Sawnee Mountainside Trail System Sawnee Mountain Preserve, GA
miles
LENGTH 4.9 MILES
DIFFICULTY 6.6 Easy
Medium
DURATION 2-3 hours
ELEVATION GAIN
920
feet
TRAIL TYPE
Trail
System
Sawnee Mountainside Trail System

A perfect example of a hike that gets better in winter, the Sawnee Mountain Preserve Mountainside Trail System is a great way to stay in shape over the colder months. During summer there will be no views, but during winter catch occasional views through the bare trees as you hike around Sawnee Mountain.

This page describes hiking a clockwise loop starting at the main trailhead off of Bettis Tribble Gap road. An alternate trailhead begins at Cumming First United Methodist Church on the opposite end of the trail system. The primary trailhead has a large parking lot, restrooms, playground, and pavilions.

The trail leaves the parking lot at the end at the loop or near the entrance to form a loop in either direction. All intersections are marked with full color maps making navigation easy. The trail is well maintained, albeit a bit rocky in places but nothing too challenging. All paths are blazed white.

The two most difficult sections of this trail system are avoided with this loop. The inner connecting trail and the Church Trail are both much steeper than the rest of the trails. So feel free to make your own loop to include these sections to burn a few extra calories. If you want more, check out the Indian Seats Trail System immediately across the road from the trailhead.

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Elevation Map Length (miles) by Elevation (feet)
Slope Breakdown
Elevation Gain
Elevation Range
Grade Range
Length
Elevation Gain
0 - 250 ft/mi
~ 0 - 5 %
1.1 mi
113 ft
250 - 500 ft/mi
~ 5 - 10 %
0.8 mi
309 ft
500 - 750 ft/mi
~ 10 - 15 %
0.4 mi
248 ft
750 - 1000 ft/mi
~ 15 - 20 %
0.2 mi
160 ft
1000+ ft/mi
~ 20+ %
0.1 mi
156 ft
Elevation Loss
Elevation Range
Grade Range
Length
Elevation Loss
0 - 250 ft/mi
~ 0 - 5 %
0.9 mi
145 ft
250 - 500 ft/mi
~ 5 - 10 %
0.6 mi
204 ft
500 - 750 ft/mi
~ 10 - 15 %
0.3 mi
194 ft
750 - 1000 ft/mi
~ 15 - 20 %
0.3 mi
266 ft
1000+ ft/mi
~ 20+ %
0.1 mi
183 ft
Terrain Map Click to control map
Details
length4.9 miles
difficulty6.6 Easy-Medium
duration2 - 3 hours
features Views 
trail typeTrail System
blazeWhite
elevation gain920 ft.
state Georgia 
park/forestSawnee Mountain Preserve
visitor infoVisitor Center
4075 Spot Road
Cumming, GA 30040
770-781-2217
hours6am - 7pm (Nov - Feb)
6am - 9:30pm (Mar - Oct)
8:30am - 5pm (Visitor Center, Closed Sunday)
parking feeNone
trailhead coordinates 34.242868, -84.137146 (Degree Decimal, DegDec)
N 34°14.57, W 84°8.23 (Degree Minutes, MinDec)
N 34°14'34'', N 34°14'34'' (Degree Minutes Seconds, DMS)
Trailhead Directions
34.242868, -84.137146 (Degree Decimal, DegDec)
N 34°14.57, W 84°8.23 most GPS units use this one
N 34°14'34'', N 34°14'34'' (Degree Minutes Seconds, DMS)
Google Map It
An alternate trailhead can be found at Cumming First United Methodist Church at 770 Canton Highway. Please consider using the primary trailhead during service hours.
Parking Capacity
75 parking spots (4 handicap)
Notes
Pick up a map at the trailhead.
Take the kids. There's a playground, pavilions, and restrooms at the trailhead.
No dogs allowed.
Nearby Hikes
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Reviews / Comments
Average Review Rating
4 (1)
hikethesouth-5 years ago
Great Local Destination
This is a good set of trails for people living in the north Atlanta area, but I wouldn't drive more than 30 minutes to get here. It's a bit of a stretch to say this hike has views but it's still a really nice hike to keep your trail legs in working order during the colder months. And you get some solitude compared to the Indian Seats Trail System across the road.
Easy-Medium | Hiked Winter 2018
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