HIGHLIGHTS:  The Appalachian Trail is a 2164 mile footpath that runs along the Appalachian Mountains from Maine to Georgia. The trail's northern terminus is in Central Maine in Baxter State Park at Mt. Katahdin. The southern terminus is in North Georgia in the Chattahooche National Forest at Springer Mountain. The Appalachian Trail (or AT as it is often called) crosses 14 states, 8 national forests, 6 units of the national park system, and 60 state park, forest, or game lands. It was the first footpath to be designated by Congress as a National Scenic Trail in 1968. It is now federally protected under the administrative jurisdiction of the U.S. Department of the Interior, but is primarily maintained and managed by the Appalachian Trail Conference. The ATC is a private and nonprofit organization which was formed on March 3, 1925 by Benton MacKaye and a small group of private citizens and public leaders. Their mission is to coordinate the numerous federal, state, and local agencies to manage the A.T. and its adjacent lands.
 

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