Appalachian Trail
The United States' most famous long-distance footpath runs about 2,200 miles along the Appalachian ridges from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Katahdin in Maine, through 14 states.
At a glance
- Starts in
- Springer Mountain
- Ends in
- Mount Katahdin
- Length
- 3,537 km
- On foot
- ≈ 141–177 days
- Countries
- United States
About the trail
The idea came from the forester Benton MacKaye in 1921, and volunteer clubs finished the footpath in 1937; it is still marked with white blazes and largely maintained by volunteers. The trail is managed by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and the National Park Service. Most thru-hikers go north from Georgia between late February and early April and take about six months.
Sections are rerouted now and then, so the length shifts a little from year to year.
Trails it meets
No source gives the days on foot, so they are worked out from the length at 20–25 km a day.