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  1. #1

    :banana State Parks question.

    Hello all, so like many I have a hiking stick with hiking medalions on it. My question is; Does anyone know every single state park and national park the A.T goes through and if so can you post it here so I can get an idea on which medallions I will need after I finish the trail?
    As always I appreciate your time and responses.

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    Quote Originally Posted by john muir View Post
    Hello all, so like many I have a hiking stick with hiking medalions on it. My question is; Does anyone know every single state park and national park the A.T goes through and if so can you post it here so I can get an idea on which medallions I will need after I finish the trail?
    As always I appreciate your time and responses.
    lot of medallions, assuming they all have medallions, which i doubt. heres a partial list for the areas around me (PA-NY) to give you an idea-

    caledonia state park
    pine grove furnace state park
    swatara gap state park
    deleware water gap national recreation area
    high point state park
    wawayanda state park
    sterling forest state park
    harriman state park
    bear mountain state park
    hudson highlands state park
    fahnestock state park

    theres also state forests and a couple of nature/wildlife preserves through there. and i might have missed a few. hope its a big hiking stick.

    but there are also a lot of areas where there are no state parks. i cant remember actually on the trail in CT, though there are a few near the trail it might just nip the corner of. same for MA, though i want to say there is at least 1 you cross part of, but i might be making that up. theres one in VT, near killington, then i think one in NH (in both states youre largely on national forest land, maybe you want to count those, but even if you do, thats only 2 more medallions). maine has 1 can i think of.

    south of PA theres multiple in MD i wont even try to remember and list, theres harper's ferry national historic whatever they call it, a state park or two just south of there, then shenandoah NP, then its all still a big blank to me.

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    Quote Originally Posted by tdoczi View Post
    maine has 1 can i think of.
    oops, make that two i can think of. grafton notch and baxter

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    Quote Originally Posted by tdoczi View Post
    then i think one in NH
    oops, early morning brain cramp. theres 3 in NH, franconia notch, crawford notch, mt washington. don't know how i momentarily forgot 2 of those.

  5. #5

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    The AT doesn't go through any CT State Parks (though does pass through some Natural and Wildlife Areas. It does pass through sections of the Housatonic State Forest.

    In MA, the AT passes through several Reservations and State Forests. MA State Reservations are special conservation areas that act much like State Parks but are set up differently. I do not know if they have any medallions. The park, forest, and reservation areas in MA, from south to north, include:

    Mt. Everett State Reservation
    East Mountain State Forest
    Beartown State Forest
    Tyringham Cobble State Reservation
    October Mountain State Forest
    Mt. Greylock State Reservation
    Clarksburg State Forest

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    Quote Originally Posted by AT Traveler View Post
    The AT doesn't go through any CT State Parks (though does pass through some Natural and Wildlife Areas. It does pass through sections of the Housatonic State Forest.

    In MA, the AT passes through several Reservations and State Forests. MA State Reservations are special conservation areas that act much like State Parks but are set up differently. I do not know if they have any medallions. The park, forest, and reservation areas in MA, from south to north, include:

    Mt. Everett State Reservation
    East Mountain State Forest
    Beartown State Forest
    Tyringham Cobble State Reservation
    October Mountain State Forest
    Mt. Greylock State Reservation
    Clarksburg State Forest
    i think i was thinking of october mountain. is there someplace in MA where there is a developed park area not far off the AT? or am i totally lost?

    if one were to include all named and designated areas (and there is no reason why one should not, really) itd be a list a mile long. just in the PA/NJ/NY section i listed part of above i can think of 5 more state forests and the like.

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    Quote Originally Posted by tdoczi View Post
    i think i was thinking of october mountain. is there someplace in MA where there is a developed park area not far off the AT? or am i totally lost?

    if one were to include all named and designated areas (and there is no reason why one should not, really) itd be a list a mile long. just in the PA/NJ/NY section i listed part of above i can think of 5 more state forests and the like.
    There are a few areas I'm sure, Beartown being one of them perhaps? I have not been too far off the AT in these parks and forests to see if there are any developed park facilities.

    Agreed with the name inclusions, there are a LOT of conservation and natural areas, wildlife sanctuaries, and an array of protected areas you go through from the NY line through into VT. I have not seen medallions in a long time, so I am not sure if these protected areas would have them or even if the State parks and forests would for that matter.

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    Quote Originally Posted by AT Traveler View Post
    There are a few areas I'm sure, Beartown being one of them perhaps? I have not been too far off the AT in these parks and forests to see if there are any developed park facilities.

    Agreed with the name inclusions, there are a LOT of conservation and natural areas, wildlife sanctuaries, and an array of protected areas you go through from the NY line through into VT. I have not seen medallions in a long time, so I am not sure if these protected areas would have them or even if the State parks and forests would for that matter.

    yeah, after my last post i remembered that i think it was actually beartown. i remember briefly considering detouring to somewhere some guide said had a soda and snack machine maybe within 1/2 mile of the trail, but i was in the middle of a long day and tired already and skipped it. i'm pretty sure it was in MA though it might have been one of the parks in MD.

    you can really go nuts with the named areas, even within say GMNF you have named wilderness areas and such.

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    While the trail is not directly in Mount Washington State Forest on the corner of MA/CT and NY, there are access trails from it to the roads there, and I think that area has a campground which could contain more service options like a vending machine as mentioned? Though Beartown might make more sense as it has a camping area also near Benedict Pond. And of course Greylock has services at the top (during season, anyhow).

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    Quote Originally Posted by BillyGr View Post
    While the trail is not directly in Mount Washington State Forest on the corner of MA/CT and NY, there are access trails from it to the roads there, and I think that area has a campground which could contain more service options like a vending machine as mentioned? Though Beartown might make more sense as it has a camping area also near Benedict Pond. And of course Greylock has services at the top (during season, anyhow).
    no, the place im thinking of, if it exists at all, was in what i think of as MA proper (ie north of the south taconic range that straddles the border.

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    What's this medallion thing? I've hiked both Grafton Notch and Baxter on the AT.

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    The medallions are attachable to walking sticks - Kind of like collecting patches for your pack. Here is one for Arches National Park: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...3&sr=8-3-fkmr1

    You can get one for Baxter State Park at Northwoods Trading Post, just outside of Baxter.

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    Quote Originally Posted by tdoczi View Post
    no, the place im thinking of, if it exists at all, was in what i think of as MA proper (ie north of the south taconic range that straddles the border.
    Could it have been Dalton MA? The trail comes down into town, goes past an IceCream stand with vending machines nearby, and continues on towards Greylock.

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    Quote Originally Posted by AT Traveler View Post
    Could it have been Dalton MA? The trail comes down into town, goes past an IceCream stand with vending machines nearby, and continues on towards Greylock.
    no, was somewhere out in the woods. as i said i might be way confused and it may not be MA at all.

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    Quote Originally Posted by tdoczi View Post
    no, was somewhere out in the woods. as i said i might be way confused and it may not be MA at all.
    now thinking i am thinking of greenbrier state park in MD. fits the bill, AT doesnt quite go through it but developed area a short distance away via side trail (though further than i was thinking) ehhh MD, MA, same difference

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  17. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by tdoczi View Post
    now thinking i am thinking of greenbrier state park in MD. fits the bill, AT doesnt quite go through it but developed area a short distance away via side trail (though further than i was thinking) ehhh MD, MA, same difference
    lol thanks for completing the circle on that, I found myself thinking about that a lot.

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