he Trail is not just for intense hiking, backpacking trips, or day hiking. It’s for the dreamers. It’s for anyone who simply wants to touch the Trail. Everyone is welcome here,” shares Dakota Jackson, ATC’s Senior Director of Visitor Engagement. This sentiment speaks to the heart of Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s mission that has, for 100 years and counting, created communities, cultivated a sense of belonging, and maintained meaningful connections.

Serving as the hub of these connections are the ATC’s three visitor centers located in Virginia, West Virginia, and Maine. Each center is staffed by Trail experts with deep connections to the region and within Trail communities. For many hikers, visitors, and tourists these centers serve as their one — and in many cases, sole — point of contact.

“My department does an excellent job leading someone through any and all aspects of the planning process. It’s being an expert resource combined with a personal touch,” explains Jackson. “I’ve received text messages from people we talked to two years ago with photos of them on top of Katahdin or in Georgia having a great time. I fielded a phone call from folks who live in Ohio who wanted to take a drive simply to see a white blaze. This speaks to how strong the pull of the Appalachian Trail is.” To that end, Jackson together with her staff of eight and a robust roster of volunteers, served more than 30,000 in-person visitors, responded to 2,000 phone, email, and web inquiries, hosted more than 3,000 program and special event attendees, and welcomed visitors from 14 countries outside of the U.S. in 2024. Her department is funded primarily through annual membership dues.

Off the Trail, Jackson’s team participates in events that support Trail business communities, staffs local and regional events including community pop-ups and festivals, supplies brochures to rest stops and welcome centers, and designs signage, information kiosks, and exhibits. “I’ve been working with volunteers to offer programming that will interest the off-Trail community,” says Melanie Spencer, Harpers Ferry Visitor Center Supervisor. “We held one recently on living with bears. We’ve been leading birding walks. We offer programs on local flora and fauna and we’re planning yoga and mindfulness in the forest. We’re also creating a pollinator garden and honoring our native lands through an interactive display.”

The visitor engagement team also creates and distributes Trail-wide, regional, and local messaging. According to Emily Mayo, Visitor Center Senior Manager, “One of our regular tasks is to communicate Trail-wide initiatives and alerts so our staff and volunteers in all three centers are equipped to answer questions from the public, from our members, and from our donors.” According to Mayo, “Mixing ways people digest information in our centers, whether that’s through face-to-face interactions, video and audio, or touchscreen navigation helps visitors take in more information. We’re ensuring our QR codes and digital kiosks work offline, so hikers and visitors can access information even when our facilities aren’t open, such as during the early morning hours. I think our team does a really good job of communicating what visitors are asking for, what information we need clarity on, or where we may need to readjust to meet visitors where they’re at.”

The visitor engagement team also leads ATC’s retail arm both in the three visitor centers and online, and takes an active role in brand partnerships and programming with mission-aligned organizations and corporations. “Our visitor centers play a key role in communicating broader tourism initiatives by the Forest Service or Park Service to Trail businesses and the local community, because we have built those connections and relationships,” says Mayo. However, this work is not limited to the logistics of trip planning, hiker education, and tourism promotion. The visitor engagement team works to keep all who set foot on the Trail — and those who live in Trail communities — safe. Staff and volunteers conduct responsible recreation programs such as Leave No Trace, disseminate real-time emergency alerts, and coordinate incident reporting in partnership with the National Park Service (NPS).

“Nine times out of 10, we’re the first organization to hear about occurrences on and off Trail. Our partners rely on us for updated information,” stresses Jackson. One example is the ATC’s annual collaboration with local public health officials and the NPS to prepare hostels, shuttle providers, local A.T. Clubs, and Trail communities for the norovirus outbreak. The outbreak occurs every spring along the Trail’s southern region and, according to Jackson, can pose a real danger to hikers, especially in the backcountry.

Recognizing that today’s communities are global, and live both online and on Trail, Jackson’s team has become a trusted resource for the hiking apps AllTrails and FarOut. “It’s critical for us to be part of those communities, to share accurate and timely information, and to work closely with those companies,” she explains.

While these outreach efforts and relationships are key to keeping the Trail alive, this digital presence has not diminished the time-honored methods of communication that are woven into every aspect of her department’s work. “I take phone calls from people who’ve watched YouTube or gone online but want to talk to an expert, with an actual person,” says Caitlin Miller, Information Services Manager. “There’s so much information out there. We do a really good job of cutting through the noise. We know what’s going on. We’ve hiked the Trail and we speak to each hiker’s experience level. Hearing them become more confident as we talk is what I love. I know they’re going to have an incredible experience on the Trail.”

In addition to answering phone calls, other community-centered traditions include the ATC’s annual guidebook and hiker photos. Jackson explains, “We’ve been selling guidebooks since the 1930s. That was a prominent part of the ATC’s work early on, a way to gather community and promote the cause of the A.T.”

In the late 1970s, Jean Cashin — one of the original staff members at the Harpers Ferry headquarters — brought her Polaroid camera to work. She started capturing and archiving photos of long-distance hikers. “While the technology of how we do this has evolved, we still take these photos and capture hikers’ stories. Visitors can see the thousands of hiker photos in the visitor center hiker lounge. There is this sense of tradition in a lot of the work,” Jackson shares.

Just recently, a thru-hiker who hiked the Trail before starting college in 1997 visited Harpers Ferry with his son. Dave Tarasevich, Visitor Services Representative, helped him locate his Polaroid from 1997. “He hopes his son will hike the Trail or find his own epic adventure early in life,” shares Tarasevich. “The Trail is a way to find out how little you need to find so much about yourself.”

One of the challenges in today’s online world can be finding like-minded people to form offline connections with. “The AT community continues to evolve with time, but there’s always been this thread of personal touch that speaks to the staff, and to the quirkiness and vitality of the A.T. community,” says Jackson. The ATC’s affinity lists are an example of this vitality, and the Trail community’s generosity. Compiled from the 2,000-miler application, this database matches experienced hikers with less experienced ones based on shared experiences, interests, or backgrounds. “We have a flip-flop affinity list and an LGBTQ+ affinity list. We’ve connected women over fifty, vegetarians, hikers with disabilities, injuries, or health conditions, and those hiking with their dogs,” explains Miller. “A good example of the affinity list in action is when we have international hikers reach out with specific questions that we aren’t equipped to answer. We can connect them with an experienced hiker from their country.”

Jackson agrees, “We’re able to provide space for human connection, not just with us, but with other members of the hiking community and the local communities.” This holds true for Leanna (Lee) “All Good” Keegan. In 2023, she completed a flip-flop thru-hike. From her first hiking-101 email inquiry to the ATC, she felt she was welcomed into the Trail community. She received her Trail name from a fellow thru-hiker and has built an enduring friendship with Trail neighbors, Jim and Linda (aka “Rock-n-Roll”) who offered her a place to camp. Today “All Good” is an advocate for the ATC, an affinity list mentor, and a dedicated volunteer who has become an integral part of the ATC’s annual Flip-Flop Kickoff.

One memory that “All Good” holds dear is a shared moment with a Trail Angel. “A Trail Angel is anyone you meet along the way who supports you physically, mentally, emotionally, or spiritually through a ride, a smile, a candy bar, or taking away your trash,” she shares. “On my last day on Trail, I met a woman. She gave me a tiny stone from her home country. It was a reminder to take time to transition from the Trail. To stay connected. To hold on to these moments. I don’t know her name or where she was from. I never did. But none of that mattered. It’s that moment that mattered.”