Features

CURRENT Features

Photo is from Emma Gatewood’s second AT hike, in 1957. She is at Lonesome Lake, New Hampshire.

Emma Gatewood’s Walk

Seventy years ago this May, a 67-year-old woman set out from the Georgia mountains in tennis shoes with the goal to walk until she got to Maine, something no other woman had done.
The Appalachian Trail walk into  Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, is a delight from either direction.

Seven AT Hikes-to-Stays

Get a taste of the Great Trail, great lodging and fine eats. These weekend-friendly walks let you enjoy America’s most iconic trail in style, and all end with a great overnight stay.
Robin males feed their chicks and take on primary feeding duty when chicks fledge.

Happy F(e)ather’s Day!

From housework to feeding, from following fledglings around to keeping an eye out for danger, bird fathers get the job done.
Jolene soars!

Displaced Eagles Kept the Suspense: New Home for Jolene and Boone

When Hurricane Helene took out the white pine that held their nest, the fear was that they would not return.
The preserved Puckett Cabin was moved to the property for one of John’s sisters, and while John and Orelena Puckett lived in a nearby larger cabin, this one is preserved by the National Park Service to keep the memory of Orelena Puckett alive.

Orelena Puckett: Mountain Midwife

From 1889, after having lost 24 of her own children at birth or soon after, Orelena Puckett found a calling in midwifery, which she undertook for the rest of her life.

Departments

At Coopers Rock State Forest, new Stargazer cabins invite guests to look up through skylights and telescopes.
Country Roads

Even Closer to Almost Heaven

New Stargazer cabins at Coopers Rock State Forest offer a skyward escape in the mountains of West Virginia.

©Duncan Seaman
Country Roads

A Mountain Tradition Turns 90 

Visitors flock to Galax, Virginia, each summer for the Old Fiddlers’ Convention, a days-long celebration of Appalachian music.

Synchronous Fireflies
Creature Feature

The Light Fantastic

Fireflies are struggling with the effects of artificial light.

CALENDAR OF EVENTS