Cool Towns

[Speakeasy]

Hi - I'm new to WB and currently planning a thru-hike for March 2010. I'm trying to plan "town days" ie Neels Gap, Fontana Dam, Newfound Gap. I'm figuring town layovers every 5 or 6 days and any tips as to "good places" to stop or "places to avoid" would be greatly appreciated. I would also like to connect with anyone planning a hike next year...

[flemdawg1]

All towns suck. They're like shelters, except w/ more of them, w/ greedy business owners and dogs.

[mlkelley]

I found Hot Springs to be a cool little town.

[garlic08]

None of those places you listed are really town stops. Neels Gap has a small store and hostel, Fontana is a resort village I didn't go to, and Newfound Gap is good place to avoid going to Gatlinburg.

The real trail towns, the ones right on the trail, can be great fun if you're in the mood, like Hot Springs, Damascus, etc, and if you have money. Try not to pass up Franklin, NC (off trail but worth the hitch) and avail yourself of Ron Haven's hospitality. The New England towns (Kent, Salisbury) can get pretty expensive, especially if you get up there during fall leaf season.

[Slimer]

Personally, I would skip Kent due to the high prices and excessive snobbery.
This is just my opinion and observation.

[Jeff]

Manchester Center, VT is not your typical trail town, but it has everything a hiker needs: Laundramat, 2 outfitters, movie theater, pizza shops, bookstore, groceries for long term resupply and hostel!!!

[attroll]

Nrvana

Welcome aboard. I am also doing a 2010 thru hike. I have also been contemplating the same thing. What I have found through my research is that you can get a town visit or resupply option every four days or less without a problem. This also depends on how far you are willing to travel, hitchhike into these places. I actually started planning my town stops but gave up. There are so many that a person can visit or resupply and get maildrops at. It all depends on your mileage each day too. I gave up trying to plan any town visits and resupplies. I am just going to go day to day. I will get four or five days worth of food each time I resupply unless I know there is nothing within that distance for me and then I will either carry more food or have a mail drop sent there. I will have a guidebook with me to verify what is ahead also. This is my plan and it may not be suitable for everyone.

Here are some examples of towns starting from Neels Gap. This does not include places to get mail drops:
Franklin, NC
NOC, on the trail
Fontana Dam, NC
Gatlinburg
Hot Springs
Erwin, TN
Roan Mtn, TN
Hampton, TN
Damascus, VA
Troutdale, VA
Daleville, VA
Bland, BA
Pearisburg, VA
Glasgow, VA
Waynesboro, VA
Luray, VA
Front Royal, VA
Harpers Ferry, WV
Waynesboro, PA
Boiling Springs, PA
Duncannon, PA
Fayetteville, PA
Port Clinton, PA
Palmertown, PA
Delaware Water Gap, PA
Vernon, NJ
Fort Montgomery, NY
Kent, CT
Dalton, MA
Cheshire, MA
Williamstown or North Adams, MA
Manchester Center, VT
Rutland, VT
Hanover, NH
North Woodstock, NH
Gorham, NH
Andover, ME
Rangeley, ME
Stratton, ME
Monson, ME

[Speakeasy]

Thanks for the info. btw is it generally easier to stop in towns right off the trail - for resupplying and/or overnight stop?

[Speakeasy]

Thanks Attroll - I was also planning resupplying stops etc. and gave up. Since I have the luxury of not having to rush I'll just take it a day at a time (or a step at a time). By the way, when are you planning on leaving Springer Mt?

[Manwich]

Personally, I would skip Kent due to [...] excessive snobbery.
This is just my opinion and observation.

as a native of kent, im upset by this statement. odds are, they weren't residents who snobbed you and I apologize that many A55HATS have found this town.

[Blissful]

Gorham is my favorite town and a good place to rest up inbetween several tough areas of the trail.

I also enjoyed Damascus.

[Pokey2006]

Of all the towns ATTroll listed, there are just a few that are "musts," at least if you're looking for a day off in town, ie, a "town day." You'll stop in other places, just to resupply and grab a meal, but you really want to think about taking a day or two off in these places:

--Franklin, N.C. With trail angels abounding and everything you need made convenient, plus just where it's located in terms of having put some miles behind you, but still just really getting started, this is good place to do errands, reorganize gear, regroup and rest.
--The NOC, if you feel like a chance of pace and spending a day paddling on the river.
--Standing Bear Farm. A hostel, not a town, but has everything you need -- laundry, Internet, pizza. When I passed through, there were opportunities to go paddling or explore local swimming holes, thanks to a friend who was staying with the owner.
--Hot Springs. Hot tubs. Need I say more?
--Damascus. Besides the trail angels, good, cheap food, beer, and yummy frozen coffee drinks, you can rent a bike and spend a day exploring the Creeper Trail.
--Some say Rusty's hostel on the Blue Ridge Parkway is worth spending a day or two at.
--Harper's Ferry. Great if you're into history. Also plenty to check out at the ATC right in town. Or, go into D.C. for a day.
--Delaware Water Gap. You can listen to live jazz, eat brie and sip fine wine, all right next door to the hostel. Most excellent.
--Believe it or not, you can make NYC one of your "town days." The trail goes right past the train stop.
--Pick one town in VT to rock: Bennington, Manchester or Rutland. Great places and people in all three. I know Bennington, and I believe Manchester, has places where you can borrow a bike for a day.
--Hanover. A classic place to take a day off, as the trail goes right through town. Lots of places to eat, which by then becomes extremely important.

Maybe someone else can chime in on places to stop in Maine; I haven't done the state yet, so I really couldn't tell you.

[Jim Adams]

as a native of kent, im upset by this statement. odds are, they weren't residents who snobbed you and I apologize that many A55HATS have found this town.

Went into Kent on both of my thru hikes. Although the Ben and Jerry's was great, I couldn't find anyone there worth talking to.

geek

[Pokey2006]

I actually really liked Kent. Great place to spend an afternoon, good food and outdoor cafes, grocery store conveniently located. But no place to spend the night, if you're like me and avoid camping at road crossings.

[Tin Man]

Went into Kent on both of my thru hikes. Although the Ben and Jerry's was great, I couldn't find anyone there worth talking to.

geek

that's cause ya didn't give me a shout

[Hooch]

Although I've never thru-hiked, some of my favorite trail towns as a section hiker are Hot Springs (don't miss the hot tubs), Franklin (get a shuttle at Standing Indian Campground from Ron Haven, stay at one of his hotels or hostel) and Damascus (cheeseburgers and cold beer from Dot's ae a thing of beauty). Although Gatlinburg has been mentioned, I'd avoid it, IMO. It's not much more than a tourist trap designed to lighten your wallet.

[TOW]

Personally, I would skip Kent due to the high prices and excessive snobbery.
This is just my opinion and observation.

I disagree with you. Although it has been sometime since I hiked thru Kent I found the village was an awesome stop.

[TOW]

--Pick one town in VT to rock: Bennington, Manchester or Rutland. Great places and people in all three. I know Bennington, and I believe Manchester, has places where you can borrow a bike for a day.

.

Wilmington is a very cool town to visit while in Vermont. Although it is twentyfive miles due east of where the trail crosses the highway near Bennington if you have the time then go there. West Dover is three miles due north of there and a well known ski resort. Many a long distance hiker have holed up there for the winter working, me included. That is just one of the most picturisque areas of Vermont.

[Tipi Walter]

On my hike I remember mostly Hot Springs, Damascus, Wytheville, Luray, and Front Royal. It was in Hot Springs that BB and I did the required laundry mat trip and we were really disappointed with the food available at the little grocery store. Outside of Hot Springs somewhere near Lovers Leap we set up our tents and a bald-faced hornet got in my tent and crawled into my goatee and stung me on the chin at around 2am. We even hitched to a TN town near Watauga Lake--Greenville???

I liked Damascus the most as it is nestled pretty much in the woods and away from the usual four lane roads and nonstop traffic. Although by this time a four lane might have been built up towards the interstate. The whole Mt Rogers area is well worth backpacking--I often came to it thru Independence, VA and a little place called Mouth of Wilson.

When we got to Wytheville we hitched a ride with some guy with his high school daughters and then ended up at the southern end of the Shenandoah. At a hiway junction near Marys Rock we hitched into Luray for food and hitched back and then got caught in a mean windstorm atop the Rock which blew down a dead snag onto our nice North Face tent. Broke a pole and ripped the fly.

At Front Royal we went to the library and hung out reading stuff and sitting on the front yard. On another trip I hiked thru the Shenandoah and got to Front Royal and hitched east about 5 miles to do some quality stealth camping in a 600 acre nature preserve. In my explorations I stumbled on a high chain link fence and behind it were zebras and giraffes. Later I learned it was part of the DC zoo. Holding area. On that trip I made friends with a series of box turtles and ate a bunch of wild mustard.

Other towns I hitched thru were Sylva on the backside of the Smokies by the Cherokee reservation(slept behind a grocery store), and a hitch into the reservation for some good camping until I stumbled on a 100 acre RV campground in the heart of the rez, bummed me out so bad I hitched into the tourist trap that is Cherokee village and got kicked off the sidewalk for playing street music on the clarinet. Just as well. The poor black bear they had in a tiny cage looked absolutely miserable. I hitched a ride out of Cherokee in a 'Vette with a white shop owner who told me that the best thing ever to happen to the Cherokee people was white development and tourism. And whoever said hitching is safe?

I would not consider Gatlinburg to be a trail town although it does have a nice backpacking store. A single visit to Gatlinburg can wipe away in an instant months of nature-connection to the woods and backpacking. All efforts should therefore be used to avoid Gatlinburg. Once you're caught up in the zombie sidewalk shuffle, no amount of map reading or compass work will help you.

[TrippinBTM]

A word of advice: don't over-plan it. No one's opinion of a good town is exactly the same. Take "town days" when you need them, and that's a thing you can only know mid-hike.

That said, Franklin, Hot Springs, Damascus, Dalton, Manchester Center (movie theatre, plus losts of shops and a liquor store), Hanover, and Gorham were pretty good.

Towns I didn't stay long in, like Erwin, Hampton (good burgers and beer), Front Royal (just went in for lunch... craved some McDonalds, haha), Waynesboro VA, Williamstown/North Adams, and Rutland showed promise. Even Pearisburg, if it weren't so spread out.

By the way, don't go by attroll's list, because some aren't that good. Like Port Clinton: there's almost nothing there! Not for taking a zero, anyways.