View Full Version : Cabins along AT
BlackCloud
02-12-2005, 17:56
The PATC operates some two dozen cabins on or near the AT for money. Some have electric, gas, and/or running water, while some have nothing. Some are quite primitive, while others are fairly fancy. They are all locked, and reserved for the privacy of the renter(s). Only a few have an in-season caretaker.
Aside from NPS Concessionaires, does any other organization or business maintain similar accomodations on or near the trail? I'm not talking about hostels like Bears Den in VA; I'm not talking about huts, like in the Whites; and I'm not talking about "things" like Mt. Mama's.
I'm talking about rustic cabins!:confused:
Harvard University runs "Harvard Cabin" near the base of Huntingtons Ravine on Mount Washington in New Hampshire. It is only open in the winter and primarily serves people who come to climb ice in Huntingtons. In the northern Presidential, NH again, the Randolph Mountain Club runs Crag Camp and Grey Knob, both cabins. Grey Knob is open year round and Crag is summers only. All three have caretakers and simple kitchens with gas stoves but hikers bring their own food.
The PATC operates some two dozen cabins on or near the AT for money. Some have electric, gas, and/or running water, while some have nothing. Some are quite primitive, while others are fairly fancy. They are all locked, and reserved for the privacy of the renter(s). Only a few have an in-season caretaker.
I recently stayed at the PATC owned Glass House, just off the Massanutten Trail in northern VA. I was there for a Staff Retreat with my co-workers.
The cabin rental deal is a really nice benefit of PATC membership. If you use the cabins more than once a year, it definitely pays for the PATC membership.
If you can wait 'tll Baxter, their private cabins just can't be beat-- reserve 4 months in advance, of course.
The Gnome
02-12-2005, 20:01
The PATC operates some two dozen cabins on or near the AT for money.
To clarify ...
The P.A.T.C. currently rents 12 primitive style cabins to the public. Nine of these are within 2 miles of the A.T. Fees range from $15 to $35 per night. Six are within the S.N.P. with short hike-in distances from parking lots.
Of the "member-only" cabins, four are located close to the A.T. and 16 are on side or other trails. Membership only costs $35.
The cabin experience is a great way to softly introduce friends and relations to the A.T. They make ideal rendezvous spots for the folks bringing supplies and tender loving care to the long distance hiker.
The money from cabin rentals gets plowed back into trail upkeep and land preservation.
Short commercial over. See www.patc.net
Lone Wolf
02-12-2005, 20:03
Won't be long before the famed "100 mile wilderness" has a bunch for rent. Maine vacationland! :)
the only cabin i have stayed in from my springer mountain to dalton mass hikes is upper goose pond cabin in mass and mohican outdoor center in new jersey.
:sun neo
TJ aka Teej
02-12-2005, 22:38
does any other organization or business maintain similar accomodations on or near the trail?
At the northern end of the 100 Mile Wilderness, Katahdin Timberlands has some very nice cabins, all with supurb views of Katahdin. Two are less than one mile (though I'm told it seems further) via a blue-tape blaze from the Hurd Brook Lean-to, one is on Compass Pond just a few miles east of Abol Bridge, and the one on Sunday Pond is just a mile or so as the crow flies from the Baxter Park gatehouse. Sleeps 6, tenting all around, propane gas stove and heat provided, nice outhouses, nice locations, $82 a night, moose and loons no charge. Since I started listing them in the Companion the fellow at Katahdin Timberlands (the folks that just rebuilt the Abol Bridge) told me they've been rented several times by families meeting AT hikers at Baxter. I always thought Sunday Pond would be a great place for a Baxter Ruck.
Won't be long before the famed "100 mile wilderness" has a bunch for rent. Maine vacationland! :)
AMC certainly has discussed building new cabins in the so called "wilderness." The only one currently available is a cabin on a leased lot that AMC has recently purchased.
A few of us are skeptical about AMC overall plans for the 37,000 acres that it has purchased, but we tend to view self service cabins as preferable to full service "huts," which essentially are restaurants and bed rooms, a wilderness version of motels.
None of these will be built within a mile of the trail. ATC has urged they be at least 3 miles from the trail. I haven't asked why three miles, but I assume it is part of ATC's desire to keep the environs of the trail as wild as possible.
BTW. The current issue of the Maine Chapter newsletter has five tabloid pages devoted to information and comments on the proposed so called "wilderness" development speculations. If anyone would like a copy send me a snail mail address
Weary
I rented the Pocosin cabin, in the Shenandoah's, during my hike. Only a short distance off the AT on a blueblazed connecting trail, we had a great time.
Here's a pic...
Pocosin cabin (http://www.patc.net/images/cab_pocosin.jpg)
Notice the fireplace and picnic table under the roof. I suppose if no one was staying there.... ;)
orangebug
02-12-2005, 23:20
Goose Creek Cabins, just down the hill from Neel's Gap.
I rented the Pocosin cabin, in the Shenandoah's, during my hike. Only a short distance off the AT on a blueblazed connecting trail, we had a great time.
There is a nice spring at Pocosin cabin - less than 50 feet from the AT and unlike the rest of the place not locked up by the PATC. As I recall there is a trail post for a turn off for the cabin - go 20 or so feet down the trail toward the cabin then hang a right on a social trail leading to the spring. The spring is piped and if running well can be heard from the AT.
BlackCloud
02-13-2005, 22:15
The Dartmoth, Harvard, & Baxter cabins sound like potential future stops.
Thanx for the info............
Jack Tarlin
02-13-2005, 22:40
For info on Dartmouth Outing Club facilities, see http://www.dartmouth.edu/~/doc/
While there's a fee to use the Dartmouh cabins, one does not have to be a DOC member (or have any formal connection to Dartmouth) in order to rent them.
I'd like to go ahead and add to the general concensus in saying that the PATC cabins are excellent. 5 friends and I rented the Meadows Cabin for a weekend in january and had an excellent AT reunion. The cabin was an incredible deal even with half capacity. Wood burning stove and fireplace and a great view out the front porch. Definately worth becoming a member of PATC. I always thought they had some of the best maintained trail and shelters.
Hit an excellent loop with tons of scenic waterfalls and got onto the AT near Skyland for a bit. If you're looking for a mellow weekend making your own food and relaxing, these are the way to go. Primitive with a spring and privy, about a quarter mile from the road.
The Weasel
02-16-2005, 16:01
Mt Rogers National Rec Area has two cabins not too far off the trail, both with a couple of bedrooms, furnished. I stayed in one...gorgeous, remote.
The Weasel
BlackCloud
02-16-2005, 18:16
Mt Rogers National Rec Area has two cabins not too far off the trail, both with a couple of bedrooms, furnished. I stayed in one...gorgeous, remote.
The Weasel
I've seen on the USFS website some cabins for rent in that area, but they seemed to have gas and/or electric. And you could drive to each; didn't seem remote. Are we talking the same here?
The Weasel
02-16-2005, 18:21
Yes. Propane, electricity, and, if you like long, miserable, nasty dirt roads, driveable.
The Weasel
Tim Rich
02-16-2005, 19:37
I rented the Pocosin cabin, in the Shenandoah's, during my hike. Only a short distance off the AT on a blueblazed connecting trail, we had a great time.
Here's a pic...
Pocosin cabin (http://www.patc.net/images/cab_pocosin.jpg)
Notice the fireplace and picnic table under the roof. I suppose if no one was staying there.... ;)
We stayed at Pocosin on our Shenandoah stretch as well. It was great. The porch fireplace and cabin stove share the same chimney. The privy that accompanies it was nice, as was the piped spring. You have a nice view down the vally from the front yard. As Sly said, it's just off the AT and only about 0.3 miles off Skyline Drive. Half of that is out a road to a gate (room to park) and the rest out a wide trail that was so flat the journal mentioned folks lugging in supplies via wheelbarrow. It would be a nice stopover for someone on a driving trip who wanted a rustic evening or a nice base for dayhikes.
Take Care,
Tim
BlackCloud
02-16-2005, 22:23
Yes. Propane, electricity, and, if you like long, miserable, nasty dirt roads, driveable.
The Weasel
SWEET!:banana
BlackCloud
02-16-2005, 22:26
We stayed at Pocosin on our Shenandoah stretch as well. It was great. The porch fireplace and cabin stove share the same chimney. The privy that accompanies it was nice, as was the piped spring. You have a nice view down the vally from the front yard. As Sly said, it's just off the AT and only about 0.3 miles off Skyline Drive. Half of that is out a road to a gate (room to park) and the rest out a wide trail that was so flat the journal mentioned folks lugging in supplies via wheelbarrow. It would be a nice stopover for someone on a driving trip who wanted a rustic evening or a nice base for dayhikes.
Take Care,
TimAs I said in the original post, I've loved most of my PATC cabin experiences. This is the only one I didn't (ok, there was another, when a good friend on a reunion trip decided to make a scene by coming out of the closet - white collar version of Deliverance). Anyway, Pocosin is tiny, cramped, over-visited by non-renters, and doesn't have a good view. If you like Pocosin, you'll LOVE the others.............
One of the greatest cabins along the whole AT is Upper Goose Pond Cabin.
Beautiful setting on a great lake. Bunks inside, propane stove and lights, fireplace, canoe and breakfast of pancakes and coffee. Just for a donation of $3. It's one of the best deals as far as cabins go on the AT. :sun
The Gnome
02-16-2005, 23:17
O.K. as there seems to be considerable interest in the P.A.T.C. cabins,
here is a list (working North along the A.T.) of those accessable from the trail:
Cabin from A.T./ Hike in from parking
Doyles River 0.3m 0.4m
Pocosin 0.1m 0.2m
Jones Mtn 5.4m 4.0m
Meadows 6.0m 0.2m
Corbin 1.5m 1.4m
Tuplip Tree 2.2m 0.0m
Rock spring 0.2m 0.8m
Range View 0.1m 0.9m
Myron Glaser 0.2m 1.8m
Bear Spring 0.8m 0.4m
Hermitage 0.7m 0.2m
Milesburn 0.0m 0.0m
Gypsy spring 0.2m 0.0m
Michener 0.2m 1.0m
And of course, if you want a larger venue,
the Blackburn Center and Highacre in Harper's Ferry are available for rent.
As several people have already stated, these cabins make an ideal stopover to take a rest, meet your favorite sweetie, assure the folks that you are not bear bait or just impressing your city bound friends.
A hint: most cabins are available at short notice during mid-week.
Just have a responsible renter pass by the Vienna P.A.T.C. HQ, pay and pick up a key.
Ring 703-242-0315 or visit www.patc.net for more details
G
A P.A.T.C. Volunteer