Published September 25, 2025 04:37PM
It’s Been A Year Since Hurricane Helene. Here’s How the Appalachian Trail Is Faring Now.
After a category 4 hurricane tore through the southeast, a third of the Appalachian Trail faced significant damage. Volunteers are bringing it back to life.
In some places, fallen trees and brush still pose an obstacle months after Hurricane Helene. (Photo: Grayson Haver Currin)
Last September, Hurricane Helene tore across the southeastern United States, claiming at least 250 lives, ravaging hundreds of structures, and damaging more than 800 miles of the Appalachian Trail. In the initial aftermath of the category 4 destruction, land managers closed about 430 miles of the trail due to safety hazards like washed-out bridges, downed trees, and eroded treadway. After 19,135 hours of volunteer trail work, only 5 miles remain closed today.
Since the hurricane struck, trail advocates have been hard at work, dedicating time, effort, and money to bring the AT back to life. Nearly 700 people dedicated their time and effort to clear and repair the trail in the past year. Although the work is far from over, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s recently released impact report shows how the past year’s volunteer efforts and funding have paved the way for a safer, and more resilient trail.
Advocacy efforts resulted in $22 million of federal funding to support disaster relief efforts. Private donors contributed another $850,000 to the Appalachian Trail Resiliency Fund, which allowed the ATC to hire a professional saw crew to clear blowdowns along the trail. Over the past year, they spent 4,416 hours opening up trail corridors and making them passable.
Funding also went toward a Nolichucky River ferry, which AT hikers use to bypass the Helene-damaged Chestoa Pike Bridge. Trail towns like Hot Springs, North Carolina, also directed funding toward continued thru-hiking operations.
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At the time of the hurricane, many locals indicated that it could be years before the trail and the surrounding communities would be whole again. There were mixed opinions when it came to tourism: Some thru-hikers were encouraged to change their trekking plans, but some locals encouraged tourists to visit and boost trail town economies.
Backpacker writer and veteran thru-hiker Grayson Haver Currin backpacked the worst sections of the AT this spring, hoping to get a clearer picture of the state of the trail after hearing conflicting reports. After completing his trek, Haver Currin wrote: “As of April 2025, the AT in the Southern states is like a horrific multi-car pileup on the interstate that happened hours ago, just long enough that the wreckage has been moved to the side of the road to allow for cars to pass. The way is mostly clear, but the work is far from done.”
Sandi Marra, the ATC’s President and CEO, echoes that. “With thousands of trees blown down, sections of treadway washed away, and overnight areas destroyed, the work to fully reconnect and repair the AT will continue for years,” she says. “The ATC remains committed to building a more sustainable and resilient trail and to protecting and restoring the fractured landscape.”
In addition to making the AT safe to use again, the past year’s volunteer efforts focused on improving trail structures to make them more resilient against extreme weather in the future. Trail maintenance teams also launched a fire mitigation project to protect southern spruce fir trees from future storms and wildfires.
