- Hiking clubs in southwest Virginia offer opportunities for beginners and experts.hiking1 image by MLA Photography from Fotolia.com
The Blue Ridge Parkway carefully winds and meanders its way from the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia to Great Smoky Mountain National Park in North Carolina. The Parkway parallels the Appalachian Trail in southwest Virginia, providing a gateway to some of the most spectacular vistas in the United States and a mecca for hikers of all levels. - According to the club's website, the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club (RATC) is dedicated to preserving and improving the Appalachian Trail in southwest Virginia. The RATC is responsible for 113 miles, or about 5 percent, of the Appalachian Trail's 2,170 miles. In addition, volunteers shoulder the upkeep for 17 permanent shelters along the southwest Virginia stretch. The club is celebrating its 75th anniversary in 2010 and sponsors hikes of varying difficulty nearly every week, including day hikes, camping trips and backpacking trail hikes. The RATC is an affiliate of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.
Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club
P.O. Box 12282
Roanoke, VA 24024-2282
547-387-9723 - Virginia Tech students as well as members of the Blacksburg, Virginia community comprise the membership of this active club. The club is responsible for maintaining a 30 mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail in southwest Virginia. In addition to regularly scheduled hikes, the club sponsors kayaking, biking and other outdoor activities. The website states that "due the wide variety of interest within the club, there is opportunity for novices to learn new skills or improve existing ones."
Outdoor Club at Virginia Tech
PO Box 538
Blacksburg, VA 24061
outdoor.org.vt.edu/ - Originally formed within the Eastman Kodak Company in Kingsport, Tennessee, the Club is now open to anyone. As of 2010, non-employees pay $10 annually instead of the $5 fee for employees and retirees. The club schedules numerous hikes into the nearby southwest Virginia mountains each year, as well as sponsoring canoeing and kayaking events on nearby whitewater rivers.
Tennessee Eastman Hiking & Canoeing Club
Building 310, Eastman Road
Kingsport, TN 37663
423-229-3771
tehcc.org/ - The Mount Rogers Appalachian Club, formed more than fifty years ago, maintains nearly 60 miles of the Appalachian Trail in southwest Virginia. Much of the club's activities center around work hikes for trail maintenance, but the event calendar also lists recreational hikes and social events. The Mount Rogers club makes its headquarters in tiny Damascus, Virginia. Damascus is situated near the southwestern corner of the state and just minutes from the Appalachian Trail.
Mount Rogers Appalachian Trail Club
P.O. Box 789
Damascus, VA 24236-0789
276-475-3065
mratc.pbworks.com/
Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club
Outdoor Club at Virginia Tech (OCVT)
Tennessee Eastman Hiking & Canoeing Club
Mount Rogers Appalachian Trail Club
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