As I read about the adventures of others, I constantly remind myself of the motto of Hiking Lady: “Let the Adventuring Begin”! I recently came across an excellent Appalachian Trail Map published by the National Park Service, and it made me realize how many amazing places there are along the AT!
Click here for a PDF of the Appalachian Trail Map
Click here for a JPG of the Appalachian Trail Map
The Appalachian Trail (fondly known as the A.T.), is a popular journey for thru-hikers, section hikers, and recreational day trippers. (If you don’t know what thru-hikers and section hikers are, check out this Ask Hiking Lady page on thru-hiking). The idea of the Appalachian Trail was thought up in 1921, and by 1937 private citizens built the 2,175 mile long trail! Impressive!
This Appalachian Trail map captures some of its massiveness – it extends all the way from Georgia to Maine, passes through 14 states, and numerous ecological zones.
Other fun facts about the A.T.:
- It is a total of 2,175 miles long. However, there are many other numbers I’ve seen for the distance. Bottom line – it is long!
- Portions of the A.T. are enjoyed by 4 million people per year
- The A.T. is within a day’s drive of 66% of the U.S. population
Hiking Lady’s Recommended Books & Movies about the Appalachian Trail
- Bill Bryson’s A Walk in the Woods Check out the HL book review of A Walk in the Woods here.
- David Miller’s AWOL on the Appalachian Trail
- DVD: TREK – A Journey on the Appalachian Trail
Have you hiked parts of the A.T.? Are any Hiking Lady readers thru-hikers of the A.T.? Please share your stories and comments below!
Happy Trails!
I have started the Appalachian trail twice I hope the third time i’ll make it out of Georgia. I would love to do the whole thing at once but I keep going one step at a time the end will come.
That is fantastic that you hiked a section of the AT today! And I’m quite happy to hear you’re going to plan a backpacking trip. Definitely keep me posted as to how that goes! Happy adventuring!
What a timely post! I was already planning to day-hike a section of the AT, and today I did just that. I parked on VA-601 and took a connecting trail up to the AT, then picked up the AT and hiked into Shenandoah National Park, up to Compton Peak. It’s a great section of the trail and feels wilder than hiking the Shenandoah trails. So wild, in fact, that I had to maneuver around a rattlesnake that was hanging out next to the trail. The AT is accessible from all over Shenandoah NP and is very well maintained. My day hike has inspired me to start planning a backpacking trip on the AT.
Bill Bryson’s book is hilarious, by the way. He’s an excellent travel writer.
Once upon a time, long before pdf’s and jpg’s, gas stations used to give away pretty good road maps, and that’s all that i needed for my through-hike. Some folks like to know where every climb, every spring, and every shelter is, but i prefered to adapt and learn as i went along, and the signage along the AT was sufficient years ago to keep track of where i was. I suppose that before long one will be able to project a holographic topo map with pulsating icons from all but the cheapest cellphones.