CARRABASSETT VALLEY —  A 75th anniversary celebration of the completion of the Appalachian Trail — the longest hiking-only footpath in the world — will be held Saturday, Aug. 18.

The day will begin with group hikes to a plaque on Sugarloaf Mountain that marks the location of the completion of the AT.

During the day, multiple hikes will be offered, at varying levels of difficulty:

* An 8-mile, all-day hike from Lone Mountain to the top of Sugarloaf will transit the entire last 2 miles of completed AT and pass by the plaque. Hikers will depart at 7:45 a.m. on a bus shuttle from the base of Sugarloaf Mountain and ride a chairlift down the mountain in the afternoon.

* A moderate, 4-mile afternoon hike to the plaque where hikers will be assisted by a chairlift at Sugarloaf Mountain Resort ski area.

* Short walks or observations from the mountaintop chairlift.

The day will conclude with a ceremony featuring guest speakers, including Mark Wegner, Appalachian Trail Conservancy executive director and CEO.

According to the ATC, the original 2,180-mile trail from Georgia to Maine took more than 15 years to build and was completed on Aug. 14, 1937. Construction involved the cooperation of hundreds of volunteers, state and federal partners, local trail-maintaining clubs, the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

The AT travels through 14 states along the crests and valleys of the Appalachian Mountain range, from its southern terminus at Springer Mountain in Georgia to its northern terminus at Katahdin in Maine.

An estimated 2 to 3 million people visit the AT every year. Of those, about 2,000 people attempt to “thru-hike,” with only one in four completing the journey.

Since the AT was completed in 1937, almost 99 percent of the path has been relocated or rebuilt. Hundreds of miles of the original route were along roads and passed through private lands. Following the passage of the National Trail Systems Act, and the work of many partners and volunteers, more than 99 percent of the AT is now in public, protected ownership.

Local clubs and other organizations are hosting a variety of 75th anniversary celebrations along the length of the trail. In Carrabassett Valley, Saturday’s anniversary celebration will end with a social gathering at the Rack BBQ, a local restaurant. It will feature music, food, trail displays and raffles to benefit the Crocker Mountain Conservation Project.

For event information and registration, go to: www.matc.org.

The ATC also is hosting a video contest to find out what people love most about the AT. The contest, titled “Why Do You Love the Appalachian Trail?” will accept submissions until Sept. 2. Winners will be decided by Facebook voters.

For more information about the contest, go to: www.appalachiantrail.org/videocontest.

For more information about the 75th anniversary, including ways to give back, go to: www.appalachiantrail.org/75.