Blood Mountain is the highest peak on the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail and the 6th-tallest mountain in Georgia, with an elevation of 4,385 feet. There are many waterfalls, hiking trails and other recreational areas in the vicinity.

Two Indian tribes called North Georgia home starting in the 1500's. By the late 1600's the Cherokee and Creek had begun to compete for the same resources and fought a battle on the mountain near Slaughter Gap. The Creek lost, ceding Blood Mountain to the Cherokee, who considered it a holy place. Archaeological evidence has been discovered that tends to back the story of the battle, but the date of the battle and its participants are still hotly disputed.

This peak has scenic views from the large rock formations that top the mountain. There is a hiker's shelter at the top of the mountain maintained by the Atlanta Appalacian Trail Club, and at the bottom of the eastern side of the mountain is a hostel and store (at Unicoi Gap, where the Appalacian Trail intersects US Hwy 19) as the Walasi-Yi Center. The Center was built by the Civillian Conservation Corps in the 1930's.

There is no water for hikers on top of Blood Mountain, and the shelter and surrounding area is often crowded with weekend hikers during the Spring and Fall, as well as hikers all Summer. There have been numerous problems with people hiking to the top of Blood Mountain in the Summer months without taking water and becoming dehydrated.

There is a short (2 mile) but very steep (1,800 foot climb) approach trail to the top of the Mountain from a parking area to the immediate north of the Walasi-Yi Center. However, a much better (but not as well known) approach is from the other side at Lake Winnfield Scott via the Slaughter Creek Trail. This approach has excellent campsites and abundant sources of treatable water, as well as being a much more enjoyable hike.

Mountains of Georgia (U.S. state)