View Full Version : Town Stops
redheadedhiker674
01-14-2012, 05:47
I've been reading quite a bit of the threads in these forums since I'm planning a thru and I thought of something that could be useful that I haven't seen mentioned anywhere else on this site: Has anyone ever thought of using a YMCA in town for showers and other things? If you have a Y membership, any other YMCA has to honor your membership for 14 visits. This means you could have access to the locker rooms for showers and depending on the Y, maybe even their washer machine and dryer. Not to mention, you could use their pool, watch the TV, or whatever else you may be able to find. :) This could save you money and maybe even take away the need for a hotel. I don't know if the towns along the trail have YMCAs, but I know there are 2,686 Ys in the US. Surely one of them might be in a town along the trail?
swjohnsey
01-14-2012, 07:29
Waynesburro, VA has a YMCA that is free to hikers. It also has a spot to camp nearby. Waynesburro is one of the most hiker friendly towns on the trail. They have a network of trail angels who will pick you up at the little visitor center where the trail crosses the highway and take you into town.
as far as I can recall, the Waynesboro Y was the only one I encountered. Of course, no one goes into all the various towns so there may be more but usually you would hear of them. I just don't recall any others being mentioned. There are several churches along the way that are accomodating to hikers. Of course they don't have the treadmills and stairmasters so you can't work out like you could/would at the Y.
As the above poster stated, Waynesboro is, imo, by far the friendliest trail on the town - what a great place.