Horsetrough Mountain rises to 4,060 feet in the Mark Trail Wilderness of the Chattahoochee National Forest, straddling the border of Union and White counties in northeastern Georgia. The Eastern Continental Divide crosses the summit ridge here, sending streams north and west toward the Gulf of Mexico and south and east toward the Atlantic, including waters that become the upper Chattahoochee River. The southern slopes drain to Horsetrough Falls, one of the better-known waterfalls in the region.
Reaching the summit requires off-trail navigation: the Appalachian Trail traverses the main ridge but bypasses the high point. The shortest approach departs from USFS Road 44C at Vandiver Fields, following a forest road and a brief stretch of AT to Poplar Stomp Gap, then a 0.6-mile bushwhack north up the ridge to the summit, roughly 2.4 trail miles with about 1,500 feet of gain. An alternate route starts at Jacks Gap on GA-180, following the Jacks Knob Trail and AT south to Cold Springs Gap before a longer bushwhack to the top, totaling about 4.2 miles and 1,070 feet of gain. A third approach from Unicoi Gap is the longest, with more than five miles on trail before the bushwhack begins.
The summit is forested and densely vegetated, with no open views. Blackberry canes can make locating and standing on the high point a genuine challenge, and the descent demands careful navigation to avoid drifting west off the ridge into rougher terrain.
