Potomac Appalachian Trail Club

The Potomac Appalachian Trail Club (PATC) is a 100% volunteer supported organization that formed in 1927 for the purpose of building and maintaining the Appalachian Trail (AT). PATC was the 1st club of the now 30+ clubs who preserve the AT & its side-trails from Maine to Georgia.

While they run hike groups, the primary purpose of the organization is to get people involved in trail management including keeping the footpath clear of natural overgrowth and blowdowns; building and relocating sections of the footpath, building and repairing shelters and other structures, caring for overnight sites as well as educating Trail users.

PATC covers 1000 total miles of trails in Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia & Virginia, including 240 miles of the AT. This is the headquarters location, but their are chapters all over the region. The HQ has a small store, but you can also order online via the website.

In additional to the website you can find information on events via https://www.meetup.com/PATCVolunteerEvents/

Excellent customer service! Stopped in before Maryland Appalachian Trail section hike and purchased. Guidebook. The guidebook was very useful on our trip. The volunteer let us in even though the shop has closed a little while earlier (I had no idea) and gave us each a free water bottle. 5 stars

I'm not sure how to rate an Appalachian Trail Club on a 1-5 star scale, as I've only been a member of one, and that's this one.

The PATC is located in downtown Vienna, VA and is a great resource for trail information, outdoors volunteer opportunities, and topographical maps of the AT in VA, MD, WV, and southern PA. They also have other things, such as dayhike guide books, in their club and online stores.

FYI, they can be thanked for portions of trails in Rock Creek Park, as they have crews that volunteer year-round to work on them.