View Full Version : Which part of the trail was the most crowded?
wanderluster
03-11-2011, 02:12
1. Did you hike north or southbound, section hike, etc?
2. Which state did you find the most crowded & what month was it?
3. When did you start?
I'm new to the Appalachian trail. I thought this was an interesting question (always love to hear about others experiences) I'm also trying to plan a 2 1/2 month section hike in the summer and avoid crowds and excessive heat. If you have any advice for me in the way of my goals, I'd appreciate that too.
fredmugs
03-11-2011, 08:05
The only part of the trail that was bad for me was when I section hiked NOBO from the northern end of SNP to Pen Mar Park. It was in April and, unfortunately, I hit the MD section on a nice warm spring weekend and all the day hikers were out. I must have run into over 200 people on the trail that day.
My advice: Stay away from the national parks and the DC area. If you want to avoid crowds and heat I would plan on finishing on Katahdin and then make your best guess as to where to start heading NOBO based on your ability. You could go SOBO from Katahdin but then you'll have the SOBO thru hikers to deal with but I don't think you'll have crowds.
NOBO, started March 15th ended September 15th. The first 50 miles were by far the most crowded with thru hikers for me. That slowly lessened as the miles went by.
For day hikers/weekenders... SNP was very crowded. Also, the Smokies, and White Mountain NF in NH were also pretty crowded.
SOBO. The Whites in August were loaded with hikers. NOBOs going north, but mostly day and weekend hikers. The huts were packed to the max.
TheCheek
03-11-2011, 08:49
Nobo, april 4.
GA through GSNP in early to mid April. GSNP was crowded at the shelters especially.
The whites in august were also crowded at the huts so we stealthed a few of the nights.
I haven't thru hiked yet, but out of everything I have hiked so far I would definitely say the Smokies. Especially within a mile or so of parking points. Shenandoah's would be next.
If it's a summer hike of that length itwill be hard to avoid crowds and heat. You would have to start in Vt.,NH or Maine and I thought the Whites were the most crowded/touristy section of the trail (along with the first week or so after Springer - I started in very late March so I was in the bubble). Have you considered a SOBO starting at the end of the Long Trail then continuing south on the AT?. Never hiked it and heard it was tough hiking but get the impression it is not as heavily travelled as the AT.
kayak karl
03-11-2011, 10:12
weekends ! didnt matter where i was by noon Sat. it was crowded. unless there was snow on the ground.
Tenderheart
03-11-2011, 13:23
I remember the northern part being very crowded. Every time we turned around, we were running into a college orientation class in New England. Boy, the only college orientation I remember was from a dead-pan man wearing a suit and lecturing in a stuffy classroom.
litefoot 2000
Slo-go'en
03-11-2011, 14:17
From late August to mid September, nearly every shelter and camp site from Connecticut to well into NH is full of freashman collage students on "oriantation hikes". They are mostly from ivy league schools.
Public school spring brake anywhere with in a weeks hike of HF. 10 miles south of HF on a Saturday during spring brake last spring there wasn't even tent room and there was a 20 min line for the spring and 30+ min for the privy. But I will say the vast majority of them were real hikers LNT and not frat boys hiking in from the nearest road.
or anywhere the boy scouts go and take over the shelters.
It wasn't the most crowded section, but I was surprised how many groups were hiking in the 100 mile wilderness. NOBO finished mid July.
Have you considered a SOBO starting at the end of the Long Trail then continuing south on the AT?.
Talk about freaky! I was just thinking about this same exact thing this morning when I was thinking about next years hike.
I have no desire to hike from New Hampshire northwards again in this lifetime but from where the AT crosses MA Hwy 2 (forget the town but there's a big supermarket about a half mile down the hwy) south to Springer would be a nice hike.
Kaptain Kangaroo
03-11-2011, 16:20
Hiked NOBO. Started March 3rd, finished July 12th.
Busiest part of the trail was Georgia, although at least 50 % of people on trail were day, weekend or section hikers.
Other busy places were SMNP, Vermont on combined Long trail section, 100 mile wilderness.
SNP was very quiet as most facilities were still closed when I hiked through. The Whites did have more hikers, but definitely would not say it was crowded.
The vast majority of people I met on the trail were day hikers, weekenders or section hikers.
Many more people on trail on weekends than weekdays.
Even during busy times, the trail is really only "crowded" at shelters. If you want to avoid large groups of people, camp somewhere else. But often I find it nice to have a day hiking by myself & then end the day with a bunch of interesting people I can talk to over a meal. Coming from another country, talking to the locals can be fascinating !
If you want to avoid heat (with you 100% on that one) stay as far North as you can, or don't hike in summer.....
Talk about freaky! I was just thinking about this same exact thing this morning when I was thinking about next years hike.
I have no desire to hike from New Hampshire northwards again in this lifetime but from where the AT crosses MA Hwy 2 (forget the town but there's a big supermarket about a half mile down the hwy) south to Springer would be a nice hike.
I think that town you mentioned at MA-2 near the VT/MA state line is North Adams, MA or Williamstown, MA... both towns are close to the AT crossing, and there's a grocery store close.
my next hike will be on the Long Trail in VT. I actually became tired of too many hikers on the AT last year, and the experience became more of a "race" amongst hikers, with trail conversation frequently dwelling on "how many miles per day are you doing?", "we left Springer on ____ (date).... look how many other hikers we've passed... we're faster, better, and tougher, blah blah blah". Shelters were often crowded, and I rarely slept in a shelter because of that. The only reason I liked camping near shelters were the convenience of the bear cables, usually nearby water. There were almost always too many other people to allow use of the benches or picnic tables for meal prep or cooking.
The LT in Vermont in late August was not nearly so crowded.
but to each his own, HYOH
I think that town you mentioned at MA-2 near the VT/MA state line is North Adams, MA or Williamstown, MA... both towns are close to the AT crossing, and there's a grocery store close.
my next hike will be on the Long Trail in VT.
That's it - North Adams.
As of right now the Long Trail is on top of my list for 2012 but that's a long ways off.
Montana Mac
03-11-2011, 16:47
For me the most crowded was the Delaware Water Gap area. I went through there on Sat., May 23, 2009 and I literally met bus loads of people on the trail. I had to actually get off trail many times just to get around the crowds that were sitting in the trail, walking 3 abreast, etc.
stranger
03-11-2011, 17:44
Obviously the south in thru-hiker season is busy, I've left Springer on March 2nd and April 9th, both were very busy if you frequented shelters and trail town hostels, but as I tented and prefer motels...this minimized the crowds greatly. If I traven north from Springer again I will wait to very late April to start, far less people, far better weather, etc...
Great Smoky Mountains is always busy
Shenandoahs are usually not as busy in the backcountry, cause it's far more accessible by car, where as the Smokes there is only one road crossing, so people have to hike to see anything.
2.5 month hike in summer, along the AT without too much heat? I think in a nutshell that can only mean one thing...New England, and it will still be hot.
You could start at North Adams, MA and hike the Long Trail to Canada, then hitch back to Killington and hike to Maine? Summer sucks IMO along the east coast so no matter where you go it's going to be warm, but obviously New England will be cooler.
NOBO, started March 15th ended September 15th. The first 50 miles were by far the most crowded with thru hikers for me. That slowly lessened as the miles went by.
For day hikers/weekenders... SNP was very crowded. Also, the Smokies, and White Mountain NF in NH were also pretty crowded.
I was NOBO 3/13 - 9/17 last year. GA was pretty crowded at shelters, but after that I spent lots of nights alone. (Actually my first night was alone, because I walked to Horse Gap instead of staying at Hawk Mtn) Great Smoky Mtn National Park had full shelters, so I got to hammock, that is a plus.
Also, like Marta said, the Whites are full of all kinds of hikers in August. No available reservations at the huts until after Labor Day.
Sorry. Your query has multiple answers that no one person can answer unless they have hiked all parts of the trail in all seasons, which no one has done, I suspect.
But I can give you my experience. The trail itself is never really crowded. Campsites and shelters from the start of the trail on Springer and in Georgia is crowded February through late April -- and maybe later.
Maine in summer is crowded with camp, scout and church groups. You can expect to find crowds most nights at shelters and campsites.
Come September in Maine college orientation hikes crowd many shelters, along with finishing thru hikers.
The Whites in New Hampshire are pretty crowded all summer and fall.
To answer the opposite question: When is the Trail the least crowded?
Off season. The Smokies during the cold weather, not on any holiday.
Hunting season. You won't see another hiker from one week to the next.
When it's raining, if you aren't in a shelter.