Fewer People Hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2025

According to Outside magazine fewer people are hiking the Appalachian Trail this year. The magazine quotes the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC) as saying that the number of registered hikers in 2025 is almost 30% below 2024.

“By mid-January in 2024, about 1,700 aspiring AT thru-hikers had registered for their hikes through the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC). The 2025 season is off to a slow start with about 1,200 registrations—or 72% of the registrations the ATC reported in 2024—so far.”

While there may be many reasons for the decline, the catastrophic flooding, destruction and fatalities caused by Hurricane Helene are a major factors.

Helene was the strongest hurricane on record to strike the Big Bend region of Florida, the deadliest to strike the mainland U.S. since Katrina in 2005. The storm caused catastrophic rainfall-triggered flooding, particularly in western North Carolina, East Tennessee, and southwestern Virginia, and spawned numerous tornadoes. As of January 7, 2025, it caused at least 219 deaths and $78.7 billion in damage.

In light of the destruction in the communities near the AT many potential thru hikers are postponing their adventure for a year or two or deciding that there are more appropriate trails for 2025. Some local officials in North and South Carolina and Virginia are saying that heightened traffic in devastated towns makes reconstruction and recovery more challenging.

The ATC is urging thru hikers to consider a “flip-flop”. Typically, about 80% of the hikers that registered with the ATC expect to hike north from Georgia through to Maine. A flip-flop hiker starts somewhere in the middle of the 2,190 miles – Harpers Ferry is a highly recommended starting point – and hikes north to Maine’s Mount Katahdin and then returns to the starting point and hikes south to Springer Mountain, Georgia.

The ATC cites a number of advantages of a Flip-flop.

• Avoiding the crowds of Georgia-starting thru-hikers, overflowing shelters, campsites, and hostels.
• Experiencing cool weather ​to start, walking north with spring wildflowers.
• Beginning with the area of least elevation change along the A.T.
• Hiking the Mid-Atlantic before it gets hot, humid and water sources become scarce.
• Reaching the White Mountains in July, before peak crowds.
• Reaching Maine in late July/August, when black flies are gone, and lakes are warm enough to enjoy swimming.
• Plenty of time to reach Katahdin in Maine before it closes in mid-October.
• Walking south with fall colors in late September and October.

It is too early to tell if the reduced AT traffic will have an impact upon attendance at the Loudoun County Appalachian Trail Festival which will be held on Saturday June 7th this year.  Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains is a sponsor of the Loudoun AT Festival.