Appalachian Trail Gateways at Amicalola Falls kicks off hiking season
An instructor stands before a group of attendees sitting in classroom.

AT Gateways provides education and information for those who have an interest in the Appalachian Trail. 2025 topcis will include updates on Hurricane Helene trail recovery, and AT authors panel, footcare and shoe selection advise, a discussion around technology on the trail and more.

Next month the trees will be budding, trilliums opening, and hiking shoes hitting the trails across North Georgia, including the region’s most famous foot path: the Appalachian Trail. A celebration of the 2,195-mile trail kicks off the traditional AT hiking season at Amicalola Falls State Park & Lodge in Dawsonville.

The Feb. 28 – March 2 AT Gateways, hosted by the Georgia Appalachian Trail Club, is geared not only to those who aspire to walk the entire path from Georgia to Maine, but also to the greater majority of day-hikers and weekend backpackers who step foot on the trail. “We’re moving from an ‘exclusive’ thru-hiker oriented event to a wider range of participants,” said GATC President Lynne Beeson. She added that “way more people,” including whole families and entourages of friends, attend Gateways or venture out on short treks than actually aim for AT completion. “The AT hiking experience is unique to each individual. It is a journey of discovery and exploration,” Beeson said.

Although the trail’s actual southern terminus sits atop Springer Mountain near the Dawson/Gilmer County line, many hikers start on the 8.5-mile Approach Trail at the iconic stone arch at the state park. En route from Springer, the 78.6-mile Georgia section crosses through  mountainous Lumpkin and White counties where creeks and rivers ultimately flow into Lake Lanier.

A group of four volunteers, dressed in work clothes and hard hats, help maintain a part of the AT.

AT volunteers work on the trail.

At the Gateways event, hikers can find out what it takes to trek all the way to Maine or just how to plan a safe and memorable day trip. Visitors can meet trail maintainers who cut blowdowns off the path, dig water diversions and install rock steps that look like nature lined them up. They can learn about wildlife in the Georgia woods and how to leave no trace in the natural environment. And, Beeson mentioned, they can also get an update on trail recovery from Hurricane Helene, which hit the North Carolina section particularly hard.

As of mid-January, the GATC was still finalizing speakers and programs for its second year hosting Gateways. Beeson expects experts on foot care, healthy hiking, and digital technology to be part of the mix. GATC trail ambassadors and ridge runners will be on hand to answer questions. Additionally, numerous AT “completers,” like Beeson will be there to share their experiences. The current GATC president started her trek in 2012, but a foot injury sidelined her. She got back on trail and finished in 2013.

Amicalola State Park Assistant Manager Taylor Geonis, who is registering Gateways vendors, expects 22-25 outlets to sell products and offer free samples. “Most are local but we do have some that come from further up the trail. There are also national brands coming such as, Sawyer, the water filtration system and also Altra, a trail shoe company,” he said. “The items go from shoes, to backpacks, to camping gear, to carpentry, to clothes, to drinking applications, fire safety systems, human waste systems.”

Image of a vendor standing beside his exhibit table with woodworks on it.

Vendors at AT Gateways include large and cottage gear companies, trail organizations, authors and other creators making products for the outdoor community.

Vendors and speakers will set up on the lodge first floor. Besides GATC representatives, affiliates of other trail organizations will be there, including the Benton MacKaye Trail Association, Appalachian Trail Conservancy, Earl Shaffer Foundation, and U.S. Forest Service trail volunteers.

According to Beeson and Geonis, Gateways originated more than 20 years ago with large groups of hikers starting intended thru-hikes in early March. “They would get together and meet here at the park then head out in a group toward Maine. The park took it over just to keep it more organized and to better oversee and log those heading out on the trail,” Geonis said. Originally called AT Kickoff, the name was changed to AT Gateway last year after the park asked GATC to host the event. “We rebranded it … AT Gateways seems to expand to a broader outreach, not exclusively focused on thru-hikers,” Beeson said. She reported attendees filled the park last year.

The activity that started the park’s March ritual more than 20 years ago still has a prominent footprint: hopeful northbound thru-hikers stepping out toward their goal of eventually summiting Mount Katahdin in Maine. Only a small percentage of around 4,000 hikers who set out annually from Springer or Katahdin to complete the trail actually finish it. At the Amicalola Visitor Center Arch Room, aspirant thru-hikers heading north can register their intended 2025 hike at AT Basecamp, put on by GATC, get last minute tips in a Start Smart program, weigh their pack and get an official backpack hangtag and photo at the arch.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy website reports that 1,582 northbound hikers had their packs weighed at AT Basecamp between Feb. 15 and April 15 last year. Beeson estimated that roughly 40-50 of them started prospective thru-hikes at Gateway.

That tradition is not just poignant for hikers, it’s also meaningful to the park and trail community, Geonis said. “As being the southernmost terminus on the AT and having GATC base camp here with the logbooks really makes us stand out from any other park in Georgia,” he said. “The AT community is always trying to help new hikers learn to be safe in the woods, our speakers during AT Gateways nail this and teach all kinds of knowledge about long distance hiking. This event helps new hikers learn about the trail and helps them really prepare and feel much safer in the woods. We want everybody who starts the trail to finish it and this event really does help people out. It also is a way to bring people from all over the AT and East Coast together to ensure that year’s thru hikers are safe and comfortable on the trail.”

Beeson related that through Gateways and outreach programs GATC hopes to expand awareness about “using the trail responsibly, leaving no trace ethics, and responsible recreation to protect the resource. It can’t speak for itself. We speak for it.” See atgateways.com for updates on programs and activities.

Photos: courtesy atgateways.com