is allowed with limits, not open-ended: the Forest Service's Alabama camping rules state 'Camping in dispersed areas (hunt camps) is limited to 21 consecutive days,' with a 10-day waiting period before returning to the same spot. At Flagg Mountain's shelters and at the state parks the trail passes near (Cheaha in Alabama, Fort Mountain in Georgia), overnight stays need a reservation instead of being open dispersed camping.

Yes, but not directly. The Pinhoti's northern end meets the Benton MacKaye Trail in Georgia's Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest; the Appalachian Trail Conservancy names Springer Mountain, reached from there via the Benton MacKaye Trail, as the Appalachian Trail's southern terminus at 3,782 feet.

The trail runs alongside Cheaha State Park and crosses the Talladega Scenic Drive near it. Cheaha Mountain, inside the park, is Alabama's highest point at 2,407 feet. The state park's own trails (Bald Rock, Pulpit Rock) are separate short hikes from the park, not the Pinhoti Trail's own tread, but many thru-hikers detour in for water, food, or a bed.

The trail crosses roads into several small towns for resupply, including Heflin and Piedmont, Alabama, and passes near Johns Mountain WMA and The Pocket Recreation Area in Georgia. No official Forest Service or state park source lists a formal resupply schedule; hikers plan food drops or town stops at these road crossings the same way as any other rural long trail.

Alabama's Dugger Mountain, at 2,140 feet, is the trail's high point in the Talladega National Forest section and the state's second-highest peak inside the Dugger Mountain Wilderness. Cheaha Mountain, at 2,407 feet, is higher but sits in the state park beside the trail rather than being climbed by the Pinhoti's own tread; this distinction could not be fully confirmed from agency sources and is flagged in the gaps list.