Currahee Mountain and Camp Toccoa

About 17,000 soldiers trained at Camp Toccoa in the early 1940s, including the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment and Easy Company of Band of Brothers. The mountain they ran is still there, and so are the gravel roads, which the camp's history page says remain Forest Service roads and are a reminder of the "3 miles up, 3 miles down" training runs. The history itself is on our Currahee military history page.

The route is named for Colonel Robert F. Sink, who commanded the 506th, and it's the course of the annual Currahee Challenge. The race offers a 3-mile run or walk to the halfway point and a 6-mile run to the top and back, which gives you a good sense of the full route. Currahee rises about 800 feet above its surroundings, so the climb is steady and sustained rather than technical.

Because the route is a road on Forest Service land, check conditions before you go and stop at Camp Toccoa at Currahee during its open hours to ask about access and parking. Bring water for the whole round trip and don't count on services along the way, and wear shoes for gravel. Weather matters on an exposed road, so skip it in thunderstorms or heat.

At Camp Toccoa at Currahee, the regimental headquarters is the only original camp building still standing, and barracks rebuilt from original panels are open for overnight stays. In town, the Currahee Military Museum adds the exhibits, including a stable from Aldbourne, England. Give the museum at least an hour and a half; the admission page has discounts and tour options.

This year's Currahee Military Weekend (October 1 to 4) is over, but the camp and museum host events through the winter.

Event pages: Camp Toccoa at Currahee and Currahee Military Museum.

Toccoa is a half-day outing from Helen, about 50 minutes each way. Pair it with Traveler's Rest or with the railroad history of the area. Note the camp's visitor hours are short, so plan around Thursday to Saturday.

Plan the day around the camp's short hours. Thursday and Friday (noon to 3 PM) and Saturday morning (9 AM to noon) are the windows when someone is on site to answer questions, so a Saturday start works best: camp first, then the museum in town, which opens at 10 AM.

The camp's own site says visitors come to hike, horseback ride, sightsee and run footraces on the grounds and surrounding mountain, and that groups can ask for a tour. Call 706-599-0936 or email the camp before a bigger group visit.