Atlanta, GA: Pickett's Mill Battlefield
Walk in the historic footsteps of Union and Confederate troops on a 3.4-mile hike through one of the Civil War's bloodiest battlefields.
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The rolling, dense forestland of Pickett’s Mill Battlefield State Historic Site has been preserved to resemble its state during the Civil War. Pickett’s Mill was the site where 1,600 Federal troops and 500 Confederates died during one of the war’s few night battles. The loop along the red-blazed, blue-blazed and Brand House trails passes old earthworks, a creek that powered Pickett’s Mill, and a ravine that became a death trap for hundreds of Federal troops. The ground is no longer stained red here; in fact, you’re sure to find tranquility along trickling creek beds shrouded in dense fern cover.
Trail Facts
- Distance: 5.4
Waypoints
PCK001
Location: 33.9742050170898, -84.7591247558594
From the Ravine Overlook near visitor center, turn right and travel east on trail marked blue and red.
PCK011
Location: 33.9799842834473, -84.7532653808594
To the left, a side trail leads to secluded rest spot with a bench overlooking a stream set down in thick forest. Continue on the main trail, descending to Mill Creek and walking along the water back to Waypoint 9, then retrace your steps to Waypoint 7. At Waypoint 7, go straight to continue southeast on trail marked red, white and blue.
PCK008
Location: 33.9810523986816, -84.7573928833008
Turn right @ T-intersection onto orange-blazed Brand House trail, heading northeast.
PCK004
Location: 33.9776458740234, -84.7531204223633
The former site of the Pickett family home (destroyed in the battle, according to historians). Turn right @ trail junction to go northeast on Red and Blue marked trail.
PCK012
Location: 33.9768295288086, -84.756721496582
Wind down into the ravine, moving from oak-dominated slopes to a more lush forest where dark green ferns envelop a thin stream.
PCK005
Location: 33.9782257080078, -84.7527694702148
The ruins of Pickett’s Mill.
PCK002
Location: 33.9746780395508, -84.7580490112305
Bear right @ Y-junction to go south on Red Trail.
PCK006
Location: 33.9796295166016, -84.7547836303711
Ascend steeply and look right for trenches dug by Union troops.
PCK009
Location: 33.9827613830566, -84.7559585571289
Site of a Union field hospital during the battle. Continue heading northeast and cross Mill Creek. At 1.5 miles, bear left @ Y-junction.
PCK007
Location: 33.9805946350098, -84.7566299438476
Turn right @ trail junction onto White Trail and head northeast before the trail turns back west.
PCK013
Location: 33.9756813049316, -84.7582244873047
To the left, at the top of the ravine, Confederates fired on Union soldiers who tried desperately to escape the low ground, returning fire as they clamored up the slope. Continue hiking southwest back to the trailhead.
PCK010
Location: 33.981990814209, -84.7502975463867
Turn to the southwest and look right for rifle pits and earthworks constructed by Union troops. Descend from ridge.
PCK003
Location: 33.9739646911621, -84.7534942626953
Pass trenches constructed by Confederate troops after the battle. The pen space to the left was a cornfield during the War and the site of fierce fighting during the battle of Pickett’s Mill. Descend to the northeast to cross Mill Creek, and then climb to a hilltop where Confederates staged an assault on Union troops in the cornfield below and to the west.