View Full Version : Romantic places on the Trail
Mother Natures Son
02-14-2019, 20:45
This, being Valentine's Day, I have to ask, is there any romantic places, trail towns, that would cause your heart to flutter on a day like this? My personal vote is for the Doyle's but I might be pushing that one LOL. Anyone else got some favorite places to go with your significant other?
Starchild
02-14-2019, 20:54
Your not pushing the Doyle, it has that exact reputation and I do suspect that is in haunted by such spirits. I have heard time after time about romantic encounters there.
There is the Love Shack, AKA something like the McQueens Knob shelter, a 2 person shelter, which is basically abandoned and for emergency use. I have no idea if the Love Shack's name is deserving.
Shooting Star
02-14-2019, 21:53
I remember walking by McQueen's Knob Shelter. It is pretty old and rickety - maybe an original shelter. I enjoyed that section of trail from
Watauga Dam to Damascus. Hikers may call it the Love Shack but romantic isn't what springs to mind when looking at that thing...
Slo-go'en
02-14-2019, 22:51
I passed a couple having sex just off the trail in VA once. I guess Virginia really is for lovers - or a stop for a quickie. Seems I was real close to a pull out along the BRP.
the doyle? really? why not just say the restroom in newfound gap?
bascomb lodge, the nicer hotels in hot springs maybe.
wookinpanub
02-15-2019, 11:06
My wife and I took our honeymoon at Harrison's Pierce Pond Sporting Camp just south of the Kennebec. It was perfect for what we wanted. Stayed there a week. That was 22 years ago this July. Two years ago we took our daughters back there so they could see the place. They loved it, too. I first saw Harrison's on my Southbound thru in 1990.
Captain Panda
02-15-2019, 15:53
The restroom in Newfound gap is way nicer than the Doyle ! And a lot cleaner, if that matters to you.
I have pics of that bathroom. Holes in the ceiling. Exposed water heater in the ceiling. Mold in the shower. A sink from the 1930’s. To top it off a toilet that has a sheet of plywood and I think you can see to the floor below if it was removed. Lol!����. The rooms are about the same. If that can be classified as romantic then secretly has low standards. Great food though and Patrick, the owner is awesome to talk too. Cheap too.r
Mother Natures Son
02-15-2019, 19:59
My wife and I stopped in at the Doyles for lunch after a hike. The conversation flowed easily with the owners. She (the owner) shocked me by saying some of the hikers were getting skanky women and bring them back to the Doyles (her words, not mine). That's why I had to ask is the Doyles a "unique" place for love? Okay, some hikers have low standards, not this boy. VBG
My wife and I stopped in at the Doyles for lunch after a hike. The conversation flowed easily with the owners. She (the owner) shocked me by saying some of the hikers were getting skanky women and bring them back to the Doyles (her words, not mine). That's why I had to ask is the Doyles a "unique" place for love? Okay, some hikers have low standards, not this boy. VBG
i guess it depends on what you mean by romance. i have little reason to doubt the "skanky women" story at the doyle, i just dont think thats what the OP had in mind bringing up romantic places lol
i guess it depends on what you mean by romance. i have little reason to doubt the "skanky women" story at the doyle, i just dont think thats what the OP had in mind bringing up romantic places lol
nevermind you are the OP. ok, i dont think thats what most people mean when they think or romance.
GoldenBear
02-16-2019, 00:10
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Review-g46468-d577171-Reviews-Apple_Valley_Inn_Bed_Breakfast-Glenwood_New_Jersey.html#REVIEWSl
186 reviews, and 183 of those give it five out of a possible five stars.
That should give you some idea of how nice it is to stay there.
And it's less than a mile from the AT.
Dan Roper
02-16-2019, 02:42
With some nice accommodations and hot tubs, Hot Springs would be a candidate.
Alas, when my two sons, a family friend and I arrived finished a section hike there five years ago, I had to catch a shuttle back to Standing Bear. Only my boys and our friends got to enjoy a soak in the tubs while they waited for me to get back.
bigcranky
02-16-2019, 13:32
The Inn at Long Trail. Nice rooms, Irish pub on site, pleasant folks. Great zero day for a hiking couple.
chknfngrs
02-16-2019, 13:52
Arguably any part of the Appalachian Trail makes my heart beat faster. I love the Appalachian Trail like peanut butter loves sandwiches.
The Inn at Long Trail. Nice rooms, Irish pub on site, pleasant folks. Great zero day for a hiking couple.
That’s a good one.
And would be for most couples.
Unless you are with a really special soul, getting lucky at the Doyle would be having your significant other still talking to you on the ride home — assuming she has not already taken an Uber.
KnightErrant
02-17-2019, 06:53
I met my now-boyfriend on trail but rather than any plush accommodation in a trail town, the most romantic spots were random places along the trail where we shared nice moments. Like one afternoon in Shenandoah the skies just *opened* and we were suddenly soaked to the bone, splashing down an ankle deep river of a trail, rain so heavy you couldn't see ten yards ahead. I remember shouting "This is what we do for fun!" and then we were just laughing and hugging and feeling really pathetic but also so incredibly lucky to be there.
Or another time, when I was struggling with illness in Connecticut and getting worried about my health preventing me from finishing, I sat on a rock and cried and told him that I would probably take some zeros and then skip ahead to Vermont, and he could just catch up within a few weeks so that we could do NH and Maine together. I hated the idea of yellow-blazing, but it was the only way I could think of that we could summit Katahdin together without me slowing him down past his deadline (he had a job to go back to). He said "But I want to do those miles with you. We can just go slowly." Boy, that kind of patience and kindness was the most romantic thing I could imagine.
(He ended up getting an extra week off work so we had some wiggle room, but we did finish three days before the original deadline, and we both hiked every mile.)
Pretty much every beautiful vista after a hard climb is a special thing with an SO. I know some couples are perfectly happy without sharing a specific interest, but I'm not sure I could love hiking this much and still click with someone who doesn't "get it."
get a cabin at Daicey Pond, plenty of hiking, not just the AT(actually walking the old AT route from Daicey to K Stream is a great little walk much nicer than the current AT route), beautiful views, canoeing on a number of ponds and as peaceful a place as there is.
somebody already mentioned Harrison's - Tim is a great guy and a hell of a cook real real rustic experience.
Andover Me, rent the mountain village tiny house in town - very nice place cool little village.
Every trail town in Maine has a B and B of some sort...
finally sunrise or sunset at virtually every view on the entire trail...
LIhikers
02-17-2019, 22:24
My wife and I enjoyed a night at the Sterling Inn in Maine.
KnightErrant, what a wonderful answer!
A quieter dinner in town first(no, not burgers and fries, don't be a cheap'o to your SO), perhaps sharing a bottle of vino, then a visit to Hot Springs Spa getting a massage and soak, then and cabin or private room at Laughing Heart Lodge.
Skylands Lodge. They have some nice rooms and place for a romantic dinner in the dining room with good romantic ambiance.
Elmer's Yellow House had spacious rooms in a Victorian atmosphere. High ceilings that encourage hearts to soar. There's a music room so if musically inclined perhaps playing a song for the GF can kick it up. Large soft beds and fresh linens craft quilts with quiet rooms and thick walls for the screamers.
Amicalola Falls SP Lodge. Go for a waterfall hike first. Waterfalls are romantic to many. Come back and rub her feet and offer a massage...and.