180 degrees of payoff await those that climb to the top of Pine Mountain. Less than 30 miles north of the Atlanta perimeter, the Pine Mountain double loop trail provides an impressive view covering Lake Allatoona all the way to Plant Bowen to the West. A pleasure for those that are looking for a little bit of length combined with some steep climbs to get the heart pumping.

Even before the weather turns warm, the moderate sized parking lot will fill up fast. Most of the crowds are on the West loop, which provides the shortest route to the summit, so consider navigating to the East loop trailhead. (The trailhead coordinates listed are for the West Loop parking area. For the East Loop trailhead, see the additional coordinates provided in the Directions section below.)

The short trailhead connector passes an emergency call box before crossing a small creek, then coming to the first intersection with the West Loop. Either direction takes you to the summit, but this description will navigate around both loops in a counter-clockwise direction, thus taking a right at this intersection. The trail immediately begins to gain elevation, steadily switch-backing up the mountain several times, gaining 600 feet in less than a mile to the overlook. This is nothing to scoff at, but overall this section of the hike is well travelled and obstacle free. At .9 miles, the trail comes intersects with the connector trail which joins the two loops and provides access to the .15 mile summit trail. All of these intersections are well marked and easy to navigate.

Take the rock-lined summit trail to where you will be greeted with an expansive view at the overlook atop Pine Mountain. The 180° view covers Lake Allatoona, surrounding hills, I-75, parts of Cartersville, and Plant Bowen, a coal-fired power plant about 7 miles to the west. Take it all in, then head back down to the connector trail, this time continuing to the east, arriving at the intersection with the East Loop. This is the longer of the two loops and allows mountain bikes on Wednesdays and Saturdays, so keep your eyes open.

Continue to the right, hiking down the east side of Pine Mountain until you come to the intersection with the east trailhead connector in about .75 miles. Along the short connector another connector trail leads to the Cooper’s Furnace trail if you want to add even more mileage to your hike. Start heading uphill along the longer leg of the East Loop. The .6 miles is rather tame, but the second half of this leg of the loop again makes use of switch-backs to ascend 450 feet over .7 miles. This and the first climb will both get your heart pumping, being some of the steepest hiking this close to Atlanta.

Backtrack along the connector trail to reach the West Loop again, continuing to the right. This last leg of the hike is the rockiest terrain, requiring slower travel heading down this steep section. Finishing out the loop and then making your way back to the west trailhead will total 4.7 miles roundtrip.