Placing the Bear Mountain Trails Project’s Final Step

On Sept. 27, members of the Bear Mountain Trail Crew placed the final stone step on the Appalachian Trail at Bear Mountain, completing a reconstruction project that has been 14 years in the works. Our friend Karen Lutz, who retired as the Appalachian Trail Conservancy’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Director, set the last step during an event celebrating this achievement and her remarkable career protecting the Trail.

More than 3,000 volunteers, 85,000 hours, and roughly 1,300 steps since the Bear Mountain Trails Project began, the most ambitious rehabilitation of the Appalachian Trail ever conducted is complete. Volunteers, Corps members, and professional trail builders all contributed to rehabilitation efforts. Thank you to everyone who was part of this journey and helped make it happen!