Major A.T. Closures

The most significant closures affecting the A.T. are listed below; visit the following page for a complete state-by-state list of land management agency and event closures.

Quarantines or other travel restrictions or recommendations are currently in place for some or most visitors to Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. See state by state list for details.

GEORGIA, NORTH CAROLINA, TENNESSEE, AND VIRGINIA

All shelters on U.S. Forest Service lands (most areas between the southern terminus in Georgia and Shenandoah National Park in Virginia) remain closed. Click here for more information

PENNSYLVANIA

Hamburg Borough Watershed – 10 miles of the A.T. Closed to Overnight Use and Parking

The Hamburg Reservoir parking lot and public access to A.T. are open to public daily from dawn to dusk. No overnight parking will be permitted until further notice. Click here for more information.

MASSACHUSETTS

All overnight camping is prohibited.

Due to camping and shelter closures on all federal and state lands in Massachusetts, no overnight camping is available. Click here for more information.

SHELTER AND PRIVY ADVISORY



Due to the difficulty of social distancing and the possibility of COVID-19 being transmitted on surfaces, hikers are advised to avoid shelters and picnic tables, and bring their own personal shelter and food storage device.

Also note that many privies are currently not being maintained. To avoid overflowing privies and placing extra burdens on volunteers when they return to the field, we recommend avoiding the use privies unless otherwise stipulated by the local Trail maintaining club or land management agency.

In all cases, bring a trowel to dig a cathole following Leave No Trace principles. Most A.T. privies are maintained by volunteers on an infrequent schedule. However, the privies at overnight campsites overseen by on-site Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) caretakers (primarily in New Hampshire) are cleaned on a daily basis, leading to a lower risk of spreading COVID-19. Additionally, many of these AMC overnight sites are located in areas where digging a cathole can be ineffective.

Please be aware that many shelters and privies are officially closed, even if signage is not posted at the site location.

All trail sections are open for day use. Camping is generally allowed around closed shelters unless posted otherwise.