Benton MacKaye Trail

Map showing location of trails in Georgia

The Benton MacKaye Trail or BMT is a footpath nearly 300 miles (480 km) in length in the Appalachian Mountains in the southeastern United States and is blazed by a white diamond, 5" across by 7" tall. The hiking trail was created and is maintained by the Benton MacKaye Trail Association and is named for Benton MacKaye, the Massachusetts forester and regional planner who first had the idea for the Appalachian Trail in 1921.

The BMT runs from Springer Mountain in Georgia (sharing the southern terminus of the Appalachian Trail) to Davenport Gap in Tennessee. The trail passes through eight United States Wilderness Areas and Wilderness Study Areas, while traversing three states (Georgia, Tennessee and North Carolina). The lowest elevation (765 ft) on the BMT occurs at the crossing of the Hiwassee River in Tennessee. The highest elevation is the 5,843-foot (1,781 m) summit of Mt. Sterling in the Great Smoky Mountains of North Carolina.

References

• Benton MacKaye Trail Association (2006). "Benton MacKaye Trail Association". Retrieved March 2, 2006.
• Homan, Tim. 2004. Hiking the Benton MacKaye Trail: A guide to the Benton MacKaye trail from Georgia's Springer Mountain to Tennessee's Ocoee River. Peachtree Publishers. ISBN 1561453110.

External links

Other sites

• Thru Hiking the Benton MacKaye Trail with GPS waypoints, 1000s of Photos, Journal, Resupply Points, and more.