CARLISLE, PA (March 18, 2010) - Midway along the 2,147-mile long Appalachian Trail between Maine and Georgia is a beautiful stone grist mill that is being restored.

Once restoration is completed, it will be opened as the trail's official museum -- a tribute to the more than 9,000 hikers who have hiked the AT from start to finish and thousands of others who have enjoyed hiking portions of it.  

The museum opening will be at 11 a.m. on Saturday, June 5, 2010, in Gardners, Pennsylvania, roughly 15 miles west of historic Gettysburg and eight miles from Interstate 81. Pine Grove Furnace State Park is the museum's neighbor. Both are on Pennsylvania Route 233, off U.S. 30 (Lincoln Highway).

The possibilities for stories are extensive -- history, travel, backpacking, conservation, families, fitness, outdoors, photography and even fashion.  The museum website is www.atmuseum.org. You also may be interested in talking with Larry Luxenberg, author of Walking the Appalachian Trail and president of the Appalachian Trail Museum Society.

The mission of the Cumberland Valley Visitors Bureau is to promote Cumberland Valley as a tourist destination, attract visitors to the area, enhance the visitor's experience, and to encourage and promote overnight stays.

The Cumberland Valley Visitors Bureau is also part of Pennsylvania's Dutch Country Roads region, a true vacation destination where country meets city and the past lives side-by-side with the present.

###