Pine Mountain 5&8 Mile Trail Runs

Description:

Both Courses begin and end at Cooper Furnace Day Use area on the Etowah River and head up the Cooper Furnace Trail to the Pine Mountain Connector Trail. Once at the Pine Mountain trailhead, 5 mile runners will tackle the East Loop of the Pine Mountain Trail, then head back to Cooper Furnace via the Pine Mountain Connector and rugged Laurel Ridge Trail. 8 mile runners will run half of the Pine Mountain East Loop, then complete the West Loop Trail. After reaching the East-West Connector for the second time, long course runners will take the Summit Trail to the top of Pine Mountain for a panoramic view of Lake Allatoona and the surrounding hills. They will then descend the Summit Trail and run the final side of the East Loop Trail down to the Pine Mountain Connector Trail. From here, the long course heads back to Cooper Furnace via the Pine Mountain Connector and rugged Laurel Ridge Trail.

Both courses have significant elevation gain and climbs that are at or over one mile in length. The 8 mile course has over 1800′ of elevation gain but is doable by those that are determined. Fast hiking these climbs is totally acceptable! While challenging, the Pine Mountain Trail is beaufifully constructed and has a nice running surface with fantastic scenery along the way. This is a course not to miss!