Appalachian Trail Gear List & Strategy 2025

For those with their sights set on section-hiking or thru-hiking the 2,200-mile Appalachian Trail (AT), this 2025 gear list and trail-wide strategy cover everything you need to bring with you and tips on how to hike.

We’ve broken each section of the AT (The South, Virginia, The Mid-Atlantic, and New England) into comfort and ultralight gear lists, plus we have strategies on how to prepare for the Appalachian Trail — when to go, and what to expect — whether you’re doing the entire thing or a section.

Continue to read to learn more about gear needed and strategies for hiking the Appalachian Trail, written by Mike Unger & Liz Thomas & Naomi Hudetz.

Majina ya Vyombo vya Habari

I’m also a fan of the venerable Sawyer Squeeze. Just collect water and drink!

Trey French
Mwandishi

Majina ya Vyombo vya Habari

Sawyer’s picaridin lotion lasts a long time, stores well in survival kits and cars, and doesn’t have the laundry-list poison control label like DEET sprays.

Sean Gold
Founder & Lead Writer

Majina ya Vyombo vya Habari

I’m not a fan of bugs, so Sawyer Picaridin spray is always in my pack.

Isis Briones
Writer and Editor