Overnight parking at trailhead lots

[TurboWells]

What are people's past experiences with overnight parking at the various trailhead parking lots?


I'm finally going to do my thru-hike this year after thinking about it for 30 years. My wife, who is disabled, would like come along for at least part of the trip driving our small motorhome so she see some of the country. The motorhome will fit into a standard parking spot.

On evenings we meet up, I'd prefer to overnight in the motorhome at the trailhead parking lot, if available. That will allow me to get a fast start on the next day. I don't envision staying in the same lot for more than a single evening.

I've checked out the Rohland's site. There's a few notes on overnight parking, but not a lot.

Any insight into past experiences would be helpful. I realize there isn't a one size fits all answer.

Thanks,
TurboWells

[The Solemates]

I'm not sure I understand....if you will be in the motorhome I wouldnt expect problems. I've arrived late to many THs and either spent the night in the car or slept near it in a tent. I've never had problems and 99% of the time never see anyone.

If you will be leaving it unoccupied, thats a different question. I've parked in literally THOUSANDS of THs in 48 different states in my day. I've had problems once. It was in Georgia, but not on the AT....on the Bartram.

I always take these precautions:

-back into the spot such that a random car driving by sees the front of your car, and not your out of state plates
-back your car into something like a tree or bushes. this further hides out of state plates, but also makes it very difficult for a thief to open your trunk.
-I generally park it in plain site. a hidden vehicle also hides thieves.
-I avoid places that are known to have had vandalism in the past (19E on the AT comes to mind)
-no bumper stickers someone might find offensive.
-make sure that nothing of any value is visible inside the car. nothing. i go to extremes. A visible phone charger means you have a phone. even if its not the in the car, a thief does not know that. put the cord away. no visible electronics at all. no visible CDs, etc. no visible expensive clothing. no visible road maps indicating you are traveling. in short, I try to make my car look like a local that is out for an afternoon walk.

[bangorme]

I park my car truck right out in the open and leave the cap unlocked with my storage bin open and clearly empty or containing things of no value (e.g. water). I hide everything of value in the cab of the truck.

[TurboWells]

Thanks for the answers so far. I should have been clearer.

As the AT passes through various federal, state, county, and local jurisdictions, I was more concerned with what's allowed. I wouldn't have any issue doing what I suggest in NH, but I don't want to assume for the remainder of the trail.

[Offshore]

I'm not sure how often this site is updated, but you may want to look at http://appalachiantrail.rohland.org/ for parking info. Some parking areas have user comments on overnight parking. Not comprehensive, but a start.

[Alleghanian Orogeny]

Turbo,

I hope your plans for a thru will be fulfilled.

The good news is that there are something over 400 intersections of the AT and public roads. The bad news is some of the crossings won't allow onsite parking whatsoever (Interstate highways, in the Smokies (GSMNP), Blue Ridge Parkway, Skyline Drive), some are on fairly busy highways (US 19E in East TN), some are in dodgy parts of the country, and some have fairly rough/long/difficult access. Many have space for but a few vehicles, and few are level.

As a part of a feasibility study, In 2013 and 2014 I've visited most of the AT crossings between Davenport Gap, TN (north end of the Smokies) and Pearisburg, VA. My logs show travel times/distances from paved 55mph state and Federal highways to the crossings. It's not unusual to see 30 minutes to an hour and sometimes over an hour's drive over rough gravel roads from a decent road to some of the more remote AT crossings. My project did not extend to the crossings between Springer Mtn, GA and Fontana Dam (beginning of the GSMNP), but reading here in WB and some map study suggests access is similar down that way.

I also mapped and noted conventional campgrounds near to AT crossings. Many are National Forest (NF) facilities and most offer only a level place to park, a vault toilet, water, and a picnic table. Still, those CGs are generally far, far superior to a road crossing.

All in all, I'd think at least the southernmost 1/3 to 40% of the AT would allow but few AT crossings at which you and your wife will have comfortable and enjoyable overnight stays. In my study, I concluded moving off-trail to a conventional campground, even a primitive NF facility, even when significant travel time may be involved, would likely be more desirable all around.

AO

[Another Kevin]

AO, do you have data in electronic form, and are you in a position to share it? If so, we should keep in touch. I've been working off and on at producing a hikers' map suitable for mobile devices at multiple scales. http://kbk.is-a-geek.net/catskills/test3.html (http://kbk.is-a-geek.net/catskills/test3.html) shows the work in progress. Right now, because of limitations on computer resources and data availability, I've been concentrating on the Northeast.. (It used to be just NJ/MY/CT/MA, but I've just experimented with a run covering from Pine Grove Furnace to Katahdin without making my computer keel over.) But at some point I might want to make the map penetrate to south of the Mason-Dixon Line, and then whatever data I can find will be welcome.

[mikec]

I also have a small RV and was interested in camping at AT trail heads and doing some day hikes along it. Another factor is whether a small RV will fit or be able to navigate an AT trail head parking area as some of them are very tough to get into and park in. I know that in northern Virginia, the AT parking areas at US7 Snickers Gap and VA55 Linden have parking that will accommodate a small RV. I'm not sure what the policy is within SNP or along the BRP as far as overnight RV parking or 'boondocking' goes. But I do agree with one of the posts above that a close by campground may be your best place to rendezvous with your better half.

[Alleghanian Orogeny]

@ Another Kevin, I'd be happy to share digitized data with you but I have none. My study was/is related to an idea formed with a longtime geologist classmate which would relate to a vehicle-supported thru. My data set consists of pages of notes and dog-eared DeLorme Gazetteers as well as National Geographic Trails Illustrated maps. If scanning the notes and sending them to you would be of assistance, please advise by PM. Someone with some familiarity of the AT and its environs can likely make sense of them.

@mikec, My observations would be that it can be somewhere between tough and dang near impossible to turn even a small RV around at or near many crossings. Most are in a gap, and paved highway traffic often approaches at 45-60mph from behind blind hills and around blind curves. Most of my field work was in a longbed Crew Cab Ford pickup having a total bumper to bumper length of over 20' and a terrible turning radius. Where traffic safety did not preclude executing a turnaround, in many places it was very difficult to turn that rig around on the smaller, less traveled roads. Could be similar in a small RV. I ended up concluding that many of the crossings would have to be used on a pull-through basis, so turnarounds at intersections or wide spots on the opposite side of the gap became of interest. Oftentimes, those turnarounds are farther/longer drives than I'd like.

AO

[Doc]

Some of my hike included having my wife in our RV and it was great. Nothing compares to having a big hot breakfast before stepping out and hiking all day. At the end of the day you come upon your wife holding a cold adult beverage in the doorway. You strip all of your poly off and have a hot shower before a real supper over the grill and then sleep with your wife at night. Is this TMI? We picked our spots to overnight but generally where there was room for parking we were fine.

[peakbagger]

In 2002 there was a retired engineer from California that wood slackpack a section every day while his wife drove to an agreed upon next trail crossing in a small Winnebago. He finished. There are stretches in the SNP, The whites and maine where the logistics make overnighting on the trail is a lot more practical than trying to day hike it. There was a book written about a hiker that did darn close to the entire trail as day hikes.

[TurboWells]

Thanks all for the excellent responses.

The motorhome is 21' long, so not much longer than an extended pickup. However it is just as high as a standard motorhome (a little less than 11').

I had been planning on using USFS 42 from Double Gap Road to get to the parking lot at the top of Springer. My wife could make it the one mile in and out so she could visit the southern terminus.

Anyone know if there's enough overhead clearance on USFS 42 to support this plan?

-Turbo

[takethisbread]

What are people's past experiences with overnight parking at the various trailhead parking lots?


I'm finally going to do my thru-hike this year after thinking about it for 30 years. My wife, who is disabled, would like come along for at least part of the trip driving our small motorhome so she see some of the country. The motorhome will fit into a standard parking spot.

On evenings we meet up, I'd prefer to overnight in the motorhome at the trailhead parking lot, if available. That will allow me to get a fast start on the next day. I don't envision staying in the same lot for more than a single evening.

I've checked out the Rohland's site. There's a few notes on overnight parking, but not a lot.

Any insight into past experiences would be helpful. I realize there isn't a one size fits all answer.

Thanks,
TurboWells

I've been leaving cars at AT trailheads for 10 years. Never had a issue


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[ocourse]

Virginia has a list of low clearances, and I would think other states would as well.