Name: The Lost Appalachian Trail
Start: 2026-05-15T15:30:00-04:00
End: 2026-05-15T16:30:00-04:00
Location: The Damascus Trail Center

Historian Mills Kelly shares the story of the Appalachian Trail's original route from Damascus to McAfee Knob and its lasting memory.
About this Event

When the A.T. first came to Southwest Virginia, it took an entirely different route from the one used today. The Iron Mountain Trail (the temporary route of the trail due to hurricane damage) was the original route of the A.T. between Damascus and the New River. In his 2023 book, Virginia's Lost Appalachian Trail, historian Mills Kelly tells the story of the trail's original route, why it changed, and how it is still remembered today by local residents. Mills is the host of The Green Tunnel podcast and the author of the recently published A Hiker's History of the Appalachian Trail.