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Key Facts About Appalachian Trail
hiking

The Appalachian Trail is the longest hiking-only footpath in the world. According to the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the trail stretches across 14 states from Maine to Georgia. The total length of the trail is 2,192 miles. Millions of visitors traverse all or a portion of the trail every year.

Many thru-hikers attempt to hike the entirety of the trail in a single season, beginning either at the trail head at Springer Mountain, GA or Mount Katahdin, ME. Those who have hiked the trail estimate it typically takes five to seven months to do so in its entirety. Most hikers can average about three miles an hour and will travel between 12 to 24 miles a day. The highest elevation of the trail can be found at Clingmans Dome on the Tennessee/North Carolina Border. The lowest point on the trail snakes through Bear Mountain State Park in New York.

Although the Appalachian Trail is a very long hiking trail, many day hikers do portions of it only and still can respectfully say they’ve hiked the ‘AP trail.’