The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply the A.T., is a marked hiking trail in the Eastern United States extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin in Maine. The trail is about 2,200 miles (3,500 km) long, though the exact length changes over time as parts are rerouted or modified. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy describes the Appalachian Trail as the longest hiking-only trail in the world. More than 2 million people are said to take a hike on part of the trail at least once each year.
The North Country National Scenic Trail, generally known as the North Country Trail or simply the N.C.T., is a footpath stretching over 4,600 miles (7,400 km) from Middlebury in central Vermont to Lake Sakakawea State Park in central North Dakota in the United States; connecting both the Long Trail with the Lewis and Clark Trail. Passing through the eight states of Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota, it is the longest of the eleven National Scenic Trails authorized by Congress. As of early 2019, 3,129 miles of the trail is in place.
Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is the oldest outdoor group in the United States. Created in 1876 to explore and preserve the White Mountains in New Hampshire, it has expanded throughout the northeastern U.S., with 12 chapters stretching from Maine to Washington, D.C. The AMC's 275,000 members, advocates, and supporters mix outdoor recreation, particularly hiking and backpacking, with environmental activism. Additional activities include cross-country skiing, whitewater and flatwater canoeing and kayaking, sea kayaking, sailing, rock climbing and bicycle riding. The Club has about 2,700 volunteers, who lead roughly 7,000 trips and activities per year. The organization publishes a number of books, guides, and trail maps.
Springer Mountain is a mountain located in the Chattahoochee National Forest on the border of Fannin and Gilmer counties. Located in the Blue Ridge Mountains in northern Georgia, the mountain has an elevation of about 3,782 feet (1,153 m). Springer Mountain serves as the southern terminus for the Appalachian and Benton MacKaye trails.
The National Trails System was created by the National Trails System Act, codified at 16 U.S.C. § 1241et seq.
The Green Mountain Club is a non-profit membership organization dedicated to preserving and protecting Vermont's Long Trail. The Long Trail is the oldest long-distance hiking trail in America and stretches from the Massachusetts state line to the Canada–United States border, along the main ridge of the Green Mountains.
The Pinhoti Trail is a Southern Appalachian Mountains long-distance trail, 335 miles (540 km) in length, located in the United States within the states of Alabama and Georgia. The trail's southern terminus is on Flagg Mountain, near Weogufka, Alabama, the southernmost peak in the state that rises over 1,000 feet (300 m). The trail's northern terminus is where it joins the Benton MacKaye Trail. The trails highest point is Buddy Cove Gap, with an elevation of 3164 feet near the Cohutta Wilderness. Its lowest point above sea level is close to Weogufka creek near Weogufka State Forest at 545 feet. .
The New York–New Jersey Trail Conference (NYNJTC) is a volunteer-based federation of approximately 10,000 individual members and about 100 member organizations. The conference coordinates the maintenance of 2,000 miles of foot trails around the New York metropolitan area, from the Delaware Water Gap, north to beyond the Catskill Mountains, including the Appalachian Trail through New York and New Jersey. It also works to protect open space and publishes books and trail maps. The organization's headquarters are at 600 Ramapo Valley Road, Mahwah, New Jersey.
The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of the Appalachian Trail, a route in the eastern United States that runs from Maine to Georgia. Founded in 1925, the ATC works to protect the trail's 2,190 miles (3,520 km), 250,000 acre (1,000 km²) greenway, and coordinates the work of some thirty hiking clubs performing trail maintenance.
Blood Mountain is the highest peak on the Georgia section of the Appalachian Trail and the sixth-tallest mountain in Georgia, with an elevation of 4,458 feet (1,359 m). It is located on the border of Lumpkin County with Union County and is within the boundaries of the Chattahoochee National Forest and the Blood Mountain Wilderness. There are several waterfalls, hiking trails and other recreational areas in the vicinity.
The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) is a volunteer organization that works to maintain hiking trails in the Washington, D.C. area of the United States. PATC was founded in 1927 to protect and develop the local section of the then new Appalachian Trail. It has expanded its mission to oversee over 1,050 miles (1,690 km) of trails, 47 shelters and 39 cabins in Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail spans fourteen U.S. states during its roughly 2,200 miles (3,500 km)-long journey: Georgia, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. It begins at Springer Mountain, Georgia, and follows the ridgeline of the Appalachian Mountains, crossing many of its highest peaks and running with only a few exceptions almost continuously through wilderness before ending at Mount Katahdin, Maine.
The Catoctin National Recreation Trail is a 26.6 mi (42.4 km) hiking trail that traverses federal, state, and municipal woodlands along the northern half of Catoctin Mountain in Frederick County in central Maryland, USA. The hilly terrain is typical of western Maryland with large sections canopied under dense forest cover.
Mount Race, 2,365 feet (721 m), is a prominent peak in the south Taconic Mountains of Massachusetts. The mountain is known for its waterfalls, steep, eastern ridgeline cliff face and expansive views of the Housatonic River valley and Berkshires to the east and of fellow Taconics to the south, west and north and Catskills and Hudson River valley to the west, for the traverse of the said cliffline and the summit grounds by the Appalachian Trail and for its old growth pitch pine and scrub oak summit ecosystem.
Three Ridges Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area in the Glenwood/Pedlar Ranger District of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. The wilderness area is located just east of the Blue Ridge Parkway between the Tye River and Wintergreen Ski Resort.
The Priest Wilderness is a U.S. Wilderness Area in the Glenwood/Pedlar Ranger District of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests. The wilderness area is located just south of the Tye River, the Three Ridges Wilderness, and Virginia State Route 56. The wilderness consists of 5,726 acres (23.17 km2) and ranges in elevation from 1,000 feet (305 m) at the Tye River to 4,063 feet (1,238 m) at the summit of The Priest.
Nestell Kipp "Ned" Anderson (1885–1967) was an American farmer who spearheaded Connecticut's leg of the Appalachian Trail, which currently runs for 50 miles through the northwest corner of the state. In addition to creating and maintaining other area trails for the Connecticut Forest & Park's (CFPA) Blue-Blazed Trail System, he also organized Sherman, Connecticut's first Boy Scout troop in 1931, as well as the Housatonic Trail Club in 1932, for amateur and avid hikers.
Marshall Forest is located in Floyd County, in Georgia, 5 miles (8.0 km) outside the Rome city limits. It is one of the few remaining old-growth forests in Northwest Georgia. Marshall Forest is referred to as the only virgin forest within city limits of any city in the USA. The forest is 311 acres (126 ha). Trees in Marshall Forest range from 600–900 feet (180–270 m) in elevation. More than 300 species of plants, and fifty-five tree species live within the forest, together with numerous animals indigenous to the area.
The Appalachian temperate rainforest is located in the southern Appalachian Mountains of the eastern U.S. About 351,500 square kilometers of forest land is spread across southwestern Virginia, western North Carolina, the tip of South Carolina, northern Georgia, and eastern Tennessee. The annual precipitation is more than 60 inches. The Southern Appalachian spruce–fir forest is a temperate rainforest located in the higher elevations in southwestern Virginia and western North Carolina. Fir is dominant at higher elevation, spruce at middle elevation, and mixed forests at low elevation.
