Situated in a mountain range spanning 550 miles from Georgia to Pennsylvania called the Blue Ridge Mountains is an easy trail known as Nimblewill Gap Road. What it lacks in difficulty and obstacles, it makes up for in gorgeous scenery. Part of the trail follows along the beautiful Nimblewill Creek before climbing up the eastern side of Amicalola Mountain reaching Nimblewill Gap, the pass between Amicalola Mountain and Black Mountain. Numerous roadside camping areas make this trail very popular with campers looking to get away from more traditional campgrounds. Additionally, any hikers or history buffs in your group will be delighted to see that this road also offers access to the famous Appalachian Trail, the 2100 mile hiking trail from Georgia to Maine. With camping, hiking, and access to other trails in the area, Nimblewill Gap Road has a little something for everyone.
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Southern Trailhead: Head west on Highway 9. In approximately four miles, bear right onto Highway 52 at the fork with Highway 9. Follow Highway 52 for 4.6 miles and turn right onto Nimblewill Church Road. Continue straight at the 2.4-mile mark onto Nimblewill Gap Road where Nimblewill Church Road turns left and reconnects with Highway 52. In 2.2 miles at the boundary of the National Forest, the pavement turns to gravel and this trail begins.
Northern Trailhead: Head east on Highway 52. In 6.2 miles turn left onto Big Creek Road. In 1.8 miles turn right on Holt Bridge Road. In 0.3 miles continue straight at the fork onto Roy Road for 5.5 miles, then turn right on Parker Drive. In 0.7 miles turn right onto Tickanetley Rd. In 1.0 mile turn left on Old Bucktown Road. Continue for 2.5 miles to the boundary of the National Forest where the offroad trail Old Bucktown Road starts. Follow Old Bucktown Road for approximately 3 miles to where it ends and Nimblewill Gap Road begins.
Started at Old Bucktown Road and moved south. Typical forest road. Probably take anything down it. Stock friendly. There’s a few camping spots along the side.
Review is spot on!! Trail was open and actually kind of busy today. Several campers along the lower end of the trail. One comment is that I believe this trail is marked as a straight through, which it can be if you are willing to do another trail. Since we hadn't researched Old Bucktown Road and were wheeling alone, we did this trail as a "there and back." While very easy, the views were great and were worth the visit.
Went up a couple days of some rain to find a few big puddles but mainly some nice roads with some views. We were behind a BMW x5 that made it pretty far into the road, but decided to turn around after coming up to a pretty large rut that they probably could have made it through if they needed. Road ends at a little opening with some great views and paths for hiking or the start of Old Bucktown Rd. We did it in a lightly modified Jeep Gladiator in 4hi but probably would have been fine in 2hi the whole time, I also aired down to 18-20psi just to make the ride more comfortable. Overall it is a nice a drive with good views and some puddles, can't ask for much more on a nice fall morning.
My last two trip up this road have ended due to downed trees. Several weeks ago the road was blocked near where the pavement ends by multiple downed trees. The number of trees was more than I wished to tackle with my chain saw. I have attached a photo. On 8/13/21 I was about two thirds of the way up and and a 30 inch plus diameter tree was down across the road leaning against the uphill side. Much to dangerous to attack with a Stihl Farm Boss saw. Very little room to turn around, but managed to make multiple small moves to get back down the hill and avoid a long back up. At the bottom of the road I stopped a couple in a Ram 4X4 who were headed to the top then down Old Bucktown Rd.
With all the rain this week if could be an issue again.
Great road in normal times.
Came down the road from Old Bucktown Road from the AP trail. This trail was easy for the most part but did have a few challenging areas as there are some areas of light washouts and some sections are fairly rocky. The ride is very scenic with a bunch of small water falls and a few miles that it runs parallel to a stream. Some great looking camping spots dot the eastern end of the trail. You could probably do this road in 2wd. Not much clearance is needed.
Nimblewill Gap is a favorite of ours! Great camping, gorgeous scenery, with some fun easy going trails in the vicinity. Camped a few days for Memorial Day with our M1102 trailer. Fantastic time!
Pack it in, pack it out and leave no trace!
Awesome trail with many beautiful waterfalls on the side of the mountain. Started up hill on old buck town rd then drove downhill on this one. View was incredible with a lil ice and snow in the trees. Would definitely recommend it. Stayed in 2wd the whole time. Jeep is on 33.5in tires with no lift.
This was a fun trail, it is as easy as everyone else said. If you come in from the Southern Trailhead, Stopping at the Appalachian Trail is a nice place to stretch your legs, take pictures and say you were on the Appalachian Trail.
As expected, an easy ride from Nimblewill Baptist Church to the plaque. Any 2wd truck could make it, and most cars with a bit of care can make it. We continued on past the plaque and the need for higher clearance was immediate. Us Florida Flatlanders enjoy the trip immensely. (Picture was past the plaque)
I went up there this weekend from the Old Bucktown Road side. There is a large tree down at the top of the hill on the Nimblewill. I was unprepared without a winch and chainsaw. Otherwise, very enjoyable trail
My wife and I took our Jeep Wrangler up to this trail today and had a blast! The first part of the trail is a rather easy gravel/dirt road with a few bumps and rocks along the way. Once we got to the top, where the Appalachian Trail crosses, we realized that the gate that goes down to Amicolola Falls was closed and locked. We saw that the main road continued on but looked to be getting tighter and more difficult. Wanting to test out our Jeep some more, we decided to continue on. Although we never had to engage 4WD, I will say that it was quite a bit more difficult and at a much slower pace than the first part. This must be where they rate the trail to be "moderate". It was, however, MUCH more fun as it had larger rocks, ruts and mud holes to plow through. Just make sure that you have enough clearance. Our Jeep has a 3" suspension lift with 35" tires and it was just fine. The trail ended up turning into pavement at Old Bucktown Rd. We followed this road until it ended and then took a left onto Roy Rd. which brought us to 52 where we turned right and ended up in Ellijay. Overall, we had a great ride that took us about 1.5 - 2 hours. Gave it 4 stars because we never found the water crossing and we wished it had a little more mud to play it. Have fun!
This was my first trail I have been on. As a novice to the off-raod scene, this suited my skill level well. The scenery was beautiful and, even though it had just rained heavy the night before, there was no deep mud or risk of getting stuck. My plan was to take a connecting trail down to Amicalola Falls. However, it was closed with a gate and a well placed hill had been created that would've kept me from entering anyway. I entered another trail at this fork that was open, but turned around after about a quarter mile, as I did not feel confident going over some of the obstacles. I did not use 4wd until this point.
This is a very easy Trail. Beautiful colors and scenery the entire time (Nov). Went all the way through to the end. The down hill is easy as well but a little rockier, but nothing hard. Stock in 2WD on this day would have been fine.
Trail was in good shape, there were 4 or 5 stretches that were muddy, a couple had some deeper ruts but no problem for a 4-wheel drive.
The gate has been pulled down that blocks the trail to Amicalola Falls State Park but there may be a gate at the other end of the trail.
I went past the gate to the top of the hill. The trail was more narrow, step and there was water flowing down the right side of the trail for a good ways. I turned around at the top and came back down.
Entered through Amicolola falls road, this side had several places of deep mud and erosion. The leaves cover some of the larger rocks so a careful eye is needed, otherwise great trip and camping experience.
The tree colors were amazing, better than HD!
Bring a camera and lots of time, this is probably the best time to watch the forest transform.
I made the trip up Nimblewill Gap to check the trail conditions after some recent heavy storms. All was open with no trees blocking the road. The views were blocked by fog but made for a fun eerie fall trip.
This is very easy mostly gravel road. Several sections were just regraded. Old Bucktown Rd starts where this road ends at the top. Forest Sevice Rd 28D is at the beginning of this road.
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Dave is more of an explorer than a wheeler who loves to find remote locations to hike and kayak fish. Born and raised in Chicago for 21 years before moving to Atlanta, backroads and forests and mountains were a whole new experience and now he just can't get enough. When he's not fishing for stripers on Lake Lanier, you can find him in the mountains of North Georgia, Tennessee or South Carolina exploring and mapping backroads. Just look for the guy with the kayak on the top of the truck!
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