FRANKLIN, N.C. (AP) — Appalachian Trail hikers have a new place to rest in North Carolina.

The U.S. Forest Service says the Long Branch Shelter in the Standing Indian Basin in the Nantahala National Forest has opened. The shelter is located at the head of the Long Branch Drainage along the trail, slightly more than two miles north of Forest Service Road 83. It’s about 17 miles from the city of Franklin.