Hiking in Vogel State Park: 20 Miles of Trails
Tucked into the mountains of north Georgia and boasting over 20 miles of hiking trails, you aren’t going to want to miss hiking in Vogel State Park.
There are also plenty of trails outside of the park to hike if you plan to stay here longer than a weekend. Trails like the Appalachian Trail, maybe you’ve heard of it?
There is also a huge campground inside of Vogel State Park! With nearly 150 campsites or cottages to choose from, you’ll be able to enjoy a wonderful week or weekend in the Georgia mountains.
Important Links:
Vogel State Park Campground Map
Camping Reservations for Vogel State Park – reserve here!
Camping in Vogel State Park – My Post Here
Location
Just south of Blairsville, Georgia, this state park is tucked away in the mountains of northern Georgia.
Vogel State Park is the perfect getaway location for anyone in Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, North Carolina or South Carolina. And here’s why!
- 2 hours east of Chattanooga, TN
- 2 hours north of Atlanta, GA
- 2.5 hours west of Greenville, SC
- 2.5 hours southwest of Charlotte, NC
- 4 hours east of Huntsville, AL
So if you live near one of these cities, and want to get away for an unplugged weekend, you can be there within a few hours.
History
Georgia’s 2nd oldest state park, Vogel State Park was founded in 1931, just missing the mark of oldest state park by 4 years. This 233 acre state park is located at the base of Blood Mountain and sits approximately 2500 feet above sea level.
The entire area was originally occupied by Cherokee and Creek Native Americans. Legend has it that the Cherokee and Creek tribes fought over this land so fiercely that this is where the name of Blood Mountain and Slaughter Ridge comes from.
As European settlers moved into the area and began encroaching on this land, a struggle arose over the land. Minor attacks happened and by the beginning of the 1800’s the Cherokee Land was being taken.
Some of the Cherokee Tribe left voluntarily, but by 1838, the military began forcing the people off their land and onto what is now infamously known as the Trail of Tears. A sad part of history, but a part that shouldn’t be ignored in my opinion.
State Park History
After settlers became established in the area, a lumber mill was built and operated for years on this property. The mill was owned by Arthur and Fred Vogel. Yes, the very people this state park was named after! And here’s why.
The mill shut down in 1927 and all of this land was donated to the state of Georgia. It was made into a state park and named Vogel after the people who donated their land.
Civilian Conservation Corps
This park was worked on by many members of the CCC (Civilian Conservation Corps) in 1933. If you are unfamiliar with the CCC, there is actually a small museum right in Vogel State Park explaining the history and what a brilliant program this was in a rough time of our country’s history.
But in a few sentences, the CCC was a program started by FDR for young men (18-25). This program provided food, a place to live, and small amounts of money during the Great Depression. The men worked manual labor jobs on state parks, national parks and many other areas and built many roads and structures that are still standing today!
Specifically in Vogel State Park, the CCC built the dam on Wolf Creek, which impounded the water and created Lake Trahlyta. These men also built cabins, picnic areas, and campgrounds at Vogel that are still in use today.
Speaking of campgrounds, what if you want to camp in Vogel State Park?
Camping
As with many of Georgia’s State Parks, Vogel State Park has a bunch of camping options to choose from! From Tent/RV/Camper sites, to Walk-In Tent sites, and even Cottages, there are camping options for everyone. Even you glampers out there!
There are just shy of 150 campsites to choose from to fit your needs for an affordable weekend getaway.
- 90 Tent, Trailer and RV sites with electric hook-up – Book Here
- 18 Walk-In campsites – Book Here
- 34 Cottages – Book Here
We camped at a walk-in site in our tent and enjoyed close proximity to the bath house as well as a cheap weekend getaway.
For more camping details, including our experience while camping here, check out my post on Camping in Vogel State Park.
Time to Spend Here
As usual, it’s hard to give a flat out answer of how much time to spend at Vogel State Park. If you’re just looking for a lake day with a beautiful view, then a single day will suffice.
But if you are looking to hike all or most of the trails, then a weekend to 3 or even 4 days should do.
Or if you are looking for a week away from phone service and the hustle and bustle of life, then Vogel is also a great choice. Really, the choice is up to you and what is highest on your priority list.
Just to give you an idea, we spent a weekend here. Our itinerary for hiking in Vogel State Park is below. Feel free to copy this or modify it to fit your agenda!
Our Itinerary
Friday: Drove to Vogel State Park, set up camp around 7pm. Had a small fire and went to bed by 10pm to be fresh for the morning’s hike.
Saturday: Early to rise and eat breakfast before hiking Blood Mountain on the Appalachian Trail. We came back to camp, showered, and just after dinner we walked the Trahlyta Lake Trail to view the sunset from the far side of the lake. We then walked back to the campsite, packed up most of our stuff and went to bed.
Sunday: Woke up a little later than usual, packed up camp, then hiked the Bear Hair Gap Trail inside Vogel State Park. This steep but fairly short trail was an enjoyable way to stretch our legs before driving back home to Middle Tennessee
Feel free to copy our Itinerary if this suits you, or stay longer and add other trails to your agenda. You could also just visit the lake for the day if that is more your speed. Whatever your idea of a good visit to this north Georgia park, it’s definitely worth a stop.
Trails
In Vogel State Park, the trails are as follows:
- Byron Herbert Reece Nature Trail – 0.8 Mile Loop – Elevation Gain: 170 feet
- Bear Hair Gap Trail – 4.4 Mile Loop – Elevation Gain: 970 feet
- Trahlyta Lake Trail – 1 Mile Loop – Elevation Gain: 60 feet
- Coosa Backcountry Trail – 12.9 Mile Loop – Elevation Gain: 3600 feet
- Reece Farm Heritage Trail – 1.5 Mile – Connects the Trahlyta Lake to Reece Farm
There are several trails to choose from when hiking in Vogel State Park. There are also a plethora of trails nearby! Whichever you choose, you will enjoy steep north Georgia mountain hiking. Get that proper footwear and hit the trails!
Our Hiking Experience
Trahlyta Lake Trail – 1 Mile Loop – Elevation Gain: 60 feet
This flat and partially paved lake loop is the perfect way to end an evening. My husband and I walked this trail in the evening time after we had hiked 7 miles earlier in the day. It was a way to enjoy the beauty of the lake as well as stretch our legs.
We walked past people of all ages fishing and other people walking their dogs on this loop. When we got to the far end of the lake, we decided to sit on one of the benches and wait for the sun to set.
Our dog took a nap at our feet as the light changed from light blue, to light purple, to navy and then finally pitch black.
We finished the trail in the dark and headed back to our campsite to settle in for the night.
Bear Hair Gap Trail – 4.4 Mile Loop – Elevation Gain: 970 feet
This trail is completely inside Vogel State Park and while it isn’t their longest trail, we enjoyed the hike up to the overlook.
Now, I’m warning you ALL before you do this hike that when I hiked it, the overlook was completely overgrown. You’ve been warned!
This trail starts right behind the cabins and is clearly marked. We parked behind the visitor’s center, walked up the road a ways, and then began our ascent. The trail leads you up above the little lake and yes, it is UP the entire way.
With nearly 1000 feet of elevation gain, this trail is more challenging than we initially anticipated. This just goes to show you (and us!) that the distance of a trail is not all that should be considered when hiking. Please always consider elevation!
Anyway, we hiked up and up. This trail is quite open and very pretty. You cross a few small streams (like trickles of water, so don’t worry about your shoes getting wet), there are a few bridges, and of course, stairs to help with those steeper sections of trail.
The overlook is clearly labeled with a fresh wooden sign and we walked these last 100 yards expectantly. Unfortunately, what we saw was this…
Yeah, we were pretty disappointed, but a disappointing hike is better than any day at the office. Am I right!? Maybe it would be a better view in the winter. So we finished hiking the loop, walked back down the road to our truck and headed home.
We only saw one other person on the ascent and two families as we headed back down the trail. This was our last hike of the trip and we had about a 5 hour drive home.
But what about outside the park? With such close proximity to the Appalachian Trail, do you really think we wouldn’t find SOME piece of it to hike. Take a look!
Outside the Park:
Blood Mountain – Start out on Byron Reece Trail (0.7mi) – Up the Appalachian Trail (~3 mi) – Down the Freeman Trail (~2 mi) – Finish down the Byron Reece Trail (0.7 mi) – TOTAL: 6.5 mi. and Elevation Gain of 1600 feet
We started this hike by parking at the Byron Reece Trailhead Parking Lot. The trailhead is clearly labeled, but there is limited parking. So as I usually suggest, get there early so you can park your car in a properly labeled space.
You’ll begin hiking up the Byron Reece Trail for 0.7 miles. This section of the trail will take you up about 400 feet and you’ll come to a 4 way intersection with the Byron Reece Trail, the Freeman Trail and of course the Appalachian Trail.
We went to the right to start this hike, but you could continue straight here and then turn right when that trail dead ends. Whichever way you choose, this loop will take you to the summit of Blood Mountain.
Appalachian Trail
After we turned to the right, we hiked up the Appalachian Trail. This was the steepest part of the trail, taking you up the remaining 1100 feet of elevation gain over the rocky and uneven terrain.
Uneven stairs, large boulders and tree roots become your obstacle and that’s why this trail is considered difficult. Personally, I would rate this trail as moderate, but it certainly wasn’t easy. Finally you get out from under the trees and you can see the light of day. You’re hiking directly on large rocks at this point until you come to the Blood Mountain Shelter.
This shelter has 2 rooms and is for hikers to rest and sleep. Especially those crazy through-hikers who hike large sections of the Appalachian Trail (or even the entire thing).
Just behind the shelter is a set of larger boulders that you can climb up for a view of the surrounding mountains. This is what we did and the view provided quite the pay off.
After a quick lunch, we continued north on the Appalachian. Fortunately, the rest of the hike is downhill from here, but unfortunately, the views also go down hill,
Freeman Trail
It doesn’t take long before you come to another trail intersection and you will take a left onto the Freeman Trail.
Once we started down the Freeman Trail, we noticed the trail was quite overgrown (August 2023). And then overgrown turned into getting slapped in the arms, legs and faces with overgrowth. In fact, even with all our hiking experience, this was one of the worst trails we had ever hiked on.
Hardly any trees were marked and with the overgrowth, we were heavily reliant on our hiking app and following the trail that way.
For the next 2 miles, we hiked over rocky and uneven terrain while getting smacked by bushes until we reached the intersection to get back on the Byron Reece Trail. We then followed that back to the parking lot before driving back to the campground.
If I Could Redo It
If we were ever to hike this trail again, we would take the Byron Reece Trail, to the Appalachian Trail. See the view and reach the Blood Mountain summit, before retracing our steps back down the way we came.
This is just my opinion, but personally I would recommend that you hike Blood Mountain in the same fashion so you don’t find yourself on a seemingly hopeless trail.
Conclusion
My husband and I quite enjoyed camping and hiking in Vogel State Park. The expansive hiking trails, the well-established campground and of course the beauty of north Georgia drew us in from the very beginning.
We hiked in the park and outside of the park and enjoyed the beauty of the mountains in Georgia. Our dog enjoyed the dog friendliness of the campground and trails as well!
If you need a great place to get away, with stunning mountain beauty, Vogel State Park is the place for you!
Megan C.
Avid hiker and traveler around the US. I've been hiking consistently since I was 18 and I can't wait to teach you my tips, tricks and hiking hacks! Travel and hike with me and my camera.
