Running Hickory Nut Mountain

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As I get ready for Conquer the Rock, I’m making a point to get lots of vert – that is, lots of vertical elevation gain, aka: running up hills. One of the hills I’m using to get lots of vert is Hickory Nut Mountain in Tallulah Falls, Georgia.

Hickory Nut Mountain is a partially developed mountain that sits just behind downtown Tallulah Falls. There’s a paved road that runs all the way to the top of the mountain and there are a couple of dozen houses that line the road and sit atop the mountain.

The road up Hickory Nut Mountain rises continuously for basically a mile and a half and in that mile and a half the road climbs roughly 830 feet, according to the barometric altimeter in my Garmin Forerunner 935.

An elevation profile view of Hickory Nut Mountain which shows that over the course of 1.5 miles the climb up Hickory Nut Mountain rises from 1,530 feet to 2,365 feet above sea level.
The road up Hickory Nut Mountain rises from approximately 1,530 feet above sea level to approximately 2,365 feet asl. See all of the run data on Strava.

At this point, my intent is to run Hickory Nut Mountain once or twice per week. I don’t worry about pace, I just try to keep running continuously, which at any pace is challenge enough.

The views from the top of Hickory Nut Mountain are spectacular. Here are a few of my favorite photos taken during recent runs.

As you begin to climb Hickory Nut Mountain you can see the summit off in the distance to the left.
This screenshot shows the location of the prior photo.
At various points along the run you get clear views to the south and can see Currahee Mountain in the distance.
Black bears are not uncommon in the northeast Georgia mountains.
Near the summit is a small shed or outbuilding bearing the name of the mountain.
There are also points along the route where you get clear views in the direction of the North Carolina mountains further north.

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