Best of the Appalachian Trail: Day Hikes

Leonard M. Adkins has been intimately involved with the Appalachian Trail for several decades. He has hiked its full length five times and lacks just a few hundred miles to complete it for a sixth. He has maintained a section of the Trail near McAfee Knob and was a ridgerunner for the Appalachian Trail Conservancy. He has also served as an A.T. Natural Heritage Site Monitor, aiding the conservancy and the National Park Service in overseeing the welfare of rare and endangered plants. In addition, he has served on the boards of directors of the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club and the Old Dominion Appalachian Trail Club. Among other long-distance trails Leonard has completed are the Continental Divide Trail from Canada to Mexico, the Pacific Northwest Trail from Glacier National Park to the Pacific Ocean, and the Pyrenees High Route along the border of France and Spain. In all, he has walked more than 20,000 miles exploring the backcountry areas of the United States, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, and the Caribbean.Leonard is the author of 20 books on travel and the outdoors. His Wildflowers of the Appalachian Trail was presented the National Outdoor Book Award, while The Appalachian Trail: A Visitor’s Companion received the Lowell Thomas Travel Journalism Award. He has also written more than 200 articles for magazines such as Blue Ridge Country, Backpacker, Islands, The Roanoker, and Blue Ridge Outdoors. Along with his thru-hiking wife, Laurie, he lives in Virginia, within easy striking distance of the A.T. You may learn more about his adventures at habitualhiker.com. Victoria and Frank Logue hiked the entire Appalachian Trail in 1988 and have returned again and again to hike its many sections on day and overnight hikes. Frank has also served on the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s Board of Managers. In addition, they have continued to hike out west and abroad, including Israel, Jordan, France, Italy, Iceland, Ireland, Scotland, and England. They live in Georgia, where Frank works as an Episcopal priest and as an assistant to the bishop of Georgia. Victoria, a writer of fiction and nonfiction, recently published her fourth novel. Currently, they love visiting and hiking with their daughter, Griffin, in Arizona.

“Ideal for those who want to experience the AT’s best in short bursts.”—David Miller, Library Journal

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionMaineMAINE TRAIL TABLEKatahdinBaxter Ponds LoopLittle and Big Niagara FallsGulf HagasBarren LedgesPleasant Pond MountainAvery and West Peak of BigelowWest Peak of Bigelow and The HornsSugarloaf MountainSaddleback MountainMoxie, Long, and Sabbath Day PondsDunn Notch and FallsBaldpate MountainThe EyebrowSpeck PondNew HampshireNEW HAMPSHIRE TRAIL TABLEMount HayesWildcat MountainMount WashingtonWebster CliffsEthan PondMount Lafayette and Mount LincolnMount LibertyLonesome LakeMount MoosilaukeWachipauka PondMount CubeSmarts MountainVermontVERMONT TRAIL TABLEClarendon GorgeWhite Rocks CliffLittle Rock PondStyles PeakProspect RockStratton MountainMassachusettsMASSACHUSETTS TRAIL TABLEEph’s LookoutMount WilliamsThe Cobbles and Gore PondGore PondWarner HillFinerty PondUpper Goose PondCobble HillBenedict Pond and The LedgesIce GulchEast MountainJug EndJug End and Mount EverettMount EverettConnecticutCONNECTICUT TRAIL TABLEBear Mountain and Sages RavineLions HeadLions Head and Riga ShelterRand’s ViewThe River TrailSt. Johns Ledges and Caleb’s PeakIndian RocksTen Mile River and HillNew YorkNEW YORK TRAIL TABLEGreat Swamp and Corbin HillWest MountainWest Slope of Hosner MountainCanopus HillDenning HillAnthony’s NoseBuchanan MountainFitzgerald Falls and Mombasha High PointEastern Pinnacles and Cat RocksProspect RockNew JerseyNEW JERSEY TRAIL TABLEPinwheel’s VistaPochuck CrossingHigh Point MonumentSunrise Mountain and Culver Fire TowerRattlesnake MountainSunfish PondPennsylvaniaPENNSYLVANIA TRAIL TABLEWinona Cliff, Lookout Rock, and Mount MinsiWolf RocksLookout Rock and Hahn’s LookoutWeathering KnobBlue MountainBake Oven KnobThe Cliffs and Bear RocksWindsor Furnace, Pulpit Rock, and The PinnacleAuburn LookoutTable RockHawk RockBoiling SpringsChimney RocksMarylandMARYLAND TRAIL TABLERaven Rock, Devils Racecourse, and High RockAnnapolis Rock and Black Rock CliffsWhite RocksWeverton CliffsC&O Canal TowpathWest Virginia and VirginiaWEST VIRGINIA TRAIL TABLEHarpers Ferry and Split RockDevils RacecourseBears Den Rocks and Lookout PointCompton Gap to Compton PeakMarys RockHawksbill LoopLewis Spring Falls and BlackrockBearfence Mountain LoopBlackrockBear Den MountainMill CreekHumpback RocksHanging RockBrown Mountain CreekBluff MountainFullers Rocks and Big Rocky RowApple Orchard Mountain and The GuillotineHay RockTinker CliffsMcAfee KnobWind RockAngels Rest and Pearis MountainDismal Creek FallsGarden MountainChestnut KnobComers Creek FallsRhododendron GapMount RogersBuzzard RockStraight Mountain and the Virginia Creeper TrailTennessee and North CarolinaTENNESSEE AND NORTH CAROLINA TRAIL TABLEIron MountainLaurel Fork Gorge and FallsDennis Cove LoopGrassy RidgeRoan MountainLittle Rock KnobCliff RidgeBig BaldWhite Rocks Cliffs, Blackstack Cliffs, and Big Firescald KnobLovers Leap RockMax PatchCharlies BunionClingmans Dome and Mount CollinsRocky TopShuckstackWesser BaldSiler BaldStanding Indian MountainRavenrock RidgeGeorgiaGEORGIA TRAIL TABLETray MountainSource of the ChattahoocheeWolf Laurel Top MountainBlood MountainSpringer Mountain and Three Forks LoopSpringer MountainAppendix: Trail-Maintenance ClubsIndexAbout the AuthorsAbout the Appalachian Trail Conservancy