Approximately ¼ of the Appalachian Trail passes through Virginia, going across some of the state's best mountain scenery and affording access to small-town life.
Initially proposed by Benton MacKaye in 1921, the trail was, and still is, primarily built, maintained, and overseen by volunteers. Selected from the archives of the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the National Park Service, and local Appalachian Trail maintenance clubs, the 200-some photographs in
Images of America: Along Virginia's Appalachian Trail
provide a look at life in the mountains before and during the trail's creation, how it developed, who its early champions were, the many relocations the trail has experienced, and the volunteers who have constructed and maintained it.