Appalachian Trail - Central District: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Shenandoah National Park
NPS Northeast Regional Office. 2026. Appalachian Trail - Central District: Cultural Landscapes Inventory, Shenandoah National Park. Cultural Landscapes Inventory Report. 975388. National Park Service. NPS Northeast Regional Office, Boston, Massachusetts / CRIS-CL Database
The Appalachian Trail–Central District in Shenandoah National Park (NP) is one of three component landscapes, together with the North District and South District, that comprise the 103-mile long Appalachian Trail (AT) landscape within the 196,000-acre Shenandoah NP. The portion of the AT in Shenandoah NP is part of the 2,175-mile trail that follows the Appalachian Mountains from Georgia to Maine as conceived in 1921 and developed and opened as a continuous trail in 1937. The Central District includes thirty-four miles of trail from Thornton Gap/Panorama, accessed from Skyline Drive at Milepost (MP) 31.5 at Route 211 (Lee Highway), to MP 65.5 at Route 33 (Spotswood Trail). From the northern end of the Central District, the AT continues for another twenty-four miles through the North District to the AT’s entrance to the park at Possum’s Rest. From the southern end of Central District, the AT continues for forty-five miles through the South District to MP 105.4 on Skyline Drive. The study boundaries of the CLI for the Appalachian Trail (AT)–Central District include a twenty-foot wide corridor, ten feet to either side of the trail’s centerline. This distance was selected because it generally encompasses the constructed features associated with the trail such as retaining walls and signs. Features beyond this corridor were inventoried if they were associated with the construction of the AT, were easily viewed from the trail, or if they were part of the hiking experience (i.e. shelter or view). The trail corridor intersects Skyline Drive, numerous named side trails, and unnamed spur trails that lead to Skyline Drive overlooks, parking areas, rock outcrops, and views. Other trail junctions provide access to historic and non-historic cabins for day or overnight use.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- NPS Northeast Regional Office
- Date of Issue
- 2026
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- NER , SHEN
- Keywords
- Appalachian National Scenic Trail, Blue Ridge Mountains, Civilian Conservation Corps, Community Planning and Development, Conservation, Conservation of Natural resources, Entertainment, hiking trail, Historic Designed Landscape, Historic Preservation, Mission 66, Origin and Development of the Natural Park Service, Political and Military Affairs, Range and Forest Protection, Recreation, Regional planning, Scenic Preservation, Skyline Drive, Social History, The 1930s: Era of Public Works, The Conservation Movement Matures 1908-1941, The Great Depressiong, The New Deal, Transforming the Environment, Virginia , Wilderness System