Nantahala Hiking Club

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Nantahala Hiking Club

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The Nantahala Hiking Club is one of 30 volunteer organizations which maintain the Appalachian Trail. Conduct a hike each Saturday and Sunday.

The Nantahala Hiking Club (NHC) is one of 31 volunteer Appalachian Trail (AT) maintaining clubs of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy (ATC). The NHC is based out of Franklin, NC and has the responsibility of maintaining about 58.6 miles of the AT from the North Carolina/Georgia border at Bly Gap to the Nantahala Outdoor Center at the junction of US 19 and US 74 in Wesser, NC. The club’s primary activities are to:

Conduct trail maintenance every Wednesday, April – October. Maintainers meet at the NHC Clubhouse at 173 Carl Slagle Road in Franklin, NC at 8:45 a.m. Check out the event calendar for upcoming trail maintenance days. Support the local school system through the ATC’s Trail to Every Classroom program which is a professional development program for K-12 teachers that provides educators with the tools and training for place-based education and service-learning on the Appalachian Trail. Support the town of Franklin, NC as an ATC designated Appalachian Trail Community by assisting with community outreach, specifically the annual April Fools Trail Days event. Hold monthly meetings March through December on the 2nd Friday of the month.

10/30/2026

Today in A.T. history. 📚 On this day in 1923, "Maine to Georgia" was adopted as the official motto of the Appalachian Trail. Over 100 years later, this phrase still inspires visitors from all over the world with a reminder of the scale of the A.T., which traverses 14 states and almost 2,200 miles.

Whether you're planning a thru-hike, working to complete the Trail a section at a time, or visiting the A.T on a day hike, we have resources to help you plan and prepare for your adventure.

Visit https://appalachiantrail.org/experience/hike-the-trail/ to learn more and get essential trip planning information. 🥾

10/30/2026

We are making a few updates to our website, and we need your help. We've started by adding details to our volunteer opportunities page and want to know what other information would be helpful. What is working well? What needs finessing? All suggestions are appreciated, so speak your truth.

Choose Your Own Volunteer Adventure! Your membership has opened the door to all sorts of ways you can get involved in our work to preserve the Appalachian Trail. Short- and long-term volunteer commitments, from board leadership and trail maintenance to guiding hikes and helping to communicate our wo...

10/17/2026

Beautiful day at Pumpkinfest. Thank you to the everyone who stopped by.

09/30/2026

You are invited to join us at 6 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 8, to hear from Coweeta Laboratory Director John Walker, who will be sharing details about the facility's history, some of the experiments happening now, and plans for the future. John's talk will be held at the Macon County Public Library. Open to all, not just club members.

Nantahala Hiking Club, one of 30 Appalachian Trail-maintaining clubs between Georgia and Maine, hosts events like this for the public almost every month. We hope you'll join us and consider becoming a club member.

09/23/2026

Our club’s newly installed Board of Directors is already hard at work making plans for the coming year. And we’d never say no to a few more helping hands. Volunteer positions open now include communications, events chair, Chow Down coordinator and Vice President, among others.

Front row, l-r, Jennifer Williams, treasurer; Debi Gedling, school outreach; Lisa Duff, president; Karen McElwaney-Delaune, secretary. Back row, l-r, Victor Treutel, trail ambassadors; Orben Loucks, trail maintenance; Kathleen Wargin-Dowd, membership; John Delaune, RPC representative.

09/15/2026

I'm leaning toward sunny yellow. You?

09/15/2026

Are you free this Wednesday to do a little maintenance on the Appalachian Trail? If so, our club could really use your help. Last week, we cleared around Bear Pen Gap and Mooney Falls. This week we plan to work on Kimsey Creek (4.1 miles).

No experience necessary, but it's a good idea to wear a bright shirt now that it's hunting season in the national forest. We provide training, tools, and end-of-day snacks, plus a whole bunch of good, honest sweat.

08/31/2026

Are you free this Wednesday? If so, our trail maintainers could use a few more volunteers to help from Wayah Tower to Burningtown Gap (4.5 miles of the AT) or on Kimsey Creek (4.1 miles). No experience necessary.

Address

173 Carl Slagle Road
Franklin, NC
28734

Website

http://www.nantahalahikingclub.org/

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