Blue Blazes

[Slugg]

What are some of your favorite blue blazes/side trails along the AT? I’m a section hiker and willing to take some blue blazes to worthwhile spots.

Here’s a couple I would recommend:

Pickens Nose in southern NC.
Shuckstack Fire Tower in the Smokies
Grassy Bald in the Roan Highlands


I skipped Mt. Cammerer in the Smokies and regret it..but I plan on being a 900-miler so I’ll be back. So, what are some of y’all’s favorites?

[peakbagger]

Hands down the best, the Knife Edge and the Helon Taylor trail down off of Kathadin (on a non windy day).
The Bonds in the Whites (Bond, West Bond and Bondcliff) out and back from Guyot in the whites.
Mt Abraham in Maine (out and back from Spaulding Mountain) in Maine

[LittleRock]

Shelburne Pass Trail in VT - much nicer than the official AT route.

[wornoutboots]

Mt Cammerer Fire Lookout, Smokies

[somers515]

Interesting thread! None of my suggestions compare at all to the amazing Bonds in the NH Whites (which you as a section hiker could do as part of a well loved Pemi loop) or some of the others mentioned but I can contribute with a few suggestions from New Jersey.

I would say one of my favorite trails in NJ is the yellow blazed, Ernest Walter trail in Abram Hewitt State Forest near the NY/NJ border. If you combine it with a part of the blue blazed State Line trail you can create a loop with the AT. The trail goes by a couple of glacier formed lakes and scrambles up to a nice view.

Again just talking about NJ, the side trail up to the High Point Monument (technically I think its called the Monument trail and the Shawangunk Ridge trail) is worth it in my opinion.

And finally just for completeness sake I'll mention the 1.4 mile trail down to Buttermilk Falls. The waterfall while nice and one of the tallest waterfalls in NJ is probably too far to recommend as an out and back off the AT but I did it once as part of a big loop one winter and it was very enjoyable. I started on the Blue Mountain Lake trail, then Hemlock Pond Trail, then over to Buttermilk Falls, up to the AT and then used the AT to get back to Blue Mountain Lake road to close the loop.

[Tennessee Viking]

Roan Rodo Gardens/Roan High Bluff around the Mid June time
Elk River Falls
Coon Den Falls near Dennis Cove
Shelton Laurel graves (I think its a side trail now)
Rocky Fork State Park
Rich Mtn Firetower

[RockDoc]

Gulf Hagas loop in Maine has some nice waterfalls.

[HankIV]

I hear there are Bear issues, but sitting in Overmountain Shelter on a clear night watching the lights of NYC on the horizon is pretty surreal.

[somers515]

I hear there are Bear issues, but sitting in Overmountain Shelter on a clear night watching the lights of NYC on the horizon is pretty surreal.
I think you are referring to West Mountain shelter if I'm not mistaken. Yes agreed another good blue blaze. With the recent AT reroute to avoid a dangerous road crossing I believe it could be an even longer blue blaze. Also if we are referring to the same shelter, I recall it having a fireplace as well - I tented nearby and the views of the NYC skyline were pretty nice.

[Seatbelt]

Jones Falls, Angels Rest, Kelly Knob[VA], Standing Indian Mtn, Rich Mtn Tower, Mt Cammerer, Chimney Rock to name a few.

[HankIV]

I think you are referring to West Mountain shelter if I'm not mistaken. Yes agreed another good blue blaze. With the recent AT reroute to avoid a dangerous road crossing I believe it could be an even longer blue blaze. Also if we are referring to the same shelter, I recall it having a fireplace as well - I tented nearby and the views of the NYC skyline were pretty nice.


Yes, thanks for the correction

[ezdoesit]

Shelburne Pass Trail in VT - much nicer than the official AT route.

Yes and this used to be the A.T route until they rerouted it

[OhioHiker]

Is the section that goes through the Zoo in NYC a White or Blue blaze?

[peakbagger]

In the late nineties, it was the official route when the zoo was open and then there was an official bypass when the zoo was closed.