>>1767079I looked into public transit for hiking quite a bit back in the day. This is the right answer, and there are other towns that are accessible via Amtrak as well. That’s what OP should be searching for; towns that a trail goes to that are accessible via Amtrak. There was an article on it maybe two years ago, as Amtrak extended some rails into new towns.
Every shithole town is accessible via Greyhound bus, but that will add a crapload of travel time to the trip. Amtrak takes long enough, and god knows how long you’ll be waiting for the bus to show up. You could take a bus straight there, but they stop in every tiny place on the way. Not a very good plan if you’re just getting your feet wet, especially when you might arrive at the trail at some weird time like 3am, exhausted and hungry, and have to hike, set up camp, and eat. Fuck that noise.
Another option is rideshare, but it’s into tiny towns where not as many people go, and who knows how reliable that is. Same with Uber; maybe you can find something, maybe you can’t.
Popular areas have shuttle services. You can hire a private shuttle to take you to and from trailheads via the airport or pretty much wherever. It’s expensive though. I used one in 2014 to take me from The NE end of the AT in the Smokies to Fontana Dam. It’s a 2 hour drive and cost me about $200, but I’m sure that price will vary greatly from place to place.
You might also be able to find public shuttle buses to more popular areas. I think there are shuttles from Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg into the Smokies because it sees a huge number of people. Same with Zion and the Grand Canyon. Those two have free shuttles that take you around the park. Fly, Uber/Taxi to town, hop on a shuttle to the park, then take the free park shuttle to wherever. Then the issue is time; do you really want to start a hike after traveling for an entire day? So you need a hotel, and it’s added cost. Worth it for some people, but not for others.
