TRAIL WORK PLACES TO STAY

If you want to work on your trail for several days, alone or with a group, or if your trail is remote or difficult to access, you can stay at a maintenance hut in Shenandoah National Park, at one of our trail centers, at a Club cabin, or at a campsite or shelter.

In the Shenandoah National Park (SNP), three huts are maintained for the use of trail crews and overseers only. Overseers and crews should share the hut with other overseers on the same weekend. Huts have between four to six bunks (some have mattresses, others don’t. None have blankets.). Inside capacity varies from 4 to 8 people. All have some cook pots and utensils. They may be reserved anytime before your work trip date and may be used without fee. If no work trips require use of the huts, overseers may use them for overnight accommodations when they are visiting the park for pleasure. But, if a work trip unexpectedly develops, the work trip reservation could displace your “pleasure” reservation. For reservations, call the Trails Management Coordinator at HQ for a reservation and key if you do not have a key for the SNP tool caches.

1. Ivy Creek maintenance hut is located just north of the Loft Mountain Campground and just south of Skyline Drive milepost 79. Heading south on Skyline Drive after milepost 79, you will hike in on the first woods road to your left. Park at the Loft Mountain Wayside (If you pass the turnoff to Loft Mountain Campground on your left, you have gone too far). The hut is about 1/3 mile from Skyline Drive. A small spring/stream is located just east of the hut on the access trail to the AT. A fireplace is inside the hut.

2. South River maintenance hut is located just south of the South River Picnic Area in the Central District. To access the hut, head north from Rte. 33 and look for the woods road to your right just after Skyline Drive milepost 63. Follow the woods road for ¾ mile to the hut. A small spring is located in front of the hut to the left, but it may dry up during July and August. The hut has an outdoor fireplace.

3. Indian Run maintenance hut is located just northeast of Compton Gap in the North District. To access the hut, head south on Skyline Drive from Front Royal. A parking area is located to the left between Skyline Drive milepost 10 and 11 at Compton Gap. From this parking area, hike the woods road north to the intersection with the Dickey Ridge Trail. Turn right on another woods road and hike downhill to the hut, a distance of about ½ mile from the parking area. Water for this hut is located back up the road from the shelter and on your right in the woods. The hut has an outdoor fireplace.

On the Vining Tract, Butternut Cabin has been built as an overseer/crew facility.

The Club has three trail centers that can be used by overseers and trail work crews. They are fully equipped structures, with beds/bunks, kitchens, and fireplaces (They have outhouses). Reservations for trail work trips may be made at any time, but note that cabins work trips will have priority. Road directions and a key will be mailed to you after your reservation is made.

1. The Blackburn Trail Center is located in Northern Virginia about five miles NNE of Round Hill, VA. Blackburn has running water. At the Blackburn Trails Center there are also a hiker hut and campsite. These could be used on a space-available basis by overseers or work crews.

2. The Shairer Trail Center is located in the Southern District of SNP on a blue blazed trail leading west from the Eaton Hollow Overlook (Milepost 70.5). There are a few tent sites outside the Shairer Trail Center that can be used. There is a road to the Center but it requires a four wheel drive vehicle.

3. The Silberman Trail Center is located in Pennsylvania.

The Club is seeking to buy a trail center site for the Tuscarora Central District area.

Some of the Club’s rental cabins are located where they can support trail work trips (www.patc.net/activities/cabins). Reservations may be made at any time through the Staff Cabins/Membership Coordinator up to two months and one week before the planned work trip date (Do not make trail work trip reservations during normal cabins reservation time). Work trip reservation made inside two months and one week of a planned work trip must compete with member reservations. A member reservation within that period will not be cancelled (Note that Cabins work trips have priority and may cause cancellation of a trails work trip. Usually these are to repair adverse conditions in the cabin, in essence the cabin is removed from the rental system until conditions are corrected). It is preferable that work trips using cabins be advertised in the PA, and work trip reports must be made following the work trip. While in the cabin, all the rules that apply to renters must be followed; abuse of the privilege of using rental cabins will mean that the privilege will be taken away. There are a number of caveats on using rental cabins:

1. Avoid renting cabins for work trips over three day weekends.

2. Public cabins in Shenandoah National Park should be avoided during the peak hiking period May through September.

3. Highacre is a house in Harpers Ferry National Historic Park. It is very popular with members. Reserving it for trail work trips should be limited to those with six or more members and who are on a multi-day work trip.

Campgrounds, campsites, and shelters exist along the AT and TT at various sites. Any of these can be used for work trips. With approval of trail partners, you may be able to camp in the woods near a work site. Try to avoid shelters during peak long distance hiker season.