What We Do

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) is the only organization that has responsibility to protect and promote the A.T. experience. Established in 1925, the ATC has cared for the world's most famous long-distance hiking trail for over 80 years. Running 2,175 miles from Maine to Georgia, the A.T. is the nation's longest national park. ATC coordinates the management and protection of the Trail in conjunction with the National Park Service Appalachian Trail Park Office.

Programs: As the entity responsible for managing the Trail, the ATC has specific programs related to conservation, community outreach, volunteers, advocacy, and education.  These signature programs include the day-to-day maintenance and management, as well as new initiatives to engage more citizens as volunteers. 

Trail Resources: As the first national scenic trail, the A.T. and its volunteers and managers have led the way in establishing trail resources that include policies on trail use and management, books on sustainable trail building and maintenance, manuals, volunteer training, and solid foundation of maps and GIS information related to the Trail.  

Trail Management: Trail management is the coordinated effort of the ATC, the National Park Service, the USDA Forest Service, 30 Trail-maintaining clubs and other local and state partners.  The management of the Trail includes policy and planning parameters conceived and reviewed by ATC's Stewardship Council before they are taken to the ATC Board of Directors for approval.  It also includes the Local Management Planning Guide, boundary monitoring, local stewardship of the Trail by volunteers, and advocacy related to protecting the Trail from threats.

Volunteer Tools: The ATC has a dedicated resource of volunteers who contribute more than 196,000 hours a year to benefit the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. In order to manage and coordinate the 6,000 volunteers, ATC recruits new volunteers, provides trainings and workshops for skill-building, and publishes the quarterly volunteer resource magazine The Register online.