The Mountainside Trail system at Sawnee Mountain keeps hikers and runners under the forest canopy the entire time, and because it is less traveled than the Indian Seats Trail, it offers a sense of solitude with soothing sounds of Georgia birds and wind through the trees. Blue Ridge Mountains Travel Guide Accessed from the Bettis Tribble Gap Road trailhead, this newer trail system features steep hills, rolling terrain, singletrack, and technical rocky sections — giving runners a true North Georgia mountain experience without the long drive.
Name Origin: When white settlers moved into Forsyth County prior to the discovery of gold in nearby Auraria in 1829, a Cherokee Chief named Sawnee helped them establish homes and taught them agricultural practices. Following the forced removal of the Cherokee people on the Trail of Tears, local citizens who had lived alongside him remembered Chief Sawnee as a friendly, kind, and skilled leader — and named the mountain in his honor. Blue Ridge Mountains Travel Guide