Big Creek Trail
A hemlock lined creek valley climbing to Chimney Top, the trail here that feels most like the Cohutta side.
- Distance
- 4.2 mi one way
- Elevation gain
- Not recorded
- Trail type
- Out & Back
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Crossings
- No crossings recorded
- Best season
- Spring through fall
Wilderness status
Inside Big Frog Wilderness
Bicycles
Bicycles are prohibited on this trail. Mechanized transport, including mountain bikes, is banned in designated wilderness under federal law by the Wilderness Act of 1964. This is enforced by the Forest Service. Do not ride here.
The trail
Big Creek is the odd one out on this list, and more than one account singles it out as the only trail in Big Frog Wilderness that resembles the Cohutta Wilderness across the line: a creek valley shaded by eastern hemlock, quieter and greener than the ridge-climbing trails around it.
The trail follows the creek before climbing toward Chimney Top on the ridge above. It is a moderate walk by Big Frog standards, which still means real elevation gain by the end.
Marquee feature
Hemlock-shaded creek valley, the one trail here that feels like the Cohuttas
Getting there
Forest Service roads to the Cohutta trailheads are gravel, seasonally gated, and often without cell service. Download directions before you leave pavement.
Access roads and winter closures
Open trailhead in Google Maps
Stay near the trailheads
Sherpa Camp — a cabin at the edge of the wilderness.
The drive in from Atlanta or Chattanooga is long enough that most people are better off sleeping near the gate than starting at 4 a.m. Sherpa Camp is a small cabin on Holly Creek, on the western edge of the Cohutta Wilderness, about 25 minutes from Ellijay. It sleeps five, with a covered porch, a firepit, and a creek. Cell service ends before you get there.
See Sherpa Camp