Benton MacKaye developed the idea of the Appalachian Trail in 1921 in his article An Appalachian Trail: A Project in Regional Planning. It called for a network of work camps and communities in the mountains, all linked by a trail that ran from the highest point in New England to the highest point in the South. He envisioned the A.T. as a path interspersed with planned wilderness communities where people could go to renew themselves.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC), originally established as the Appalachian Trail Conference in 1925, was set up to coordinate the building of the Trail; as an organization whose mission was to carry out MacKaye’s vision for the Trail.

Judge Arthur Perkins and Myron Avery started work in 1928 to help build the footpath. First completed in 1937, the A.T. fell into disrepair during World War II, when volunteer maintainers were called to serve their country. Parts of the route were lost. Restoration began after the war, and the A.T. was once again declared complete in 1951.

After years of work on Congress by ATC and its members and with the strong support of President Lyndon B. Johnson, the A.T. became the first complete national scenic trail in October 1968. The National Trails System Act provides for protection, financial assistance, and land acquisition not only for the A.T., but also other yet to be formed national trails.

Today, the Appalachian National Scenic Trail continues to thrive through a cooperative management network that includes ATC, the National Park Service, the USDA Forest Service, 30-maintaining clubs, and numerous state and local partners.

Management

The National Trails System Act authorized new, broader agreements among federal agencies, states and nonfederal entities to manage the trails.

The Appalachian Trail Park Office (ATPO) and ATC entered into a formal agreement under the act in 1984. Under that agreement and a similar one with the USDA Forest Service, the partners work together on the management and protection of the A.T. and its associated resources. Those agreements recognize the additional delegation of responsibilities to allied trail managing organizations. 

ATC and ATPO share responsibility for: general trail management and operations; resource management; facilities use and management; information, interpretation, education, and outreach; and technical program support including graphical information systems, web resources, and training. ATC relies heavily upon the A.T.’s long-standing tradition of volunteer engagement to foster an environment where volunteers’ roles span the range from trail maintenance and construction to organizational leadership and policy setting. To paraphrase MacKaye, the Trail is the body and the volunteers are the soul, and hikers are the heart.