History

The Appalachian Trail, also known as the AT, was the brainchild of Benton MacKaye, a Massachusetts regional planner and forester for the United States Forest Service, as well as a cofounder of The Wilderness Society. His idea for a continuous wilderness trail was proposed in an October 1921 article in the Journal of the American Institute of Architects, entitled "An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning." The trail was to provide leisure, enjoyment, and the study of nature for people living in the urban areas of the eastern United States.

Just two years later, on October 7, 1923, the first section of the Appalachian Trail, from Bear Mountain-Harriman State Park to Delaware Water Gap, was opened. MacKaye then called for a two-day Appalachian Trail conference to be held in March 1925 in Washington D.C., which resulted in the formation of the Appalachian Trail Conference (now called the Appalachian Trail Conservancy). Little progress, however, was made on the trail for several years.

The trail wasn't completed until August 1937 when the Civilian Conservation Corps connected the ridge between Spaulding and Sugarloaf Mountains in Maine. The 1968 National Trails System Act made the AT a linear national park and authorized funds to surround the entire route with public lands, either federal or state, and to protect it from incompatible uses. Roughly 2184 miles in length, the Appalachian Trail is the nation's longest marked footpath. It passes through 6 national parks and touches 14 states.

Fun Facts (2012)

The Appalachian Trail:

• Is a unit of the National Park Service.
• Is the nation's longest marked footpath, at approximately 2193.1 miles (2021) (was 2,184 in 2012).
• Is the first national scenic trail, designated in 1968.
• Houses more than 2,000 occurrences of rare, threatened, endangered, and sensitive plant and animal species.
• Crosses six national parks.
• Traverses eight national forests.
• Touches 14 states.
• Is maintained by 30 trail clubs and multiple partnerships.
• Lowest elevation: Bear Mountain Bridge (NY) crossing the Hudson River at 124 feet.
• Highest elevation: Clingman's Dome in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park at 6,643 feet.
• The total elevation change over the course of the Trail is 515,000 feet... that's approximately 97.5 miles of upward steps.
• There are 165,000 blazes along the length of the Trail.
• More than 8,000 people have reported hiking the length of the Trail.
• It takes approximately 5 million footsteps to walk the entire length of the Trail.