Appalachian Trail surge

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy and National Park Service produced the count using aggregated, anonymized mobile-location data combined with traditional trail counters and field observations ([appalachiantrail.org)]. The ATC tapped location-analytics firm Placer.ai and worked with the NPS Social Science Program to align the methodology with national reporting standards ([appalachiantrail.org)]. About one-third of the A.T. corridor sits on National Park Service land, and those NPS-managed segments recorded 6.2 million visits in 2025 — enough to place the A.T. ninth in the NPS Annual Park Ranking Report ([appalachiantrail.org)]. New Hampshire’s 161-mile stretch logged 2.88 million recreational visits in 2025, Virginia was the most-visited A.T. state, and Maine had the fewest estimated visits at roughly 85,000. ([nhpr.org)] Pennsylvania ranked third by state, accounting for nearly 15% of trail usage in the ATC’s state-by-state analysis for 2025 ([thetrek.co)]. The ATC says the new approach will serve as a model for other National Scenic and Historic Trails and will be used to guide management, conservation decisions, and support for local trail communities ([appalachiantrail.org)]. The Appalachian Trail runs about 2,197.9 miles across 14 states and relies on more than 5,000 volunteers who contribute roughly 176,500 hours of stewardship each year, facts the ATC highlights as it applies the new visitation data to planning ([appalachiantrail.org)].