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Length: 2.0 miles
Rating: Easy
Use: Light
Hiking and Bicycling Times:
About 25 -35 minutes for cyclists and one hour for day hikers.
Restrictions: No motorized
vehicles or horses allowed on trail. Trail is designed for day hikers and
mountain bicyclists only.
Long Branch Loop is part of a hiking-mountain
bicycling trail system 17.0 miles in length that has been developed
on National Forest lands near Deep Gap on the Aska Road in south
central Fannin County, Georgia. Trails range in length from 1-5.5
miles and are open to the recreational public year around.
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near 3200 feet, providing vistas of mountain ridges and descend to shores of
beautiful Lake Blue Ridge. They also pass through coves of mature hardwoods
as well as traversing thickets of laurel and rhododendron. Long Branch Loop
is one of those trails which crosses or travels along a mountain streams and
provides a range of forested settings for the visitor.
This trail begins at northeast corner of the parking lot. It is marked
with dark green blazes. Trail leaves parking area and enters onto old
logging road. Within 300 yards come to fork in road. Take right-hand fork
and go gradually downhill on road bed. Cross creek and ascend gently on
grassy road. At 0.75 miles note white and dark green blazed side trail to
right. This leads to Green Mountain Trail. Continue ahead on road bearing
down to left. Descend to branch, cross and immediately ascend on old
skidding road. Go to ridge top, turn left and follow alongside recent
timber harvest on old road. After an additional mile the visitor will be
back at the original fork in trail. Turn right, proceed 300 yards to
parking lot.
Directions from Blue Ridge, Georgia:
Travel east (toward Blairsville, GA) on GA Hwy 515,
approx. 0.8 miles past intersection with GA Hwy 5. Turn Right at Windy
Ridge Rd., go 0.2 miles to dead end with Old U.S. 76. Turn left, go 0.2
miles to Aska Road on right. Continue south on Aska Read 5.9miles to Shady
Falls Road. Turn left, proceed 0.2 miles to parking area on left.
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