Continental Divide Trail

The Continental Divide Trail
Distance
about 4,900 km (3,100 miles)
Countries
USA, Canada
Difficulty
Very challenging
Type of trip
Hiking trail

The Continental Divide Trail runs about 4,900 km (roughly 3,000 to 3,100 miles) along the Rocky Mountains from the Mexican border in New Mexico’s Bootheel to the Canadian border at Glacier National Park, through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana. Congress made it a National Scenic Trail in 1978, but it still isn’t finished. The Continental Divide Trail Coalition (CDTC) says about 5% isn’t on protected public land, about 265 km (165 miles) follow roads through private land, and only 69% is on the single-track path it wants. There are also many recognised alternate routes, and most hikers take some of them, so no two thru-hikes are quite the same length. The trail goes from about 1,200 m to over 4,300 m, and its highest point is Grays Peak in Colorado, 4,352 m.

Somewhere between 150 and 400 people a year try to walk it end to end, taking five to seven months. You camp most nights, often far from roads, and leave the trail to resupply in towns such as Lordsburg, Chama, Rawlins and East Glacier. There’s no single long-distance permit. You’ll need a Blackfeet Nation recreation permit and backcountry camping permits for Yellowstone and Glacier national parks, where you must use set campsites. Since April 2025 the last 1.8 km (1.1 miles) to the southern terminus at the Crazy Cook monument has been inside a military National Defense Area, so you need permission from the US Army at Fort Huachuca to walk to the monument. The CDTC runs a shuttle from Lordsburg, which has Amtrak and Greyhound stops; it drops off outside the zone if you don’t have clearance.

Highlights along the way

  1. Gila River: almost every thru-hiker leaves the official route in south-west New Mexico for the Gila River alternate, which follows the river’s canyon through the Gila Wilderness.
  2. San Juan Mountains: in southern Colorado the trail stays on high ridges through the Weminuche Wilderness, with one 51 km stretch that never drops below 3,660 m (12,000 ft). Snow often lies here until mid-June.
  3. Wind River Range: in Wyoming more than 190 km of the trail runs along the flanks of the Winds, past lakes and glaciers. The Cirque of the Towers is about 5 km off the trail.
  4. Yellowstone: the trail crosses the south of the national park and passes Old Faithful and other geyser basins. Backcountry camping permits are only issued in person, no more than 48 hours before you start.
  5. Bob Marshall Wilderness and Glacier: in northern Montana the trail runs for 35 km under the Chinese Wall, a limestone cliff about 300 m high, then into Glacier National Park, where grizzly bears live.

Distance

About 4,900 km for a full end-to-end walk. The CDTC gives a round 3,100 miles (4,990 km); the official route measures nearer 3,028 miles (4,873 km); and alternates such as the Gila River, the Creede cut-off and the Anaconda cut-off, which is about 97 km (60 miles) shorter, change the total either way.

Best time to go

Most thru-hikers start northbound from the Mexican border in April and finish in Glacier between August and September. Starting earlier risks deep snow in the San Juan Mountains, which often holds until mid-June. Snow can arrive in Glacier from late September, and the lower Chief Mountain route avoids the highest ground then. At the north end there are two termini. At Waterton you walk into Canada and must phone the Canada Border Services Agency as you cross, and entry is decided case by case. At Chief Mountain the road border crossing is only open from 15 May to 30 September. Fire danger often closes sections; check the CDTC’s Closures and Alerts page before and during your hike.

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