Chapter 3
When people think about long trails in North America, they most often think about the Big Three—what’s known as the Triple Crown of Hiking—the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), the Appalachian Trail (AT), and the Continental Divide Trail (CDT). It can be argued that these are the most well-known trails, particularly with the success of such books (and subsequent movies) as Wild and A Walk in the Woods. But, while these three trails together go through a total of twenty-two states, there are a number of other trails out there that are deserving of your attention.
This chapter gives you a sneak peek into the varied long trail options in North America and even internationally. Take this time to dream, to think about what you want to accomplish, and to learn more about the beautiful terrain this world has to offer. Be open to trying new routes or even giving a previously tossed-out route a second chance.
The trek you choose depends on your availability, skill level, and—of course—what you want to see. Some of these trails are loop hikes—meaning the starting point is the same as the ending point. Other trails are hiked oneway northbound or southbound (or, in the case of a few trails, east- or westbound). All of these hikes can be done as section hikes over many seasons or years. Almost all of the trails have an associated trail organization that can provide you with information on required permits, local regulations, and best weather windows. Visit their websites to learn more (see Resources). As you spend your time planning and dreaming, consider donating your time or money to help sustain these trails, too.
While I have done twenty thru-hikes, I have not yet done them all. So I’ve enlisted the help of Sarah Stewart, Emelie Frojan, and Rachel Zurer to introduce these trails to you.
APPALACHIAN TRAIL
Nickname(s): AT, Green Tunnel
This iconic trail runs along the Appalachian Mountain range from Georgia to Maine. It’s 2,190 miles long, making it the longest hiking-only footpath in the world, and usually requires four to seven months to hike in its entirety. Built in the 1920s and 1930s, the trail covers fourteen states. After the National Trails System Act passed in 1968, some of the trail was relocated onto more scenic areas.
The AT is strenuous but highly populated, with shelters and blazes (painted white rectangles that serve as confidence markers to indicate you are on the correct trail) the whole way; thus it’s a decent choice for a beginning thru-hiker. You can expect to traverse wooded slopes and ridges, as well as a few valleys and farmland, and you’ll cross over hundreds of roads (great for access points) and through about a dozen small towns.
PACIFIC CREST TRAIL
Nickname(s): PCT, PCNST (Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail), or Pretty Cushy Trail
This 2,650-mile trail runs from Mexico to Canada through the mountains and deserts of California, Oregon, and Washington. Its stats are pretty impressive—it crosses over fifty-seven major mountain passes, goes through nineteen major canyons, and passes more than one thousand lakes. It cuts through five national monuments, five state parks, and six national parks.
Along the way, you’ll hike through the snowy Sierra Nevada, into deep forests, and over the Cascade Range of volcanic peaks. The PCT was officially completed in 1993. In some ways the terrain is less strenuous than the AT, but its remoteness, high altitude, and lack of facilities make it a more advanced trail.
The logistics of hiking the PCT can be more challenging than the AT, including everything from obtaining permits to planning for enough water. The route also offers less signage, but signs are present at all trail junctions and road crossings.
CONTINENTAL DIVIDE TRAIL
Nicknames: CDT, The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (especially when used in conjunction with the “official route,” often used with the tagline “Embrace the Brutality”)
This approximately 3,100-mile route is the roughest and least-traveled of the Big Three. The path, from New Mexico to Montana via Colorado, Wyoming, and Idaho, isn’t even complete the whole way and offers major challenges to hikers, including navigation, lightning, long water carries, grizzly bears, steep snow travel, and hundreds of miles over 10,000 feet.
The CDT was officially founded in 1978. But, due to budget difficulties and shrinking private funding, trail building has been in fits and starts. Unlike the AT or PCT, as of publication, 5 percent of the CDT is still incomplete—meaning trail users must walk on a road to connect non-contiguous sections.
This trail isn’t generally a good choice for new thru-hikers and is best tackled by those with significant backcountry experience. The CDT was designed to be a wilder experience than the PCT or CDT, so sometimes it is more of a route than a trail. Expect to find portions that require you to travel cross-country from cairn to cairn or post to post. Intersections may be purposefully unmarked; you are responsible for your own navigation.
Those who attempt the CDT in a year should be able to walk and navigate through hundreds of miles of snow-covered mountains, as well as desert areas with limited water sources. Experienced thru-hikers enjoy the four-to six-month challenge.
JOHN MUIR TRAIL (CALIFORNIA)
Nickname(s): JMT
BACKPACKER magazine readers have voted the John Muir Trail as the “Number One Trail to Do Before You Die.” It’s not hard to see why. Its 211 miles extend from Yosemite Valley south to Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the Lower 48. Though 170 of those miles follow the Pacific Crest Trail, the JMT is a thru-hike in its own right, and many PCT hikers say the two to three weeks they spent on the JMT were the most beautiful of their 2,650-mile trek.
The trail starts in Yosemite National Park and winds through the Ansel Adams Wilderness, Sequoia National Park, and Kings Canyon National Park. It ends at the highest peak in the continental United States—Mount Whitney (14,496 feet). Expect to see alpine and high mountain scenery and breathtaking views—the trail is largely above 8,000 feet (the last 30 miles sit at 10,000 feet).
Despite some serious elevation gain and high altitudes, this is a great, bite-size trek for new thru-hikers—if you can get your permits worked out.
TAHOE RIM TRAIL (CALIFORNIA AND NEVADA)
Nickname(s): TRT, the “Neiman Marcus of US Trails”
This 165-mile hike was my first thru-hike, and is a great one to warm up with. It generally takes most hikers about two weeks to complete. The trail circles Lake Tahoe, hitting all the major high points penning in the Tahoe Basin. The trail ranges in elevation from just over 6,000 feet to just over 10,000 feet, and part of the trail overlaps with the PCT. The trail was first proposed in 1978 and was completed in 2001.
A few perks make this a great thru-hike for beginners. This is one of the few long trails that forms a loop, making drop-off and pick-up plans logistically convenient. It also crosses roads every 40 miles or so, where you can access towns with food and hotels, get medical help, or decide to go home.
WONDERLAND TRAIL (WASHINGTON)
Nickname(s): WT
You can’t see Rainier from its summit—so why not spend 93 miles circumnavigating its base for maximum admiration? This five- to fourteen-day journey tours Rainier’s diverse surroundings, from alpine ridges to rushing rivers winding through marmot and bear territory. The trail sports eighteen wilderness campsites and three non-primitive campgrounds. It’s especially awe-inspiring in the summer, when world-famous views of blooming paintbrush and lupine are abundant and soften the 22,000-foot total elevation change.
The Wonderland Trail was built in 1915. The average length of a trip here is ten to fourteen days. The trail’s biggest challenge? Getting permits from the national park, which you’ll need for the entire trip, due to the growing popularity of the trail.
LONG TRAIL (VERMONT)
Nickname(s): LT
These 272 miles of Green Mountain State trail form the oldest long-distance footpath in the United States, having been constructed between 1910 and 1930. The trail starts at the Massachusetts border and runs to the Canada-US border, along the backs of the Green Mountains. It overlaps with the AT for about 100 miles.
The Green Mountains are rugged territory, and this challenging trail usually takes about three to four weeks to complete. Go in the summer when the northern latitudes have warmed to a reasonable temperature, or in the fall to immerse yourself in Vermont’s vibrant autumn colors. With seventy primitive shelters and numerous adorable towns along the way, this can be a great first trail for the physically fit.
NEW ENGLAND TRAIL (CONNECTICUT AND MASSACHUSETTS)
Nickname(s): NET
The New England woods have drawn wilderness pilgrims since long before Henry David Thoreau made escapism stylish, and this 215-mile trail offers enough deep forests and waterfalls to inspire another back-to-nature movement. The paths are over 500 years old, and the scenery reflects it.
Since the trail was designated in 2009, it has expanded to include a 4-mile extension to Long Island Sound and a 22-mile eastward deviation in Massachusetts. You’ll hike from the shores of Connecticut to the southern border of New Hampshire through a pine-thick reverie of lush ferns, mossy tombstones, and crumbling stone walls. This two- or three-week hike will carry you through trail easements on a number of private land holdings—so make sure you’re overnighting in designated campsites.
COLORADO TRAIL (COLORADO)
Nickname(s): CT
The Colorado Trail is no cakewalk, as it courses past some of the most venerable Rocky Mountain summits in North America. The Colorado Trail travels from Denver to Durango for over 500 miles and nearly 90,000 total feet of elevation gain. You’ll cross the Sawatch Range, Collegiate Peaks, and San Juan Mountains. The CT is perfect for an experienced backpacker with four to six weeks available. Bring your trekking poles—and a good camera. Summer travelers may see snow, wildflowers, and afternoon lightning storms. Autumn hikers can watch the Aspen turn golden and hear elk bugling.
PACIFIC NORTHWEST TRAIL (MONTANA, IDAHO, AND WASHINGTON)
Nickname(s): PNT, the 4th trail
This is your chance to go against the grain—while the Triple Crown trails and the country’s dominant mountain ranges fall north-south, the Pacific Northwest Trail defiantly takes an east-west trajectory. Cross the wild, sparsely populated land just south of the Canadian border on an undulating path that carries you up and over those north-south ranges. The route starts in Montana’s Glacier National Park and flows west to the Pacific Ocean and the ancient old-growth rain forest that greens the feet of Washington’s snowcapped volcanoes. This 1,200-mile hike sees around fifty thru-hikers per year, so this is one for lovers of solitude. Low traffic means following the Pacific Northwest Trail is a challenge that should be reserved for experienced navigators. Most hikers finish this trail in sixty to seventy days.
SUPERIOR HIKING TRAIL (MINNESOTA)
Nickname(s): SHT
The Superior Hiking Trail’s name aptly describes this 310-mile footpath, first established in the mid-1980s, both for its quality and its location, as it runs primarily along ridgelines above the North Shore of the United States’ largest lake, Lake Superior. Combine this with the hardwood lowlands and boreal highlands of the surrounding Sawtooth Mountains and the rapids, waterfalls, and gorges of the streams along the way, and you have one of the most scenic trails in the Midwest. Give yourself at least two weeks to hike from Jay Cooke State Park at the trail’s southern terminus to the Pigeon River at its north end.
ICE AGE TRAIL (WISCONSIN)
Nickname(s): IAT (not to be confused with the International Appalachian Trail), IANST (Ice Age National Scenic Trail)
The Ice Age Trail is the perfect trail for any science buff. Tracing the moraine line (glacial debris) of the last ice age (about 12,000 years ago), the trail is the most scenic way to see Wisconsin. The route, which was founded in the 1950s, is 1,200 miles long, half of which are yellow blazed. (The other half of the route is unmarked but easily navigable.) While the trail isn’t yet complete, it does occasionally overlap with state biking trails, and some parts of the trail lead directly through small Wisconsin towns. The trail stretches from Potawatomi State Park in Sturgeon Bay to Interstate State Park in St. Croix Falls.
OUACHITA TRAIL (ARKANSAS AND OKLAHOMA)
Nickname(s): OUT
The fact that many folks have never heard of this 223-mile trail—much less know how to find it—is one reason why the Ouachita (WA-she-ta) Trail can guarantee crowd-free hiking. The fact that it straddles the Arkansas-Oklahoma border (not exactly a backpacking epicenter) is another. The trail follows the Ouachita Mountains and wanders elevations between 600 and 2,600 feet. It plows through the heart of the Ouachita National Forest, which is the largest national forest in the South.
It’s a good trail for a beginner thru-hiker, although the elevation gains can still be tricky. Take two or three weeks to hike through this window into America’s forested, creek-crossed heartland.
ARIZONA TRAIL
Nickname(s): AZT
Desert-lovers will revel in traversing 800 miles along the north-south length of Arizona. Starting at the Mexican border, the route connects sky islands—rugged mountain ranges rising up from the desert sand—and demands a rim-to-rim of the Grand Canyon. Visit unique historical and cultural sites and travel through billions of geologic years, viewing everything from stark red desert to cool boreal forest. This well-marked trail is a gem of the Southwest, but knowledge and skill in desert travel is required for this one- to two-month-long spring or fall thru-hike.
NORTHVILLE-PLACID TRAIL (NEW YORK)
Nickname(s): NPT
The Northville-Placid Trail bisects most of the 6 million-acre Adirondack Park from north to south, a journey of 133 miles. The path connects one serene mountain lake after another—you’ll hear loons every night—and in autumn passes through an amber forest of innumerable birch and maple trees. Give yourself one to two weeks to complete this remote trail, and expect to have it mostly to yourself.
FLORIDA TRAIL (FLORIDA)
Nickname(s): FT, FNST
This relatively flat trail skirts sandy beaches, palm-shaded forests, ancient sand dunes, and the Everglades ecosystem—but don’t expect it to be a walk in the park. Hikers seeking plants and wildlife unlike any other in the United States will enjoy this approximately 1,300-mile hike along the north-south length of the Sunshine State. It’s a perfect trail for winter travelers escaping snow elsewhere, but expect hiking challenges you won’t find on other long trails: wading through swamps with alligators and snakes, long road walks through rural communities, and hiking in winter and peak hunting season. A highlight of the typically two- to three-month trip includes the Big Cypress Preserve, home to a high diversity of plants and wildlife, including several endangered species.
INTERNATIONAL LONG TRAILS
Long established walks are a satisfying and unconventional way to visit new countries. While this list is not anywhere near exhaustive—especially of the 37,000-plus-mile Grandé Randonnée (GR) trail system in Europe—it should give you an idea of the opportunities to explore on foot abroad. Long trails exist on almost every continent and often surround a culture of staying overnight in huts and hostels instead of wild camping.
CAMINO DE SANTIAGO (SPAIN AND FRANCE)
The trail began as a spiritual journey to the shrine of St. James in Santiago de Campostela, near the northwest coast of Spain. On the Camino Frances—the most popular of several possible routes—you’ll follow the trail’s scalloped-shell insignia 485 miles though the French Pyrenees, numerous towns, the Spanish countryside, and the Cantabrian Mountains. It takes most hikers a month to walk from the trailhead at St. Jean Pied du Port to the cathedral in Santiago de Campostela. With inns, towns, and friendly locals along the way, this is an excellent route for beginning thru-hikers.
TE ARAROA (NEW ZEALAND)
Although New Zealand is only about the size of Colorado, its two islands host one of the best treks in the Southern Hemisphere. The Te Araroa is a 1,864-mile trail that starts in Cape Reinga on the tip of the North Island and ends in New Zealand’s southernmost town, Bluff. The trail acquaints hikers with a unique country by connecting settlements, towns, and indigenous marae (meeting houses of the Maori people). The Te Araroa also winds across Mount Tongariro, an active volcano on the North Island. You’ll need about five months plus some hefty airfare for this culturally and ecologically diverse hike.
GR20 (CORSICA, FRANCE)
On the GR20, your finish line is the Tyrrhenian Sea. So is your starting line. This 112-mile trail crosses the French island of Corsica on a diagonal from the northwest to the southeast coast. Don’t be fooled by the sea-level beginning and end; total elevation change across the middle of the island is about 33,000 feet. Most people take about fifteen days to complete this sun-soaked Mediterranean hike. Mountain huts offer food and lodging along the trail from June to September, and the path crosses through several villages with more luxurious accommodations.
WEST HIGHLAND WAY (SCOTLAND)
Scotland’s iconic long-distance path makes a perfect first thru-hike for those who love nature and culture. Footed in some of Scotland’s finest green country, this well-marked trail travels from the lowland sheep farms over gently rolling terrain past fields, villages, pubs, and fog-draped ruins. You’ll follow centuries-old footpaths and roads to the foot of Ben Nevis, the UK’s highest peak. This one- to two-week 96-mile trip is a top pick for beginner backpackers looking to have gear delivered to a hotel every night.
TOUR DU MONT BLANC (FRANCE, ITALY, AND SWITZERLAND)
You’ll need more than one phrasebook on this high mountain circuit, which crosses three international borders and circles 15,770-foot Mont Blanc. But even armed with a handful of languages, you’ll struggle for words to describe the ridiculously beautiful vistas gracing this 105-mile, seven- to ten-day journey. It dips into France, Italy, and Switzerland, with steep, snow-frosted mountains towering 10,000 feet over the valleys the entire way. On trails ranging from ancient cobblestones to dirt, the route tops seven alpine passes. Camp along the route to save as much as $50 per day, but spend at least a few nights in mountain huts and inns to immerse yourself in the local flavor.