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Winding Stair Gap Road
Dahlonega,
Georgia
(Lumpkin County)
Last Updated:
11/04/2021
Trail Information
Highlights
About halfway between Suches and Dahlonega lies Winding Stair Gap Road. This trail is the western part of a popular off-road driving loop through the Blue Ridge district of the Chattahoochee National Forest. Connecting Winding Stair Gap, a five-way intersection of trails, to the southern entrance of the forest - Winding Stair Gap Road follows the ridge overlooking Penitentiary Cove to the east and Jones Creek to the west. So if you're looking for a shortcut through the mountains or just out for a scenic drive through the forest, check out Winding Stair Gap Road.
Trail Difficulty and Assessment
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Trail Reviews
Open
Rated
5/5
Visited: 02/05/2023
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
Really pretty trail. Especially in fall when the leaves change and in winter when you have views of the surrounding mountains. There is also a really awesome campsite at waypoint 2. Very easy to drive north to south. I've seen people do it in a honda civic, though I wouldn't recommend it, but if your traveling south to north it will be all uphill and you may need 4wd and some good tires.
Open
Rated
4/5
Visited: 01/16/2023
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
We rode this trail North to South and never left 2WD. However, it was muddy and some ice, so if traveling South to North, 4WD may have been needed as it there is a long steady incline.
Open
Visited: 04/03/2022
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
Today was my first time out offroading. This was an easy enough drive that it could be done with 2WD, but 4Hi is what I used most of it, and 4Lo in a couple of places. I went south to north, all uphill. It was a bit bumpy in some locations but overall very easy to handle.
Open
Rated
4/5
Visited: 11/04/2021
Difficulty Accuracy:
Spot On
This trail is in decent shape. There are no ruts, rocks, large potholes or other obstacles on the trail. However, it is still a steep trail - especially towards the top - and the gravel is gone in most of it leaving muddy spots. 4WD is necessary going up in wet conditions or tires may spin.
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Open
Rated
4/5
Visited: 03/06/2021
Was on a split between Winding Stair Gap and FS 28-1 when I saw a minivan come down from Winding Stair Gap Rd. and decided to give it a try. The trail was just rough enough for light off roading. About 3 or 4 rocky spots towards the top where my FWD Atlas experienced a little bit of slippage but no real issues making it to the top.
I wouldn't recommend it in a sedan due to lower ground clearance or a non 4WD or AWD vehicle on a wet day.
On a dry day like today, it was a lot of fun. I was more worried about getting a possible flat tire more than anything else.
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