details
Center Point Knob, just a few miles south of Boiling Springs, was the original halfway point of the Appalachian Trail when it was completed in 1937. The view from the knob looks out over the Cumberland Valley farmlands below. Center Point Knob can be reached from a variety of points. parking is available in Boiling Springs in the municipal "fisherman's lot" on Bucher Hill Road. The Appalachian Trail heads south over the wooden footbridge, through the woods, over the humpback bridge and through the green gate on the left. A right turn will take hikers through the active farmlands that they are soon to see from the top of the mountain. This hike can be shortened by parking along the shoulder of Leidigh Road, near the Trail crossing, rather than beginning in the village. After about two miles of hiking, the Trail dips into the woods and begins to climb through dense forests that whisper a long history of iron mining. Large test pits can still be seen from the Trail, helping to tell the story of the mountain's industrial past. Continue to follow the white blazes until reaching the summit. The Trail to this point is maintained by the Cumberland Valley Appalachian Trail Club.
Once at the summit, hikers will be treated to a replica of the original plaque that marked the halfway point. The original is located at the Appalachian Trail Museum in Pine Grove Furnace State Park in Gardners.
From the south, hikers can park at Whiskey Spring Road and head north on the Trail. The Alec Kennedy shelter can be visited via a blue-blazed trail. Shelters are located along the Trail roughly 10 to 20 miles apart. They provide a place for rest and rejuvenation for all hikers and are maintained by the various Trail clubs. This area of Trail is maintained by the Mountain Club of Maryland.
The hike is three miles in either direction.
An additional access point for Center Point Knob is the White Rocks Trail. It is a 1.3 mile, moderate to strenuous trail that adjoins the Appalachian Trail just south of Center Point Knob.