From the USPS press release November 15, 2024:
Covering almost 2,200 miles of footpath along one of Earth’s most ancient mountain ranges, the century- old Appalachian National Scenic Trail is within easy reach of large metropolitan areas of the East Coast. The Appalachian Trail is maintained by a network of volunteer clubs, led by the nonprofit Appalachian Trail Conservancy. This pane of 15 stamps includes a photographic view from each of the 14 states along the Maine-to-Georgia trail with an additional stamp showing stretches of trail through dense forest. Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the stamps with images from various photographers.
Additional information will be posted below the line, with the most recent information at the top.
Updated February 21st:
For those (like me) who were wondering exactly where each stamp shows, this is courtesy Kim Frum of the USPS:
The stamps begin with an image of what’s known as the “green tunnel” in Virginia, the iconic Mount Katahdin in Maine, and a waterfall in Tennessee.
The second row of stamps feature photos taken from Mount Washington in New Hampshire, a waterfall along the trail in Georgia, and a view of the Green Mountains in Vermont.
The third row includes an image of a creek in Pennsylvania, the Hagerstown Valley section of the trail in Maryland, and a view from Jefferson Rock in historic Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
The fourth row features the Roan Mountain highlands of western North Carolina, followed by a waterfall in the foothills of New York’s Catskill Mountains, and a scene from the Berkshire Mountains of Massachusetts.
The last row starts with McAfee Knob in Virginia, followed by a boardwalk section of the trail in New Jersey, and lastly a footbridge in Connecticut that spans the Ten Mile River.
Updated February 20th:
Here is a list of local pictorial postmarks for the first-day:
Harpers Ferry, WV Station
Postmaster
1010 Washington Street
Harpers Ferry, WV 25425-9998
Atkins, VA Station
Postmaster
5864 Lee Highway
Atkins, VA 24311-9998
Marion, VA Station
Postmaster
200 Pearl Avenue
Marion, VA 24354-9998
Troutdale, VA Station
Postmaster
93 Ripshin Road
Troutdale, VA 24378-9998
Sugar Grove, VA Station
Postmaster
5444 Sugar Grove Highway
Sugar Grove, VA 24375-9998
Fontana Dam, NC Station
Postmaster
PO Box 9998
Fontana Dam, NC 28733-9998
Cornwall Ridge, CT Station
Postmaster
18A Kent Road South
Cornwall Bridge, CT 06754
Great Barrington, MA Station
Postmaster
222 Main Street
Great Barrington, MA 01230
Salisbury, CT Station
Postmaster
22 Main Street
Salisbury, CT 06068-9998
North Woodstock, NH Station
Postmaster
159 Main Street Unit A
North Woodstock, NH 03262
New Milford, NY Station
Postmaster
3 Jockey Hollow Road
New Milford, NY 10959
Warwick, NY Station
Postmaster
108 Main Street
Warwick, NY 10990
Glenwood, NJ Station
Postmaster
958 County Route 517
Glenwood, NJ 07418
Updated February 6th:
Here are the first-day postmarks for this issue:
The Digital Color Postmark measures 2.11″ x 1.49″
The Pictorial Postmark measures 2.48″ x 1.26″
The “special” postmark for use by other post offices measures 2.82″ x 1.04″
Updated January 23rd:
On February 28, 2025, in Dawsonville, GA, the United States Postal Service® will issue The Appalachian Trail stamps (Forever® priced at the First-Class Mail® rate), in 15 designs, in a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) pane of 15 stamps (Item 486100). These stamps will go on sale nationwide February 28, 2025, and must not be sold or canceled before the first-day-of-issue. The Appalachian Trail commemorative pane of 15 stamps must not be split and the stamps must not be sold individually.
This stamp issuance celebrates the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, almost 2,200 miles of footpath along one of Earth’s most ancient mountain ranges, yet within easy reach of large metropolitan areas of the East Coast. A pane of 15 photographic stamps showcases the scenic variety found along this Maine-to-Georgia trail, commonly known as the Appalachian Trail or by the initials A.T. Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the stamps using existing photographs.
Automatic distribution.
There is a special postmark that post offices other than the first-day city may use.
How to Order the First-Day-of-Issue Postmark:
Customers have 120 days to obtain the first-day-of-issue postmark by mail. They may purchase new stamps at their local Post Office® or at the Postal Store® website at usps.com/shop. They must affix the stamps to envelopes of their choice, address the envelopes (to themselves or others), and place them in a larger envelope addressed to:
FDOI – The Appalachian Trail Stamps
USPS Stamp Fulfillment Services
8300 NE Underground Drive, Suite 300
Kansas City, MO 64144-9900
After applying the first-day-of-issue postmark, the Postal Service will return the envelopes through the mail. There is no charge for the postmark up to a quantity of 50. There is a 5-cent charge for each additional postmark over 50. All orders must be postmarked by June 28, 2025.
Technical Spccifications:
Issue: The Appalachian Trail Stamps
Item Number: 486100
Denomination & Type of Issue: First-Class Mail Forever
Format: Pane of 15 (15 designs)
Series: N/A
Issue Date & City: February 28, 2025, Dawsonville, GA 30534
Art Director: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
Designer: Antonio Alcalá, Alexandria, VA
Existing Photo: Dave Allen
Existing Photo: Justin Birt
Existing Photo: Sandra Burm
Existing Photo: Jenna Foster
Existing Photo: Ed Heaton
Existing Photo: Angelo Marcialis
Existing Photo: Brent McGuirt
Existing Photo: Hanit Mizrachi Avondoglio
Existing Photo: Jessica Rodriguez
Existing Photo: Kevin Rohn
Existing Photo: Nico Schueler
Existing Photo: Bart Smith
Existing Photo: Ryan Tasto
Existing Photos: Drew Housten
Modeler: Joseph Sheeran
Manufacturing Process: Offset
Printer: Ashton Potter (USA) Ltd. (APU)
Press Type: Muller A76
Stamps per Pane: 15
Print Quantity: 34,500,000
Paper Type: Nonphosphored Type III, Block Tag
Adhesive Type: Pressure-sensitive
Stamp Orientation: Horizontal
Image Area (w x h): 1.42000 x 0.8400 in. / 36.0680 x 21.3360 mm.
Stamp Size (w x h): 1.5600 x 0.9800 in. / 39.6240 x 24.8920 mm.
Full Pane Size (w x h): 5.7000 x 6.2500 in. / 144.7800 x 158.7500 mm.
Colors: Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, Black
Plate Size: 240 stamps per revolution
Plate Number: “P” followed by four (4) single digits
Marginal Markings:
Front: Header: THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL • Plate number in bottom two corners
Back: © 2024 USPS • USPS logo • Two barcodes (486100) • Plate position diagram (8) • Promotional text
Updated January 16th:
[press release] [click on any of the pictures for larger versions]
Take a Hike With New Forever Stamps
Featuring the Appalachian Trail
What: The U.S. Postal Service will release stamps honoring the Appalachian National Scenic Trail, which offers nearly 2,200 miles of unspoiled nature to the millions who hike it each year. Within easy reach of large East Coast metropolitan areas, the Appalachian Trail — often called the AT — provides peace, beauty and a break from the stresses of modern life.
The pane of 15 Forever stamps is arranged in five horizontal rows of three stamps featuring scenic images taken along the trail, which spans 14 states from Maine to Georgia.
Antonio Alcalá, an art director for USPS, designed the pane using existing photographs.
The first-day-of-issue event for The Appalachian Trail stamps is free and open to the public. News of the stamps is being shared with the hashtag #AppalachianTrailStamps.
Who: The honorable Daniel Tangherlini, member of the U.S. Postal Service Board of Governors.
When: Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, at 10 a.m. ET
Where:
Amicalola Falls State Park
418 Amicalola Falls Lodge Road
Dawsonville, GA 30534
RSVP: Dedication ceremony attendees are encouraged to RSVP at usps.com/appalachiantrailstamps.
Background: The Postal Service celebrates new Forever stamps featuring images of the Appalachian Trail. The trail, also known as the AT, was established on the notion that in the increasingly hectic and industrialized world, it is physically and spiritually restorative for an individual to ramble, one step at a time, through unspoiled nature.
Updated December 16th:
These stamps will be issued February 28 in Dawsonville, GA.
From USA Philatelic winter 2025: USPS# 4861xx. LOTS of STUFF available…
I cannot find any press sheet information.
The USPS order numbers and prices are in the 2025 U.S. Stamp Program grid. Click on “order numbers.”
The Press Sheet ( both versions ) will not show up on USPS .COM until After the stamp’s First Day of Issue. EX: Appalachian trail 486106/08 are the numbers, but aren’t visible YET. Allen Toussaint 486006/08, which was issued 3 weeks ago, DOES show up & can be purchased. You Might be able to Call (800) STAMP24 and Talk to a Person to pre-order the press-sheets. ( Ka-Ching! )
No, press sheets can not be pre-ordered. But they can be order starting on (not after) the first day. So Appalachian Trail press sheets may be ordered on February 28.
Also, the 1-800-STAMP24 phone number was discontinued in 2020 when the contractor staffing it shut down due to the pandemic. The current phone toll-free phone number is 844-SFS-STAM or 844-737-7826
From Post Bull 20 FEB: A Whole Stack of First Day Postmarks from P.O.’s along the Appalachian Trail announced. ( 10+ ) In the Pictorial Postmark section.
There are also two second-day (March 1) pictorial postmarks from Tennessee and an April 1 to June 15 postmark from Fontana Dam, North Carolina (in an area large not accessible during the winter). You can see the full list and illustrations of the postmarks at http://forums.delphiforums.com/stamps/messages/?msg=57831.8.
Editorial discretion. The full list is in the USPS Postal Bulletin, too, but I chose only to report here the postmarks on the first day of issue. Click hereClick here to go to the source.
The Postal Bulletin of 2-20-2025 now lists 17 different local first day of sale postmarks.
Especially interesting to me is a post office that isn’t on any of the lists: Bear Mountain, NY. The first part of the Trail opened there in 1925 (“Can we say ‘Centennial,’ boys and girls?”) and the Trail is within a few hundred feet of the post office.
I’d been thinking of going up there for some unofficial-location FDCs, but the lack of the “special” postmark doesn’t bode well. And that office (inside the Lodge) is only open something like two hours a day.
Your Bear Mountain pictorial is announced in today’s (March 6) Postal Bulletin along with one from Fort Montgomery, NY (1.4 miles to the north of the Bear Mountain PO). There are a total of nine additional February 28 pictorial postmarks (from post offices that were slower to submit their paperwork to the Pictorial Postmarks office in KC). There may be more in the March 20 Postal Bulletin.
The Bear Mountain PO is open from 9AM to 11AM Monday through Friday. That is two hours a day, not “something like two hours a day”.
I notice that the states of Maine, Vermont and Maryland are missing from the list of cancels for February 28.
Tennessee and North Carolina are March 1 dated cancels.