Car-free hiking in New England

Sorry I don’t have specifics, but my son lived in Manhattan for the past year, carless, and found ways to head upstate using buses and trains and then from the last town to the trailhead, an Uber or Lyft.

Look at MegaBus (cheap, like $24, but mostly city to bigger city) and Peter Pan Bus Lines which isn’t as cheap ($45-ish one way) but goes to more small cities in southern New England.

Between them, you could get to Great Barrington MA, Pittsfield MA, Montpelier VT among many others, but those are particularly close to the AT / Long Trail.

There also must be meet-up groups out of NYC to hike upstate. Whether someone has or rents a car for the weekend, that would be an inexpensive way to get out and back.   I’ve also seen that sort of group gel at a city youth hostel – someone proposes a trip and has or rents a car and invites others along to split expenses (although it’s usually to a more iconic (Grand Canyon) or urban destination than a backpacking trip.

If you’re college- or grad-student-age, look at university outing clubs (SUNY, Columbia, etc).  Ours at UC Berkeley let non-students (but who were student-like) attend meetings and go on trips.  Again, there’s a big cost savings in sharing the ride, plus there’s often a sharing of beta or leadership – someone knows a place a place to go while someone else scores the ride, and others source meals.

Thanks much! Money is less of a concern than convenience, especially given that I’ve no idea when the next chance to visit the East Coast in the fall will present itself. That said, I’m now looking at prices of hotels and such in Vermont… and it’s more expensive than Switzerland, which says a lot.

As for meet up groups, I’d rather hike alone, for multiple reasons. Though for the record, our club at UCLA would also allow non-members to join trips.

Going to Vermont in the fall to look at the leaves turning colors is a whole big industry.  Vermont is never cheap, but you’ve hit the most expensive season.

Hi Natasha
<p style=”text-align: left;”>If you’re interested in the White mountains in NH. There’s a bus from Boston that takes you to the Pinkham Notch visitor center. They have a hostel there,  Joe Dodge Lodge, and they serve meals in the visitor center. The visitor center is the trailhead for mt Washington and other peaks and  there’s also a shuttle bus service to some of the other major trail heads. I did this a few years ago and it worked really well. For info call the visitor center.</p>
 

Harriman St Park in New York is one of the easiest backpacking spots that can be accessed by train from NYC.

https://www.myharriman.com/take-train-harriman-west-side-park/

Thanks a lot for the comments — it seems like there are some options after all! And yes, I’m definitely learning that Vermont ain’t cheap.

This post may help: https://sectionhiker.com/amc-white-mountains-hiker-shuttle/

You can actually catch a train from NYC directly to the Appalachian Trail. The train will stop where the trail crossing the tracks in New York near the Connecticut/NY border. Great hiking in NY and you can eat at a deli nearly every day. Not as scenic as Vermont or New Hampshire but surprisingly good.https://appalachiantrail.com/20140814/appalachian-trail-train-station/

@jimmyjam This is awesome, thanks! I live in a very scenic region well-served by trains and underestimated the troubles involved in getting to VT/NH for a short trip (were I to hike for a week, the hassle would be worth it).

Here’s a link to the AT guidebook available in paperback and off. Also helpful is the Farout App where you can purchase the whole trail or just a section. https://www.theatguide.com/

PDF not off. Dumb autocorrect