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National Scenic Trail

Appalachian National Scenic Trail

  • Northeast

Plan a Appalachian trip

About Appalachian

The Appalachian Trail is a 2,190+ mile long public footpath that traverses the scenic, wooded, pastoral, wild, and culturally resonant lands of the Appalachian Mountains. Conceived in 1921, built by private citizens, and completed in 1937, today the trail is managed by the National Park Service, US Forest Service, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, numerous state agencies and thousands of volunteers.

From the National Park Service.

Region
Northeast
States
Connecticut, Georgia, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, North Carolina, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, Vermont and West Virginia
Designation
National Scenic Trail
Entrance fee
None listed
  • Trail data for this park is still being added.
  • Places for this park are still being added.

Know before you go

Fees, hours, weather and getting to Appalachian.

Entrance fees

The National Park Service lists no entrance fee for this park.

Hours

Open 24 hours a day, every day.

In general, the Appalachian Trail is open year-round. The northern terminus at Mount Katahdin in Maine is within Baxter State Park, which may be closed in winter months, depending on weather conditions. Particular sections of the Trail, and less-developed roads accessing the Trail, may be closed temporarily for a number of reasons, but otherwise the trail is open.

Weather and when to go

It is your responsibility to be prepared for all weather conditions, including extreme and unexpected weather changes year-round. As the trail runs from Georgia to Maine there will be different weather conditions depending on your location. For weather along specific sections of the trail and at specific shelters, please refer to: http://www.atweather.org/

Getting there

There are many points of access along the Appalachian Trail, whether it is by car, train, bus or plane. For more detailed directions, please refer to the "Directions" section of our park webpage.

Directions from the National Park Service

Contact the park

Address
Appalachian Trail Park Office, P.O. Box 50, Harpers Ferry, WV 25425
Official site
nps.gov/appa

From the National Park Service, checked weekly. Fees, hours and road conditions change: confirm with the park before you go.

Trip planner

A day-by-day plan for Appalachian

Tell us your dates and what you are into. We group the stops by where they are, so each day is one part of the park, not a zigzag.

Plan your park trip Free. No account needed.

Things to do in Appalachian

The park service's own list, with how long each takes.

  • Multi-Park Loop

    Hiking · about 2 hours

    Park your car and stretch your legs! Visit four different National Parks in Washington, DC and begin logging miles on seven different National Historic or National Scenic trails!

  • Visit John Brown's Fort

    Self-Guided Tours - Walking · about 45 min

    A visit to John Brown's Fort is more than seeing the building where John Brown and several of his followers barricaded themselves in 1859. The building has a complex history that…

  • Visit Jefferson Rock

    Self-Guided Tours - Walking · about 45 min

    Hike along the Appalachian Trail in Harpers Ferry, WV to see the view Thomas Jefferson once described as "one of the most stupendous scenes in Nature."

What to pack for Appalachian

Gear & Essentials

Tell us about your trip and we will add what else you will want:

The basics

Worth having in the car whatever the park.

For this trip

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More park sites in Connecticut

All 5 in Connecticut All National Trails