The “A.T.,” as it’s called by hikers, is much more than just a path through the woods. It is a national scenic trail, part of the same national park system that includes Yellowstone, Yosemite, and the Great Smokey Mountains. Its official name is the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. But unlike those famous parks, it’s not a concentrated preserve, with campgrounds and paths within its boundaries. As the longest, skinniest park of America’s national park system, the A.T. stretches over 14 different states and passes through more than 60 federal, state, and local parks and forests. Hundreds of roads cross it. In some parts, the Trail “corridor” is only a few hundred feet wide.
Maybe the most important difference between the A.T. and other national-park units, though, is that volunteers make it possible. Each year, thousands of people maintain, patrol, and monitor the footpath and its surrounding lands—outdoor lovers volunteering hundreds of thousands of hours of their time to taking care of this public treasure.
After leaving Virginia, the A.T. goes for about 70 miles through Tennessee before beginning to follow the TN-NC border. In this area, the A.T. crosses through the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where it reaches its highest point, Clingmans Dome, before continuing through the Nantahala Forest.
The A.T. runs between northeastern Tennessee and the southern terminus at Springer Mountain in Georgia. It penetrates several of the vast national forests of the South. Though mostly well-graded, the trail through the Clingmans Dome section is remote, with long, strenuous climbs. The high ridges along the North Carolina-Tennessee border are prone to winter weather similar to parts of New England.
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This site was last updated 05/30/06.