Appalachian Trail Museum, Heritage museum in Pine Grove Furnace State Park, Pennsylvania.
The Appalachian Trail Museum is a heritage museum located in Pine Grove Furnace State Park showcasing hiking gear, trail markers, and personal accounts from hikers who traveled the route. The exhibits present a comprehensive look at what the journey means to those who take it on.
The museum opened in 2010 inside a stone gristmill from the former Pine Grove Iron Works, marking the first institution dedicated entirely to a hiking trail. This conversion of a historic industrial site reflects how the trail became central to the region's identity.
The Hall of Fame room displays plaques and custom-made hiking sticks honoring people who shaped the trail community. Visitors can walk through and see how different individuals contributed to making this hiking path what it is today.
The museum operates seasonally from April through October and offers free admission along with a research library and gift shop on the grounds. Parking is readily available and the setting within a state park provides additional outdoor activities for visitors.
One of the collection's highlights is an original 1959 trail shelter from Peters Mountain that visitors can see preserved on display. The exhibits also include a recreation of Benton MacKaye's Sky Parlor office, the place where he conceived the idea for the trail.
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