Berry College House of Dreams Part 3: Hurtin' Gator Trail

By now, you may have figured that I either live near Berry College or just like going there or both. Both are true. The campus sports over 40 miles of trails on the entire campus. All of the Mountain Campus trails lead to the House of Dreams in one way or another. The Viking Trail which leads from the Main Campus to the Mountain Campus is mostly in the sun; therefore, I rarely take that trail. The Mountain Campus trails are full of forests, flowers, trees, and wildlife. There are breathtaking vistas of Floyd and Chattooga counties, and many different water sources. Although I have probably hiked this campus over 100 times in the past two years, I haven't seen all of the trails

Distance from trail head: 4.3
Rating: Moderate (incline and distance)
Berry College Trail Map






This trail will bring you close to an 8 1/2  mile hike if you go down the regular HOD trail.

You will definitely want to park at Frost Chapel. The trail head goes north behind the parking lot.

The First Miles

The first mile of this trail follows a dirt road. There's a good bit of red mud in the wetter times of the year, and there's a lot of sun. Take your sunscreen. This area is flat, so the hike is very easy here.








You will pass streams and fields on this part until you hit O'Bryan Gap Road. Make sure to keep left on the trail.

The Climb

Once you make the left at O'Bryan Gap Road, you will begin to ascend Lavender Mountain via the Hurtin' Gator Trail. There is a good bit of sun mid day on this side of the mountain.

The trail is very soft up here, so it's much easier on the joints compared to the uneven gravel of the House of Dreams road trail.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                This is the most difficult part of the trail to navigate. The picture doesn't do it justice, but the incline is very steep here, and it is SUPER MUDDY.








The Hurtin' Gator Trail ends at the two mile point on the gravel trail to the House of Dreams. You will see the stone gates and have an AHA moment if you've taken the gravel road up before. There are benches here to take a rest and relieve the joints.