Blue Ridge Parkway - Boone Rentals
Appalachian Trail Access
Visit the Appalachian Trail Homepage for more information!
  The New Appalachian Trail
The Appalachian National Scenic Trail is a public footpath across 2144 miles of Appalachian Mountain ridgelines from Maine to Georgia. From Maine's Katahdin to Georgia's Springer Mountain, this footpath winds through scenic, wooded, pastoral, wild, and culturally resonant lands of the Appalachian Mountains. The Appalachian Trail is primarily used for walks and day hikes by all manner of nature enthusiasts from birders to wildflower photographers.
One-fourth of the Appalachian Trail lies in Virginia. Shenandoah National Park has 100 miles of graded Appalachian Trail while The Skyline Drive intersects with it 32 times. The trail continues roughly parallel to but generally many miles removed from the Blue Ridge Parkway. It crosses the Parkway two times in this 70-mile stretch. It is then close to it, with several crossings, for a short distance in Jefferson National Forest. From here the Trail route crosses west of the Shenandoah Valley.
More Appalachian Trail Resources
- The Best of the Appalachian Trail Overnight Hikes
Frank Logue, Victoria Logue & Leonard M. Adkins, 184 pages. The Best of the Appalachian Trail Overnight Hikes, will guide you wisely. Overnight hikes in all fourteen states the Appalachian Trail passes through are described in brief, followed by a point-by-point description of the hike and trailhead directions. This book includes trailhead maps and driving directions that put you on the trail, trail profiles preview each trail's unique flora, fauna and history, Hike difficulty ratings help you choose the right hike, and trail routing changes keep you on track.
- The Best of the Appalachian Trail: Day Hikes
by Victoria and Frank Logue, 208 pages
Appalachian Trail Access from Blue Ridge Parkway
A number of abbreviations have been used in the following list of Parkway accesses to the Appalachian Trail in order to make the listing as brief as possible.
Parkway Left (PWL) and Parkway Right (PWR) indicates which side of the Parkway as though you are traveling south.
Milepost (MP) mark every mile of the Parkway on PWR
AT is for the Appalachian Trail
USFS stands for United States Forest Service
BRP stands for Blue Ridge Parkway
Parkway Milepost Information Access for AT:
- 0.0 AT access, PWR, parking available
- 2.2 AT crosses BRP, parking along VA Rt 610, PWR
- 6.0 Humpback Gap Parking Area, PWL, AT access
- 8.5 Humpback Rocks Picnic Area, PWL, AT access
- 9.6 Dripping Rock Parking Area, PWL, AT access
- 13.1 Three ridges Parking Overlook, PWL, AT access
- 13.7 Reed's Gap, VA Rt 664, PWL, AT access
- 15.4 Love Gap, PWL, AT access, No Parking
- 16.0 PWL, AT access, parking along gravel road, .5 miles to Maupin Field Shelter
- 34.4 Yankee Horse Parking Area, PWL, AT access; 3.5 miles south to Wiggins Spring Shelter
- 51.5 AT crossing, PWR, .25 miles to Punch Bowl Shelter
- 71.1 Petite's Gap, PWR, USFS Rd #35, AT crossing, limited parking
- 74.7 Thunder Ridge Overlook, PWR, AT access
- 74.9 AT crossing, no parking, .6 miles (left) to Thunder Hill Shelter
- 76.5 Apple Orchard Overlook, PWL, parking allowed, AT crosses at 76.3; Thunder Hill Shelter on trail
- 78.4 Sunset Field Overlook, PWR, 1.1 mile trail to Apple Orchard Falls; 2.5 miles on AT to Cornelius Creek Shelter
- 80.5 Floyd Field, PWR, AT access; Cornelius Creek Shelter, right 300 feet down USFS road
- 86 AT access north of Peaks of Otter area
- 90.9 Parking available along Rt 43 (PWR) and Rt 695 (PWL); AT goes under the Parkway
- 92.5 Sharp Top Overlook, PWL, AT crossing
- 93.1 Boblett's Gap, PWR, follow old roadbed right for 100 yards, left on AT, .5 miles to Boblett's Gap Shelter
- 95.3 Harvey's Knob Overlook, PWR, AT crossing, 2 miles north to Boblett's Gap Shelter
- 95.9 Montvale Overlook, PWL, AT goes through Overlook
- 97.0 Taylor's Mountain Overlook, PWL, AT crossing
- 97.7 Blackhorse Gap, PWR, 2.7 miles south to Wilson's Creek Shelter and 4.9 miles north to Boblett's Gap Shelter
- 101.5 Curry Gap, PWR, USFS Rd 191, 1 mile to AT
And before you set out to hike the Appalachian Trail, visit BLUE RIDGE FOR RENT for the best in Blue Ridge Parkway Lodging and Cabin Rentals in the Blue Ridge. We manage a hotel, a bed and breakfast, log cabin rentals and luxury Blue Ridge Vacation Cabins.
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