A trail marker mounted to a tree on the Appalachian Trail

Who Maintains the Appalachian Trail?

The 2,193 miles of the Appalachian Trail are maintained by 30 volunteer clubs, 14 state Department of Natural Resources (DNRs), and the National Park Service. 

The Mountain Club of Maryland is one of the 30 maintaining clubs. Our sections are in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Are you interested in signing up to help at some of MCM’s trail work events on the Appalachian Trail? MCM uses its Mountain Club of Maryland Meetup Group page to announce and sign up for many of its Appalachian Trail workdays.

If you are registered for our Meetup Group, you will automatically receive email notices of these MCM work events and Meetup hikes. You do not need to be a member of the regular Mountain Club of Maryland to join our Meetup program.

The Appalachian Trail stretches from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mt. Katahdin in Maine. Simple, three-sided shelters are spaced about a day’s hike apart. When the National Trails Act was enacted in 1968, the Appalachian Trail became the first designated National Scenic Trail. The National Park Service has oversight responsibility, but has delegated management to the Appalachian Trail Conference and its member clubs, such as MCM, to maintain the footpath. MCM has been a proud AT maintainer club since it helped complete the Trail in the 1930s. Currently, MCM maintains the northernmost 10 miles of the AT in Maryland and 32 more miles in two sections of Pennsylvania, as far north as the Susquehanna.

MCM also monitors 25 miles of the land corridor through which the AT passes to prevent encroachment by activities such as development, timber harvesting, and trash dumping. MCM periodically patrols the boundaries of its sections, training volunteers in needed skills such as map reading and compass navigation.

Trail and Shelter Work Trips

Join us for regular trips to improve the footpath, repair a privy, support a certified sawyer, or help maneuver large stones to traverse a wide stream. Dates and times will be included in the trip schedule or listed on our activity calendar. Notices will also be sent via the MCM listserv. Note: there will be a limited number of volunteers on some work trips, so be sure to sign-up early!

Some trips are designed to work on the Trail. Some trips are to work on our shelters and privies.

  • Alec Kennedy Shelter: The Alec Kennedy Shelter is in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, roughly 0.2 miles east of the main footpath via a short, blue-blazed side trail, sitting above a small creek near Boiling Springs and Mount Holly Springs. It is commonly cited around 1,120.7 miles from Springer Georgia where the elevation is approximately 850 feet. The shelter sleeps about 7 people and features a nearby composting privy.
  • Cove Mountain Shelter: The Cove Mountain Shelter is situated in Perry County within State Game Lands 170, just south of the historic trail town of Duncannon Pennsylvania. The shelter was built in 2000, and it is the only timber-framed shelter on the entire Appalachian Trail. It was constructed by volunteers using salvaged wood from a 100-year-old barn and sleeps about 8 people. The shelter sits on a short 0.1 mile blue-blazed side trail east of the main Appalachian Trail. Water here is a spring located about 100 yards to 0.5 miles downhill via a very steep, unmarked side trail, and its flow can be unreliable or slow during dry summer months. It is commonly cited around 1,145 miles from Springer Georgia where the elevation is approximately 1,120 feet.
  • Darlington Shelter: The Darlington Shelter (or Bishop Darlington Shelter) is in south-central Pennsylvania on Blue Mountain (North Mountain), sitting just north of the Cumberland Valley. It resides within State Game Lands Number 170 near Marysville, along the border of Perry and Cumberland counties. The shelter can be reached via a blue-blazed side trail (about 500 feet off the main Appalachian Trail) near where the Appalachian Trail intersects with the orange-blazed Darlington Trail. The shelter can sleep 8 people that features a wooden structure with bunk beds, a picnic table, a bear box, and a composting privy (popularly nicknamed the “Taj Mahal privy” by hikers). It is commonly cited around 1,138.9 miles from Springer Georgia where the elevation is approximately 1,250 feet.
  • James Fry Shelter: The James Fry Shelter (also known as the Tagg Run Shelter) is located just north of Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Pennsylvania. The shelter was built in 1998 to honor James Fry, a dedicated outdoorsman, long-time Pennsylvania resident, and avid Appalachian Trail hiker. It was funded through memorial donations made to the Mountain Club of Maryland. It is a large, bunk-style wooden lean-to that comfortably sleeps up to 9 hikers. The front of the structure features a standard picnic table, a stone fire ring, and designated flat spaces to set up backpacking stoves safely. A large metal bear-proof storage box is located directly behind the shelter to protect hiker food supply from local wildlife. The shelter features a composting privy. There is a dedicated spring located down a short path to the left of the shelter. However, it is historically unreliable and prone to drying up during late summer and fall. Fortunately, a more reliable water source exists just a short walk away from where the Appalachian Trail crosses Tagg Run via a footbridge. It is commonly cited around 1,112.6 miles from Springer Georgia where the elevation is approximately 805 feet.

Check out posts about MCM Trail and Shelter Work Trips:

Contact Us for More Information 

For more information about the 30 affiliated A.T. maintaining clubs, click here.

For a list of the sections of the trail maintained by the 30 affiliated A.T. maintaining clubs, click here.

To view informational guidance, forms, and training links for MCM’s A.T. volunteers, click here.

If you have questions about our Appalachian Trail work, contact us: