Allatoona Pass Battlefield Trails - History Hike

Let's get a history lesson while hiking the trails at Allatoona Pass Battlefield park near Cartersville.  Allatoona Pass was the site of a 1864 civil war battle.  The park includes trails which visit an old railroad cut through the Allatoona mountain range that allowed trains to travel between Atlanta and Chattanooga in the 1800’s. In addition to hiking along the abandoned rail grade, we will also visit several bluffs to help us get some elevation gain and a long walk along the shore of Lake Allatoona.  

About half of our trek will be along the abandoned rail grade and will be relatively flat however the other part of the trek will include some moderate hills to visit a couple of civil war forts and other earthworks and along the lake.  In total, we will cover approximately 5 miles in about 2:15 hours hiking at a moderate pace and gain about 500 feet of elevation in total.  

Special Note: The parking is very limited at Allatoona Pass so I will be limiting the number for this hike.   

Take I-75 North to Exit 283/Allatoona Road/ Emerson. Turn right at the end of the ramp. At 0.5 mile the road veers left, crosses railroad tracks, and then curves right—don’t take the road to the right just before the railroad tracks. At 0.8 mile the modern railroad tracks run to the right, down a steep embankment. At 1.4 miles the road curves sharply right and enters a small community. The parking lot for Allatoona Pass is on the left, 0.1 mile after the curve, across the road from the Lake Allatoona Inn. Go to the second driveway and enter.