East Cowpen
- 13.5 mi
- round trip
- 3,460 ft
- climb
- 4,096 ft
- high point
- Out and back
- route
Is East Cowpen open right now?
Closure in the area
There's a closure order in Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests. It doesn't name East Cowpen, so check the source for the area it covers (4 listed).
Road Maintenance: West Cowpen Road (FSR 17)
Agency closure covering Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests · USFS · Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests
Prescribed fire on Oconee Ranger District at Jasper County
Agency closure covering Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests · USFS · Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests
Muskrat Road, FS 218, Temporarily Closed
Agency closure covering Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests · USFS · Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests
Flash Flood Awareness
Agency closure covering Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests · USFS · Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests
Lake Winfield Scott closed except fishing pier
Agency alert covering Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests · USFS · Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests
As of · Source: USFS · Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests. Agencies don't list every closure — check before you go.
East Cowpen is a hard hike in northern Georgia, set within the Conasauga Ranger District of the Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forests and on the Cohutta Wildlife Management Area. The State Department of Natural Resources manages the land. The trail runs about 13.5 miles out and back, and the climb totals about 3,460 feet. The high point is 4,096 feet, and the steepest stretch comes at about 2.1 miles in, with a 30% grade. The trailhead is Rice Camp Trailhead, and the route is open year-round. The trip takes about six hours. Horses are allowed, but bikes are not. The trail surface is natural. The Rice Camp hike starts just 0.1 mile away, and Horseshoe Bend and Hickory Ridge are each about 1.7 miles off. Cottonwood Patch Campground, roughly 2.9 miles away, offers a place to camp.
Keep exploring — more trails worth the drive
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6.44-mile out-and-back trail in Georgia with 473 ft gain and 2,161 ft loss.
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3.90-mile out-and-back trail to Grassy Mtn Tower in Georgia, 283 ft gain.
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Rice Camp
Next door
Rice Camp is an 8-mile out-and-back trail in Georgia with 526 feet of elevation gain.
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SYLCO LOOP
~10 min drive
23.02-mile out-and-back trail in Tennessee with 3,605 ft elevation gain
Photo: ChattOconeeNF, CC BY 2.0 (via Flickr)Songbird
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2.74-mile out-and-back trail in Georgia with 389 ft gain
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Horseshoe Bend
~3 min drive
5.20-mile out-and-back trail in Georgia with 664 ft elevation gain
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Hickory Ridge
~3 min drive
7-mile out-and-back trail in Georgia with 208 ft elevation gain.
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Licklog Ridge
~15 min drive
5.16-mile out-and-back trail in Tennessee with 6,517 ft elevation gain.
