Appalachian Trail (Section Hikes) — USA

Nobody's suggesting you quit your job and thru-hike 3,500km. But the Appalachian Trail — the longest hiking-only footpath in the world — is designed for section hikes, and some of those sections are among the best multi-day walks in North America.

The AT runs from Springer Mountain in Georgia to Mount Katahdin in Maine, crossing 14 states. The beauty of section hiking is that you pick the landscape you want: the Great Smoky Mountains for old-growth forest and mountain balds; the White Mountains of New Hampshire for above-treeline alpine terrain; Vermont's Long Trail for rolling green ridgelines; or the Mid-Atlantic for gentle walking and trail-town culture.

The trail community — "trail magic" coolers of beer left at road crossings, shelter registers with handwritten entries from hikers ahead of you, the unwritten code of sharing food and stories — is as much a reason to hike the AT as the terrain itself. This is walking as social infrastructure, and it works.

Presidential Traverse, New Hampshire (2–3 days): Above-treeline hiking across Mount Washington and the surrounding peaks. Hut-to-hut system operated by AMC — bunk beds and full-service dinners included ($130–160/night). The alpine exposure is the closest thing to European mountain hiking in the eastern US.

Great Smoky Mountains (5–7 days): The AT's most popular section runs through the country's most-visited national park. 70-mile ridge walk along the Tennessee/North Carolina border. Shelters and backcountry permits required.

McAfee Knob, Virginia (day hike): The most photographed spot on the entire AT — a rocky overhang with a panoramic valley view. 8.8 miles round trip, moderate. Start early to avoid crowds.

Budget:: AT shelters (free, first-come) and stealth camping.

Mid-Range:: Trail town motels and hostels — $40–80/night. Damascus, VA and Hanover, NH are classic trail towns.

Splurge:: AMC Highland Center or Lakes of the Clouds Hut — $130–200/night full-board.

Trail town diners: The AT runs through small American towns with greasy-spoon diners that hikers treat as temples. Anything with a calorie count over 1,000 is celebrated.

Hiker trash pizza: When you reach a town with a pizza shop after four days on trail, the quality of the pizza is irrelevant. It will be the best pizza of your life.