This trail is lightly hiked but provides a challenging trail which follows old roads and a creek that leads you to Forest Service Road 42 and ultimately reaching the peak of Rich’s Knob. The trail is a 5.6 miles hike where you will get to view an excellent waterfall on Mountaintown Creek gorge. It will take you two days to complete the trail, thus it is going to be one adventurous trail.

To get here from Ellijay, take the GA Highway 52 west for 5 miles and make a right turn onto Gates Chapel Road. Take another 4.9 miles before turning right onto Forest Service Road 90 and take the junction at Forest Service Road 68 for around 4.9 miles. From here take another right turn and go straight ahead for 3.3 miles to a T-intersection where you will turn right to Forest Service Road 64 and take another 7.1 miles to the upper trailhead.

At the bottom ridge in the Cohutta Wilderness, the trail starts nearby calm waters and level path. The start of the trail is on an old roadbed at approximately 3,120 feet near Rich Knob. The trail is an upstream footpath that curves north where it then crosses the creek and continues onto Crenshaw Branch and its tributary. Tall white pine and hemlock trees line the sides of the path and also expect to get wet as you rock hop across the creek several times. The creek can be higher than normal during spring time but it is still mostly easy to trek as the first two miles of this path is fairly flat.

Nonetheless, the last section of the hike can be extremely strenuous as the climb becomes steeper on your to the top. Mountaintown was one of the larger Upper Towns villages before where the area was a Cherokee village. Continue further along the trail as it parallels the creek where several cascades offer you a breathtaking view. At 3 miles along the trail, the creek then splits at a junction of two old roads. There is a camping area at this site. Yet continue to take the path that ascends to Rich Knob crossing the Mountain Creek.

The gradual ascent is broken by intervals of level terrain but then makes a steep rise as you near the top of Rich Knob. There is a primitive campground at this end of the trail where you can enjoy the open air overnight. On this trail you will have the opportunity to take whitewater paddling at Jack’s River or even camp at the nearby Fort Mountain State Park.