Brasstown Bald Mountain

Brasstown Bald Mountain is located in the Blue Ridge Mountains at Blairsville, Georgia and is the highest point in the state. In fact with a summit elevation of 4,784 feet it also the highest point in the Deep South. It is named after the former Cherokee village of Brasstown and is divided by the county lines of Towns and Union counties.

Visitors can reach the summit either by taking a shuttle bus or by hiking along steep paved trail that runs for approximately 1.2 miles. The trail leads from the parking lot on Brasstown Bald and has many stopping points making this an achievable path for most hikers. En route hikers will encounter some delightful purple rhododendron as well as various hardwood trees.

On reaching the top, hikers will find a visitor center that contains a museum with an exhibit about forestry in Georgia. Visitors will also see an animatron that represents Arthur Woody, who advocated a program to rebuild the deer population that had almost been lost here at the start of the 20th century. Another display explains the geology of the Brasstown Bald, and there is also a locomotive housed here that helped take wood off the mountain to nearby saw mills.