New York and Connecticut Appalachian Trail Section Hike
New York and Connecticut’s Appalachian Trail brought trail closures, flash floods, and eventually roaring waterfalls and fun trail towns. In 2023 we section hiked 1,225 miles of the Appalachian Trail, the longest footpath in the world, and spent 13 weeks day hiking, working, and van camping on the Appalachian Trail as we moved up the trail slowly from Georgia to Maine. In this series we cover each section we hiked and in this article we cover a northern section in the state of New York and a southern section in the state of Connecticut.
The AT in Falls Village Connecticut.
IF HEADING NOBO (NORTHBOUND) ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL Stormville NY is located at mile marker 1440.8 on the 2023 at and the town of salisbury ct is at mile marker 1508.5. THIS 67.7 MILE STRETCH IS WHAT WE COVERED IN Five DAYS AND YOU WILL GAIN 13,600 FEET OF ASCENT AND HAVE 13,700 FEET IN DESCENT.
The famous Appalachian Trail stop to Harlem NYC!
New York/Connecticut Appalachian Trail Section Hike Need to Know’s:
The famous metro rail line stop in Pawling NY is along this section. If equipped and ready you could stop and take the train to Harlem right off the AT!
New York has a lot of access to gaps and trail towns, the towns are quite friendly but definitely more for those ready to be “Platinum Blazing”. Aka Inns, Bed and Breakfasts, instead of Hiking Hostels. Pawling, Wingdale, and many more are discussed in our NY Trail Towns Podcast HERE!
The waterfall along the small town of Falls Village Connecticut was wildly high due to the recent flash floods. I had not seen such ripping waterfall above normal levels quite like this. We had just gone off trail for four days due to the floods and this was one way we saw the impact.
Bear Mountain State Park was closed due to the flooding in 2023, check the AT New York page for updates for its future status. The AT goes through a zoo here and its one of the few non dog friendly portions of the trail as well.
We camped at Sylvan Lake Beach Park in Hopewell Junction New York and the day we hiked our miles in Connecticut we drove into Mass for our next place to stay. There weren’t any easy or more direct routes to the gaps on this portion of the trail. If you want to stay close to the trail on a budget backpacking the shelters is the best option.
Connecticut is the “Gateway to New England” and we could feel the difference in weather and temperature as the humidity of the mid-Atlantic began. It’s a state often overlooked but super worth the energy on the AT.
What else happened that was memorable during this section hike?
We returned to the AT after a several day hiatus when hikers were asked to stay off of the trail due to the flooding (particularly in Vermont and New York.) You could tell the trail and the land needed humans away from it to recover even many days later.
New York’s Rail Line Stop and Trail Towns were super fun to experience and while I love NYC it was yet another great way to experience a state in a different way thanks to the AT.
We ran into hikers that had pushed mentally through more tough days of trekking than at any other time on the trail. Seasoned hikers were leaving the trail permanently because of how hard the trail was becoming. Seeing the mental challenges will always stay with me.
After the heat wave into the flooding getting into Connecticut and the Gateway to New England felt like a relief, even if wouldn’t be so, it just felt like a new chapter was turning in our section hike.
The hikes in Connecticut were the best hiking conditions we had in the last three weeks, I’ll never forget how epic 70 degrees and sunny and dry felt on my feet and my mind!
WHAT GEAR DID I USE AND LIKE THE MOST ON MY 2023 AT SECTION HIKE?
Hoka One Kaha’s were my trusted shoes for this day (and for the whole summer on the trail.)
I used my REI 40 Liter Backpack. This worked great since I was coming on and off the trail every day but most thru-hikers or multi-day section hikers were looking at bigger packs than mine.
Darn Tough Vermont and Merino Wool Socks from REI and SmartWool were my go to’s.
Osprey Water Bladder and Lifestraw Collapsible Filter for hydration.
I wore New Balance running shorts mainly and much preferred that to more typical hiking shorts.
Gaiters were a must as was coating our clothes in Permethrin to avoid ticks. (We did not get any ticks remarkably while hiking the AT in 2023.)
The AT Guide by AWOL and AT Conservancy are AMAZING resources for a hike on the AT!
This was a touch and go time on the trail. I stopped putting totals on how many miles we would hike in a day and even halted the idea I would make it from one spot to the next. The trail had parts that were impassable and detours were required.
It felt as though we went from the heatwave into the flooding into going backwards (literally we had to get a hotel in Pennsylvania after leaving New Jersey during the floods!) and I was feeling challenged.
It looked more bleak ahead in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont and we even toyed around with the idea of heading up to Atlantic Canada for a few weeks to let everything cool down and the mud clear out. We were a smidge ahead of ourselves of course, but looking back on this section I am reminded of both the beauty and the challenges a longer hike requires. We hiked in conditions we used to not hike in. We had to shifted our mindsets and refocus on small steps and the gift that a hike like this is regardless of how many miles you get.
It was still hot and uncomfortable and very muddy, and then we would have a bright beautiful and dry trail day and we were reminded it wasn’t all perfect days on the AT. New York and Connecticut in 2023 will always remind me of the “seeing what I was made of” mindset every single day. And that’s a good thing in retrospect!
This section of trail in New York and CT will give you an everlasting shifted impression of these two states. Prepare to backpack or bring your wallet (platinum blazing is fun if you can swing it I bet!) and this section of trail could be done in 3-4 day bigger days with better weather conditions. With the way the trail was for us it was five achingly hard (and slower) days compared to the pace the rest of the time.
You can tune in to our podcast episodes on all the trail towns including NY/CT HERE!
Thanks for reading and happy trails to you! Whether you are planning a thru, section, or day hike…or are a trail town local, trail angel, or just someone wanting to learn more about the longest footpath in the world…I hope the Appalachian Trail gives you what you need! Don’t forget to Leave No Trace and pack your 10 Essentials!
Comment below with questions or your experience on hiking the AT in the state of New York and Connecticut!
Because Adventure Feeds the Soul,
Mike R
