Walk 287.6 miles from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Big Creek in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, crossing three states, six wilderness areas, and the longest single trail inside the Smokies.
“Walk 287.6 miles from Springer Mountain, Georgia through six wilderness areas to Big Creek in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.”
Plan your Benton MacKaye Trail trip here, then get your permit from the agency.
Walk-up permit
No permit covers the whole Benton MacKaye Trail. It is free, self-register camping on national forest land for almost all of its 287.6 miles. The one gate is the ~13 miles inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park at the northern end, where the park's own backcountry permit applies, a scannable Recreation.gov permit with a cancellation alert.
Official permit pagePlanning another trip? See the permits we alert on.
Springer Mountain (Southern Terminus, shared with the Appalachian Trail)
The BMT and the AT share their southern terminus at Springer Mountain; the two trails interweave and cross four times in the first seven miles.
6 of 6 places in this section
Trailhead · Georgia
MI 0 · 3,782 ft
The BMT and the AT share their southern terminus at Springer Mountain; the two trails interweave and cross four times in the first seven miles.
Terrain USGS 3DEP · Water USGS NHD · Trail © OpenStreetMap contributors
As of September 2026, the managing agency does not require a permit for BMT Thru-Hike in Benton MacKaye Trail, Georgia. BMT Thru-Hike rates 4/10 on PermitSnag's demand index. The BMT Thru-Hike route covers 287.6 miles, rated strenuous.
More on BMT Thru-Hike: Live availability activityBenton MacKaye Trail Thru-Hike permit itinerary
BMT Thru-Hike permit fee: Free outside Great Smoky Mountains National Park (self-registration/no permit on national forest land); inside the park, the standard NPS backcountry permit applies: $6 non-refundable reservation fee plus $8 per person per night.
Walk 287.6 miles from Springer Mountain, Georgia through six wilderness areas to Big Creek in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
The Benton MacKaye Trail runs 287.6 miles from Springer Mountain, Georgia (sharing its start with the Appalachian Trail) to Big Creek in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, crossing three states and six wilderness areas. It is free to hike outside the park; inside it, the park's standard backcountry permit applies.
From Springer Mountain, the trail heads northwest through Georgia's Cohutta Wilderness, crossing Big Frog Mountain near the Tennessee line. It follows the Hiwassee and Tellico rivers through Tennessee's Cherokee National Forest, then swings into North Carolina's Nantahala National Forest past Fontana Dam and Fontana Lake. The final miles enter Great Smoky Mountains National Park, climbing Mount Sterling before ending at Big Creek.
The trail is named for Benton MacKaye, and shares its southern terminus at Springer Mountain with the Appalachian Trail before splitting west into the quieter Cohutta Wilderness and Cherokee National Forest.
Best for: Experienced hikers with excellent fitness and relevant technical skills.
Recommended experience: Should have completed 10+ mile day hikes with significant elevation gain.
Trailhead (5,000 ft)
Backcountry Tips
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Emergency contacts, ranger station locations, and satellite communicator tips for BMT Thru-Hike.
Bear canister requirements, approved container lists, and rental locations for this permit.
Gear Checklist: Required and recommended gear for BMT Thru-Hike · Shuttle Services: Trailhead transportation options · Guide Services: Experienced wilderness guides
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Only for the part inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Outside the park, on Chattahoochee-Oconee, Cherokee and Nantahala National Forest land (including the Cohutta Wilderness), no permit is required. Once you cross into the park near Fontana Dam, you need a Great Smoky Mountains backcountry permit, booked on Recreation.gov, for every night you camp inside the park boundary.
287.6 miles, from Springer Mountain, Georgia to Big Creek in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, per the Benton MacKaye Trail Association's current official mileage. Most thru-hikers take three to five weeks.
Yes. Both trails start on Springer Mountain and cross each other four times in the first seven miles before splitting at Long Creek Falls. They meet again about 180 miles later near Fontana Dam and largely share the corridor through the Smokies to the BMT's Big Creek terminus near Davenport Gap.
Yes, the trail is hiked in both directions, though the Benton MacKaye Trail Association's own mile markers and trip-planning tables are published northbound (NOBO) from Springer Mountain.
No canister is required, but every backcountry permit holder must hang all food, cookware, toiletries and trash on the park's cable food-storage system at each campsite or shelter -- if you carry a canister anyway, you still have to hang it on the cable.
Recreation.gov opens each night of your itinerary exactly one month before that night's date. There is no lottery; it is a straightforward, site-specific reservation, so you build your GSMNP itinerary a campsite and shelter at a time as your dates come into that window.
Only for large parties. The Forest Service requires a group permit for more than 75 people; anyone hiking as an individual or a normal-size group needs nothing at all.
Mount Sterling, at 5,842 feet, inside Great Smoky Mountains National Park near the trail's northern end -- the Benton MacKaye Trail Association calls it the BMT's highpoint.
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