Reach the Top—of Calf Mountain!

The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) will relocate the Appalachian National Scenic Trail (ANST) to cross the summit of Little Calf Mountain northeast of Waynesboro, Virginia.

This section lies on federal land managed by the NPS Appalachian Trail Park Office adjacent to the South District of Shenandoah National Park north of the Rockfish Gap Entrance Station to the Skyline Drive.

The Appalachian Trail Conservancy and PATC have, since at least the late 1980s, hoped and planned to relocate this section of the AT, which rises steeply from Beagle Gap to the shoulder of Little Calf Mountain.

Water bars, check dams, and steps where the grade is steepest (about 32%)—are overwhelmed. Below the wood line, the soil erodes into a trench, approximately 30 yards in length, that the maintainers must cut and fill each year.

The AT does not cross the summit of Little Calf Mountain, which offers an outstanding viewshed prized by visitors. The current short side trail to the summit erodes from a grade of up to 20%.

The relocation will significantly help preserve the natural resource and enhance the visitor’s experience by the varied terrain and features viewed, especially the open summit of Little Calf Mountain.