Horseshoe Bend Trail
A climb over Ken Mountain to an unmarked overlook of the Jacks River's horseshoe bend, then down to the Jacks River Trail.
- Distance
- 6 mi round trip
- Elevation gain
- 1,099 ft
- Trail type
- Out & Back
- Difficulty
- Moderate
- Crossings
- 2 small stream crossings
- Best season
- Spring through fall.
Wilderness status
Inside Cohutta 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
Horseshoe Bend Trail climbs from FS 51 over Ken Mountain, topping out around 1,800 feet, then drops steeply into the Jacks River gorge to end at a junction with the Jacks River Trail three miles in. Partway along, at a gap where a sign warns that horses are prohibited beyond this point, an unmarked side path leads a couple hundred feet to the Horseshoe Bend Overlook: a small rock outcrop nearly 500 feet above the river, looking out at the horseshoe bend itself with Cowpen Mountain rising past 4,000 feet behind it and Big Frog Mountain off to the left. It is easy to miss and worth finding.
The last half mile drops hard into the gorge, which is the reason most people hike this from the FS 51 end rather than climbing it. Once at the bottom, the Jacks River Trail continues both directions along the river, with Jacks River Falls upstream and the Alaculsy Valley trailhead downstream.
Marquee feature
The Horseshoe Bend Overlook, one of the best views in 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 MapsLoops that use this trail
- Rice Camp and Horseshoe Bend
12.0 mile loop
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