Jail House Hostel in Palmerton, PA.

[handlebar]

Shame to hear it's closing. That Jaulhouse had the best shower on the trail.

[mrcoffeect]

Shame to hear it's closing. That Jaulhouse had the best shower on the trail.

I know.You could strip the freckles off of your back with that water pressure.

[RED-DOG]

people needs to learn how to show respect when staying in a town, i stayed at the jailhouse on all my thru's it was the best hostel in PA. it's sad to see this one go.

[Fredt4]

Nice place, stayed there in 2011, bought a meal and two beers. Don't remember resupply was an issue or not. I think it was 100° or so, but it didn't seem so hot as we had gotten used to the heat.

[rustmd]

how sad. . .i stayed in the jailhouse last summer during my PA section hike. . .i was suffering from the rocks and it was such a haven to come into. as i recall, there was a group of town folks meeting to have their town declared a "hiker friendly town". . .i chatted with 1 person and then was invited to speak as an AT hiker to the group. i told them how important their town was on the AT map, and that the town had much to offer, although there could be some improvement made for how hikers accessed the town.

and now this??? very sad! i also wonder if they are fearing an overload of hikers??? what can we do?

.com

[Starchild]

how sad. . .i stayed in the jailhouse last summer during my PA section hike. . .i was suffering from the rocks and it was such a haven to come into. as i recall, there was a group of town folks meeting to have their town declared a "hiker friendly town". . .i chatted with 1 person and then was invited to speak as an AT hiker to the group. i told them how important their town was on the AT map, and that the town had much to offer, although there could be some improvement made for how hikers accessed the town.

and now this??? very sad! i also wonder if they are fearing an overload of hikers??? what can we do?

.com

Just curious 'a hiker friendly town' or a 'Appalachian Trail Community' the former has no official designation but means that people in general welcome hikers and help them and like them passing thru, the latter is a official designation by the ATC.

[Dogwood]

I find some irony in that some AT hikers have difficulty behaving themselves even in a place named the Jailhouse Hostel.

[bangorme]

Right now doing the AT is a fad, and that's brought in tons of people that wouldn't ordinarily be on the trail Many are there for the social life, and that doesn't bode well for the places that exist out of kindness or hospitality.

[couscous]

Well said.

[elray]

Right now doing the AT is a fad, and that's brought in tons of people that wouldn't ordinarily be on the trail Many are there for the social life, and that doesn't bode well for the places that exist out of kindness or hospitality.

And the upcoming movie "A Walk in the Woods" isn't going to do the Trail any good either!

[Traveler]

I find some irony in that some AT hikers have difficulty behaving themselves even in a place named the Jailhouse Hostel.

LOL! What lovely irony.

[shelb]

I stayed in the Jailhouse Hostel in 2013.... great place!

Last month (June 2015), a ridgerunner in the area told me it closed this year because of bad hiker behavior: drinking onsite and hikers letting (sneaking?) in other people after hours (people staying were supposed to be in by a certain time and provide ID).

Too bad....