Parking spots on the AT

Hello! I was wondering if anyone knew of comprehensive list of valid (meaning I'm not going to be towed or fined) parking areas along the AT. I'm sure there are people like me who want to do weekend trailhead-to-trailhead hikes and need to know where to park their cars, but I can't seem to find a listing of such spots anywhere. When I'm not sure of the parking areas, I have to rely on people to drop me off and pick me up...and that just isn't always a possibility. I could get more hikes in if I knew where to park. Thanks to anyone that can help!!

I am sorry that this reply will not be of much assistance to you. I am not familiar with the parking situation on the AT.

I simply want to nit-pick over your use of the term "weekend thru hike". (Yes. I know that is small of me. Picking nits is always that way. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> )

A "thru hike" generally refers to a hike of an entire long-distance trail, such as the entire AT or PCT, in a single hiking season. Thus, a "weekend thru hike" would be a physical impossibility.

I believe a better term would be a "weekend trailhead-to-trailhead hike" or something similar. Thanks for bearing with me. I will stop now. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

There are options for parking at the great majority of places where the AT crosses a road. The real concern is whether a vehicle will be vandalized at the parking area. These are rare, but a frequently vandalized area is where the AT crosses 19E between Roan Mountain, Tennessee and Elk Park, NC.

If you could offer an idea for a region where you are interested in hiking, it would be much easier to give you specific parking options. You might also want to check the Appalachian Pages or ALDHA Companion for more specifics.

Thanks for the reply! I'm not really looking for a specific region. I'd eventually like to section hike the entire trail (a normal thru-hike of the entire trail is out of the question for me at this time due to work)...doing X amount of miles per year type of thing. Some trips will be a week long (potentially longer), others just 2-3 days. So, pretty much the whole trail would count which is why I was hoping there was a general repository for that info.

As for options for parking at most spots where the AT crosses a road...I thought so, too, but I've checked around quite a bit in my area and it seems I pick the worst areas to check and find the few sections that don't have parking. I've found more spots w/o parking than with parking.

Also, thanks for the links - I'll surely check them out!

It's no problem in my book...and I understand what you mean. I tend to use thru-hike with my friends to differentiate doing a trailhead-to-trailhead from a doing a loop. Either way - my post has been edited.

another resource....

http://rohland.homedns.org/AT/at_menu.aspx

ed

http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/?

This is a forum dedicated to the AT, I'm sure if you asked around on it, someone could help you out.

Not sure of your location but if your in the NY/NJ area... the NY/NJ Trail Conference has some of the best maps I have seen, aside from being pinpoint accurate about the trails – each of the maps the parking areas are labeled. Most are actual parking "lots" but some are just pull offs from the road.

Haver you thought about leaving a note on your dashboard saying you are a hiker ( though it may not prevent a ticket, but it may give peace of mind).

I haven't actually read A Guide to Car-Hiking The Appalachian Trail but it looks like it might be what you need. Perhaps you could give us a review.

I know this thread is a little old, but definitely check out/join Whiteblaze. I am also section hiking the AT over the next X number of years, and I joined WB partly just to ask questions like the one you just asked. I have gotten very good answers to them by the way.

I typically plan only for the section I have coming up, and worry about parking at that point in time as things can change. I haven't had any issues with parking yet as I usually plan around a road crossing I know I can park at (i.e. from looking at maps and asking about the road on WB). There are other options too such as shuttles (there are people that live all up and down the AT that will shuttle you to and from the AT).