Where to Sleep on the Appalachian Trail

Options for where to sleep on the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) boil down to three main options: shelters & surrounding campsites, designated campsites (with no shelter), and dispersed camping.

1. Shelters

There are more than 250 backcountry shelters located along the A.T. for backpackers. Except in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, all A.T. shelters are first-come, first-served and open for all A.T. hikers except large groups, who should tent.

Not only are they the best places to stay dry, but they also reduce hikers’ impact on the Trail environment by concentrating use on a durable surface (the shelter floor!).

Since shelters can fill up quickly during the hiking season, especially when it rains, all A.T. backpackers should bring their own personal shelter (tent, hammock, etc.) even if they plan to stay inside shelters.

Shelter Basics:

  • A typical shelter, sometimes called a “lean-to,” has an overhanging roof, a wooden floor and three walls. Most (but not all) are near a creek or spring, and many have a privy (outhouse) nearby.
  • They are, on average, about 8 miles apart but can range from 5 miles to 15 miles apart, or even as much as 30 miles apart when there is a town with some sort of lodging in between.
  • About half of the shelters on the A.T. have food storage systems in place to protect food from bears and other animals (bear boxes, cables, or poles). Where these systems are in place, please use them.
  • Shelters are for all A.T. users, and almost all are first-come, first-served. Some important notes and exceptions:
    • Shelters are intended for individual hikers, not groups. Groups hiking together should plan to tent.
    • In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, whether you stay in a shelter or camp nearby depends on what type of backcountry permit you have.
  • Almost all A.T. shelters have campsites nearby/around the shelter (so you do not necessarily have to sleep in the shelter itself). There are a few exceptions:
    • In Great Smoky Mountains National Park, whether you stay in a shelter or camp nearby depends on what type of backcountry permit you have.
    • There is no tenting allowed around Wise Shelter in Grayson Highlands State Park in Virginia or around Partnership Shelter in southwest Virginia.
  • Some shelters require a permit, registration and/or fee. See our Permits & Fees page for more information.
  • Almost all A.T. shelters have a register or logbook that you can sign. Hikers use these as a check-in system, to log their adventures, and to send notes or messages to other hikers. We recommend using them in case there is an emergency while you are out – law enforcement can check the logbooks. However, if there is a stomach bug, norovirus, or other illness going around, it’s best to skip signing the logbook.

Continue reading to learn about shelter etiquette and how to best share these spaces with other hikers.

2. Designated Campsites

Many shelters have designated camping areas around the shelter or nearby. Some designated campsites do not have a shelter associated with them, though. Designated campsites are official sites maintained by the local A.T. Club and overseen by the land manager.

Designated Campsite Basics

  • Designated campsites that do not have a shelter nearby will be marked by a sign and are shown on maps and in guidebooks.
  • Designated campsites around or near shelters are sometimes marked by signs, tent platforms (wooden or dirt pads), or are apparent due to the bare soil left behind by other campers.
  • Many of the same basics for shelters apply to designated campsites:
    • Some have food storage devices like bear boxes or cables. If these are available, use them.
    • They are for all A.T. users.
    • Almost all are first come, first served except for campsites in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
    • Many have a privy and almost all have a natural water source nearby, like a stream or spring.

Camping is restricted to designated campsites and shelters in Maryland, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and many other places along the Trail. Restricting camping to designated sites helps concentrate use and preserve the Trail in popular areas.

Camping Regulations on the Appalachian Trail

Camping regulations vary widely along the Trail because the A.T. passes through individual land units managed by more than 75 different agencies. Areas are managed for purposes as diverse as federally designated wilderness, game lands for hunting, wildlife refuges, watersheds, and farmland.

Whether you’re pitching a tent in a designated campsite or choosing dispersed camping (where allowed), minimize your impacts and know the camping regulations on the Appalachian Trail (A.T.). It’s up to every A.T. camper to know the regulations for where they plan to hike and to learn the skills needed to camp safely and sustainably.

Camping Regulations by State

3. Dispersed Camping

Dispersed camping means campers have the freedom to select their campsite location. Dispersed camping, sometimes called “stealth camping,” requires more time, effort, and skill than using a designated site, but can offer solitude and other advantages.

Dispersed Camping Basics

  • Dispersed camping is allowed on approximately half of the A.T., mostly in Georgia, North Carolina and Tennessee outside of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and Virginia on U.S. Forest Service lands.
  • Dispersed camping is prohibited in many sections to manage heavy use and the related impacts to the Trail.
  • Visit our camping regulations table to learn more.
  • Since the A.T. is so popular, many dispersed campsites have grown into more established site. These sites are obvious due to bare soil and they may have campfire rings or other signs of past campers such as makeshift benches. These are often called “user-created” sites. Although they may seem “official,” user-created sites are not maintained or managed.
  • If you choose to dispersed camp, always try to choose sites that have been used before instead of creating your own, and do not have a campfire, even if someone before you created a campfire ring.

Campfires & Campfire Safety

Before setting up camp, know how to build campfires responsibly and if campfires are permitted where you are camping.

Campfire Basics

Plan Ahead & Prepare

Proper dispersed camping is an advanced backcountry skill and takes time and care to do right. It is critical that hikers who want to do dispersed camping on the A.T. learn the regulations around dispersed camping and the skills to do it properly, so they do not permanently harm the landscape.

Shelter Etiquette

Shelters are a deep-running tradition in the A.T. community and help cultivate the social experience of the Trail that many hikers cherish. They are public spaces that anyone can use. A little courtesy and common sense go a long way toward making everyone’s experience at shelters memorable in a good way!

  • Refrain from smoking or vaping in or near shelters and privies. Help keep the shelter environment healthy and free of second-hand smoke; pack out cigarette butts.
  • Make room for other hikers. Concentrate your gear into a small space.
  • Do not set up tents inside shelters. They take up too much space.
  • Do not hang a hammock from any part of a shelter. Shelters are not designed to support them, and they take up too much space.
  • If you have a dog, plan to tent. Not everyone will love your dog as much as you or want to share space with your pup. This is especially important if your dog barks, growls, drools, is wet or muddy, or is overly friendly. Consider that your dog may have ticks. Keep your dog on a leash and on a short leash if you bring them to the shelter to meet hikers.
  • If you snore, tent. Not everyone will realize they snore, so bring earplugs just in case.
  • Make phone calls away from the shelter and use headphones or earbuds to enjoy music. Allow nature’s sounds to prevail and shelter visitors to converse with each other.
  • Eat outside the shelter (ideally at least 200 feet away). Spilled food and food smells can attract rodents and other wildlife, like bears. Keep a clean camp by cleaning up crumbs and spills if they do happen. Using a camp stove in the shelter is also a fire hazard – many A.T. shelters have burned down over the years due to careless camp stove use.
  • Dispose of waste liquids at least 100 feet from the shelter and 200 feet from water sources (urine, toothpaste, gray water, etc.)
  • If a shelter has a privy, use it. If not, dig a cathole 200 feet from the shelter (6-8 inches deep, 3-4 inches deep). Bring a trowel for this purpose.
  • Don’t tag (graffiti) the shelter. Express yourself and get artistic in the shelter logbook.
  • Do not leave or burn trash or garbage in the fire pit. Don’t leave extra food in the shelter, in any storage boxes, or hanging from trees, either.
  • Keep the grounds litter-free. Carry out all your trash and leftover food.
  • Sweep out the shelter when you arrive and leave as even the smallest crumbs can attract rodents.
  • Approach shelters quietly, no matter the time of day. Some hikers may be napping or already asleep.

Be considerate of others. All shelter etiquette boils down to common courtesy in a very small, shared space.

Picking a Safe & Sustainable Campsite

Whether you plan to sleep in a shelter or at a tent site, look up before setting up!

Due to increasing extreme weather events and invasive pests, more trees on the Trail are getting damaged or dying. These hazardous trees are much more likely to fall than their healthy counterparts. Look up and around out to a couple of tree lengths in distance from your chosen site to be sure you’re not threatened by broken limbs known as “widow makers” or leaning, dead, diseased, or storm-damaged trees.

Campsite Checklist

Using this checklist will help you find the safest, most comfortable campsite that also helps protect the Trail.

  • The site is not within falling distance of any hazardous trees or broken branches.
  • The site is legal within local A.T. camping regulations.
  • The site is on a durable surface: bare soil, grass, snow, bare rock, or a tent platform.
  • The site is at least 200 feet (70 big steps) from water.
  • The site is below treeline (in New England where the trees are 8 feet or less in height or above 2500 feet in elevation)
  • The site has clearly been previously used quite a bit – I’m not creating a new site or using a site that is just barely beginning to show use.
  • Ideally, the site is 200 feet from where I cooked my food and from where I’m storing my food overnight.
  • The site is relatively flat and is not in a depression without good drainage.

Hostels & Off-Trail Lodging

The A.T. is famous for its sense of community and, for many long-distance and thru-hikers, part of that are the hostels and towns along the way. Hostels are popular along the Trail since they are usually less expensive than hotels or inns with private rooms. A.T. hostels range from fully licensed lodging facilities with private room options to private homes owned by folks who just enjoy the hiking community.

Hostels along the A.T. are private businesses outside of the Trail corridor and are not formally affiliated with the ATC, and the ATC has no management oversight of them. The exception is Bear’s Den in Virginia, where the property is owned by the ATC and the hostel is managed by the Potomac Appalachian Trail Club.

FarOut, the Thru-Hiker’s Companion, and other guidebooks have information about hostels along the Trail. A.T. forums like The Trek and WhiteBlaze.net are also good sources for information about hostels and other accommodations along the A.T.

Hiker carrying pack stands outside stone lodge hostel

ATCamp Registration

A.T. backpackers, section hikers, thru-hikers, and groups are encouraged to register on ATCamp. This voluntary registration system helps you find the best places to stay overnight and reduces overcrowding on the A.T.

Register Your Hike