View Full Version : Must-See Shelters
wildernesswoman
02-19-2017, 18:27
Can anyone recommend some must-see shelters to stay at?
Thanks so much!
peakbagger
02-19-2017, 18:43
West Mountain Shelter - Harriman State Park NY - Old CCC shelter with great view down the Hudson River
Gentian Pond Shelter NH - Great view south
AMC Shelters (big bucks unless you can work for stay
Greenleaf Hut - Above treeline shelter overlooking mountain tarn and Franconia Ridge
Zealand Falls Huts - Looks out over Zealand valley
Lake of the Clouds Hut - Above treeline in the shadow of Mt Washington Views west to VT with two mountain tarns out back
Madison Hut - Above treeline, views north toward Canada in col between two Northern Presidentials
Ed Garvey in MD
Fontana Hilton at Fontana Dam
Blood Mt
Partnership
Over Mt.
Campbell
Has been asked before. https://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/archive/index.php/t-108513.html
lwhikerchris
02-19-2017, 19:13
mile 1548.1 - Upper Goose Pond Cabin
In this area, I'd say the top three are:
Bryant Ridge
Chestnut Knob
Rice Field (nothing special about the shelter itself but views from here are outstanding).
William Brien shelter
thom
wildernesswoman
02-19-2017, 20:25
Thank you so much! Couldn't find a past thread!
Cookerhiker
02-19-2017, 21:37
In Vermont, shelters at Stratton Pond and Little Rock Pond are nice. The latter is large and not far from the pond.
In Maine, don't miss Pierce Pond Shelter - very close to the water's edge.
Love Ed Garvey. Hexacuba in NH was neat.
Quarry Gap Shelter just north of Caledonia.
Don't miss the cabin at Upper Goose Pond. It's by far the best deal on the AT. It's a cabin on a beautiful pond. Great swimming. And a canoe for hikers to use. Nice mattress on the bunks. Screens on the windows to keep the bugs out. The on duty caretaker makes pancakes and coffee for breakfast. There isn't a charge for hikers but donations are excepted.
Sarcasm the elf
02-19-2017, 22:59
Don't miss the cabin at Upper Goose Pond. It's by far the best deal on the AT. It's a cabin on a beautiful pond. Great swimming. And a canoe for hikers to use. Nice mattress on the bunks. Screens on the windows to keep the bugs out. The on duty caretaker makes pancakes and coffee for breakfast. There isn't a charge for hikers but donations are excepted.
Agreed, I've thrown in a twenty each time I've been there and even then I thought it was a bargain.
Feral Bill
02-19-2017, 23:56
[QUOTE=peakbagger;2128919]West Mountain Shelter - Harriman State Park NY - Old CCC shelter with great view down the Hudson River
QUOTE]
Older than that. Built in 1928. When I stayed there, many times, in the 1960s and '70s it had no floor. A friend and I arrived once to find it flooded inside. We slept out under a 6x8 tarp. One of many fond memories for me.
The Cleaner
02-20-2017, 00:20
38310 Celebrate the 300 mile mark NOBO here at Jerry's Cabin shelter.
38310 Celebrate the 300 mile mark NOBO here at Jerry's Cabin shelter.
This is a very clean and well maintained shelter. Thanks for your efforts Cleaner, they are greatly appreciated. Tumbling Run in Pa. is also a well maintained shelter and has a great "no treatment necessary" water source as well. When we were thru there in 2015 the caretakers also showed up with cold sodas for hikers. Awesome!
QuietStorm
02-20-2017, 10:37
Didn't stay there because I got there too early in the day but the Allentown Shelter in PA looked incredible. Clean, spacious area for tenting or hanging, clean privy, a cord of freshly cut firewood, grills for cooking, no trash to speak of. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170220/e95a0fbfbaa5c0c832e86a52c6af7b45.jpg
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Pierce Pond shelter in Maine. Not for the shelter itself, but the site and the view.
Overmountain is my favorite shelter on the AT.
NJdreamer
02-20-2017, 20:57
Birch Run Shelter, PA section 13, if I have the correct one, has lots of camping spots and handmade furniture (benches and tables - many yards away from the shelter itself) by 1 or 2 camp sites. You have to look around the shelter site and its various camping spots to see the furniture, probably purposeful done that way. There is a small creek nearby too.
Starchild
02-20-2017, 21:43
My favorite must see shelter just for it's nickname is IIRC McQueens Knob, AKA 'the love shack'. A 2 person abandoned shelter with no water. Considered an emergency shelter. Note you wouldn't want to stay there, but it is a must see (also can't miss since it is right on trail.
cliffordbarnabus
02-20-2017, 23:45
the one you see when a storm is hammering down. bonus if no one is in it.
West Mountain Shelter - Harriman State Park NY - Old CCC shelter with great view down the Hudson River
I second this shelter. The view is off the charts. I spent a night here once, clear night at the shelter, but you could see Manhattan in the distance down the river, and there was a lightning storm over the city striking the buildings. Truly an epic sight to see.
Odd Man Out
02-21-2017, 14:27
the one you see when a storm is hammering down. bonus if no one is in it.
No kidding. On my SNP section last summer there were two occasions where I walked up to a shelter about 30 seconds before a monster storm hit. Remember the terrible floods in WV last year? It was those storms. I was sooooo lucky.
Clarendon Shelter in VT. Not spectacular, but well kept and has a grassy lawn in front.
Cosmo
AfterParty
02-25-2017, 15:37
I agree the super close one when a storm hits.
jimmyjam
02-25-2017, 18:23
Upper Goose pond, Stratton shelter, best sleep I ever got was tarping next to the stream at Clarendon.
Clarendon Shelter in VT. Not spectacular, but well kept and has a grassy lawn in front.
Cosmo
And is the only shelter I've seen where the locals keep up flower beds in the front of the shelter.
LIhikers
03-09-2017, 22:52
The RPH Cabin has flower beds that are planted in season.
They're kept up by the local trail club.
Sarcasm the elf
03-10-2017, 00:14
Clarendon Shelter in VT. Not spectacular, but well kept and has a grassy lawn in front.
Cosmo
I'll agree with that. When I was approaching Claredon southbound I thought I was walking towards somebody's house and back yard at first.
Tipi Walter
03-10-2017, 10:10
Here's a few examples of my favorite shelters on the Appalachian Trail---
https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpacking2011/Tipi-Walter-In-Mt-Rogers/i-B4WK6LN/0/XL/TRIP%20123%20169-XL.jpg
My tent on Wilburn Ridge on the AT in Mt Rogers---Definitely my favorite shelter.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpacking2012/Tipi-Walter-Grayson-Highlands/i-PBzRDXx/0/O/Grayson-Highlands-1-2012-060.jpg
Here's another of my Must-See shelters on the AT---must see by ME---This one taken in Grandmother Gap near Mt Rogers.
https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpacking2012/Tipi-Walter-Grayson-Highlands/i-dz7WkBJ/0/L/TRI%20132%20382-L.jpg
Finally, another favorite shelter on the AT near Partnership Shelter---while everyone else is gobbling down pizzas at the box shelter, I have calmness and privacy and no monkey chattering --- 100 yards away.
Here's a few examples of my favorite shelters on the Appalachian Trail---
My tent on Wilburn Ridge on the AT in Mt Rogers---Definitely my favorite shelter...
I forgot how much the Mt Rogers area looks like the northern part of the trail. Definitely one of my more favorite parts of the trail in the south.
Gambit McCrae
03-10-2017, 10:56
38310 Celebrate the 300 mile mark NOBO here at Jerry's Cabin shelter.
This was my very first camping spot on the AT back in the boyscouts. Cold enough my water froze but I don't remember being cold. Don't have a picture of it but Ill always remember is. Came back through there when I decided to section the entire AT. other then not haven chain link beds, it hadn't changed much. The weeds seemed to have grown closer
FlyPaper
03-10-2017, 11:37
Molly Denton shelter north of SNP:
https://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=12401&catid=member&imageuser=6053
Ed Garvey might be my first AT shelter....unless I stupidly decide to push on to Crampton.
colorado_rob
02-24-2018, 09:56
One of my personal faves, "tumbling run" in PA (maybe?), dual shelters, labeled "snoring" and "non-snoring"..... Didn't see a soul there though, so I went ahead and used the "snoring" just in case someone did show up as I occasionally do snore (allegedly....) Clean, well kept, nice separate picnic table.
Kaptainkriz
02-24-2018, 14:29
Beware of the Snarley Yow!
Ed Garvey might be my first AT shelter....unless I stupidly decide to push on to Crampton.
Kaptainkriz
02-24-2018, 14:31
Quarry Gap is right up there with it!
One of my personal faves, "tumbling run" in PA (maybe?), dual shelters, labeled "snoring" and "non-snoring"..... Didn't see a soul there though, so I went ahead and used the "snoring" just in case someone did show up as I occasionally do snore (allegedly....) Clean, well kept, nice separate picnic table.
ldsailor
02-24-2018, 15:17
Here's a few examples of my favorite shelters on the Appalachian Trail---
https://photos.smugmug.com/Backpacking2012/Tipi-Walter-Grayson-Highlands/i-dz7WkBJ/0/L/TRI%20132%20382-L.jpg
Finally, another favorite shelter on the AT near Partnership Shelter---while everyone else is gobbling down pizzas at the box shelter, I have calmness and privacy and no monkey chattering --- 100 yards away.
Wish I had seen that the last time I was at the Partnership Shelter. As it happens, I stayed on the second floor of the shelter between two roaring trains masquerading as snoring hikers.
I really like the old CCC buildings, beautifully made, of course have sometimes been targets of graffiti. :(
Strategic
04-13-2018, 13:20
I second this shelter. The view is off the charts. I spent a night here once, clear night at the shelter, but you could see Manhattan in the distance down the river, and there was a lightning storm over the city striking the buildings. Truly an epic sight to see.
I completely agree, adding Fingerboard (also a CCC shelter in Harriman) as a close second. The view is better from West Mountain, but it's a nice wooded valley stretched out below Fingerboard too. Both are in the architectural style I've dubbed "Sleepy Hollow Rustic" for their sloping stone walls and dual fireplaces at the entrance. Here are my pics of both:
Fingerboard shelter from the Hurst Trail
https://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/1/3/7/4/4/24_fingerboard_shelter_from_its_approach_trail.jpg
West Mountain shelter in the fog
https://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/1/3/7/4/4/46_west_mountain_shelter_in_the_fog.jpg
West Mtn NY for sure (FYI .6 off the AT) and Riga in CT. Best sunrise in CT right from the shelter
https://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=62460&catid=member&imageuser=54425
https://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=61814&catid=member&imageuser=54425