Continental Divide Trail

The Continental Divide National Scenic Trail (commonly the Continental Divide Trail or CDT) is a United States National Scenic Trail running 3,028 mi (4,873 km) between Mexico and Canada. It follows the Continental Divide of the Americas along the Rocky Mountains, crossing five U.S. states: Montana, Idaho, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. In Montana it crosses Triple Divide Peak, where the Hudson Bay, Atlantic Ocean, and Pacific Ocean drainages meet. The trail passes through 25 National Forests, 21 Wilderness Areas, 3 National Parks, 1 National Monument, and 8 BLM Resource Areas, making it one of the most significant trail systems in the world.

The CDT offers scenic, primitive hiking and horseback-riding while conserving the natural, historic, and cultural resources along the Divide. Most of the route runs through public lands within 50 miles of the Continental Divide itself. Established in 1978 under the National Trails System Act, it is one of the major long-distance trails in the United States and part of the National Landscape Conservation System.

The route combines dedicated trail, dirt roads, and paved roads, and it is still not fully complete: about 160 miles remain unfinished and generally require walking along roads. Current maps, trail conditions, volunteer opportunities, and planning resources are available from the Continental Divide Trail Coalition (CDTC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that builds, promotes, and protects the trail.

Hiking the entire route end-to-end in a single trip, known as thru-hiking, usually takes four to six months and demands careful preparation. Thru-hikers attempt the route every year, but finishing remains a major undertaking given the trail's length, elevation, weather exposure, remoteness, and unfinished sections.

Riding the trail end-to-end on horseback is an even bigger challenge. As of 2008, no equestrian had ridden the entire route in a single year, though several long-distance riders had attempted it. German rider Günter Wamser — traveling from Tierra del Fuego to Alaska — and Austrian rider Sonja Endlweber, who joined him from Mexico northward, completed the route on four Bureau of Land Management mustangs over three summers, from 2007 to 2009.

Poor preparation is the most common reason hikers fail to complete the CDT. Start with regular walks in the weeks and months before your hike, beginning with easy, low-impact day hikes while carrying minimal weight. As these become effortless, increase your distance and add multi-day hikes with a full pack of food, water, and gear. Work hilly terrain into your training as early as possible to build the muscles you'll need for climbs and descents. Pushing your limits on a regular basis will toughen your body and prepare you mentally for the sustained physical and mental strain of the trail.

Much of this information is covered in the Wilderness backpacking travel guide, but as a rule, buy your equipment well before your start date and use it as often as you can. This lets you get used to your gear — breaking in boots, properly adjusting your pack — and catch any broken, impractical, or unsatisfactory items before you're on trail. Hikers vary widely in philosophy, from "lean and fast," which minimizes gear and weight, to "slow and comfortable," which trades speed for comfort. Gather opinions from other hikers, and test different gear loadouts until you find the balance of weight and speed that works for you.

According to the 2025 CDT hiker survey by Halfway Anywhere, thru-hikers spent an average of about $9,700 on their hike ($9,200 for domestic hikers, $10,300 for international hikers), or roughly $68 per day on trail. That figure excludes gear, on which hikers spent about $1,200 on average before starting. Budget separately for travel to and from the trail, and keep a cushion for emergencies or unexpected costs.

Many wilderness areas, national parks, and other special management areas require an overnight-use permit. Check with the local land manager to find out whether a permit is needed and how to obtain one.

Food and resupply planning matter for a successful CDT thru-hike, but you don't need to solve every stop before you start. The CDT is remote and variable, and its route is often reshaped by alternates, weather, fire closures, snow, and long hitches into town. Keep your resupply plans flexible — your pace, appetite, route choices, and town plans will likely change once you're hiking.

Per the Halfway Anywhere survey, hikers sent an average of 8.4 resupply boxes. Very few hikers sent none at all, so expect to rely on at least a few mailed resupplies. That said, more hikers wished they'd sent fewer boxes than wished they'd sent more, and many boxes were mailed after hikers were already on trail rather than prepared in advance. The practical takeaway: start with only the boxes you're confident you'll need, then adjust as you learn your own pace, appetite, and preferences. You can usually buy food or mail additional boxes ahead from larger towns along the route if the need arises.

The resupply locations below are the most commonly used, based on the survey. Pie Town is the single most popular and has topped the survey's recommended resupply list for several years running. These fall into two groups: towns where a mail drop is close to necessary because there's little or no food to buy locally, and towns where a mail drop is simply convenient. See each location's listing for addresses and other details.

These towns have little or no food for sale locally, so a mailed box is close to a necessity. Pie Town has no grocery store, and hiker-box leftovers aren't something to count on. Doc Campbell's has an on-site store that stocks very little. Ghost Ranch is a remote lodge property with minimal food for sale. Lima and Leadore are small towns of roughly 200 and 150 people, respectively, each with only a small store.

These towns have local stores that can cover a resupply, so a mailed box here is a matter of convenience, cost, or preference rather than necessity. East Glacier Park has a general store, though prices are high enough that many hikers mail a box anyway. Twin Lakes has an on-site general store that covers most resupply needs. Encampment has a small grocery and store in town. South Pass City and Old Faithful Village are both seasonal, with limited or tourist-priced services, so confirm what's open during your pass-through window.

Trail users are responsible for their own water. Don't expect to find potable water along the trail, and don't rely on hearsay about water locations. Treat all water before drinking — a filter or chemical treatment is standard on the CDT, since sources range from clear alpine streams to stagnant cattle tanks. Stashing water is strongly encouraged, especially in desert stretches, and stash boxes have been installed in discreet spots for hiker use. Many wells and water facilities are owned by ranchers, who are responsible for maintaining them regardless of who owns them — and who are under no obligation to supply water to trail users. Be twice as prepared as you think you need to be; even experienced hikers have run dry.

There are very few shelters on the trail, natural or otherwise. Plan to sleep in your tent for half a year.

The CDT crosses a staggering range of climates, and hikers must be ready for everything from intense desert heat to severe high-altitude cold. Given the trail's length and elevation changes, timing a thru-hike is a critical challenge. Northbound hikers typically start in late spring to avoid the worst of the New Mexico desert heat, but then face deep snow in the Colorado Rockies well into summer. Southbound hikers start later in the summer to avoid the most dangerous snowpack in Montana, but risk early winter storms as they reach the high passes of Colorado and New Mexico. Sudden, violent thunderstorms with lightning are a constant summer threat, especially on exposed ridges, while dry stretches in Wyoming and New Mexico demand careful water management.

Fire permits are required in many areas, and fire closures may be in effect during especially dry periods; fires may be banned outright above certain elevations or in some areas. Check ahead of your trip to find out whether a fire permit is needed and where to get one.

The southern terminus of the Continental Divide Trail (CDT) is located at Crazy Cook Monument in the remote Bootheel of New Mexico, near the United States–Mexico border. The nearest major airport is El Paso International Airport (ELP ^IATA), approximately 3.5–4 hours away by road. The nearest town with services is Lordsburg, New Mexico, about 85 miles north of the terminus.

Because of the area's remote location, there is no public transportation to the trailhead. Many hikers use shuttle services operated by the CDTC from Lordsburg to Crazy Cook Monument, while local outfitters and trail angels may also provide transportation. Access to Crazy Cook Monument is via unpaved roads, and high-clearance four-wheel-drive vehicles are generally recommended.

Some hikers instead begin at Antelope Wells, the former United States–Mexico border crossing, and hike approximately 15–20 miles north to Crazy Cook Monument. Lordsburg serves as the principal staging point for many CDT hikers and offers accommodation, grocery stores, and postal services.

New Mexico

 820 mi

New Mexico is where a CDT hike begins in earnest, and it doesn't ease you in. This is the trail's southernmost stretch, sitting entirely above 4,000 feet and mostly above 6,000 — high desert rather than the low, cactus-postcard version most people picture. You'll walk through sun-blasted valleys, black lava rock, cottonwood-shaded river canyons, pine forest, and finally alpine meadow, sometimes all in the same week. Pack for all of it, because the state genuinely delivers all of it.

Start at the 31.497071-108.2083811 Crazy Cook Monument, a lonely concrete marker in the bootheel with nothing around it for miles — no water, no shade, no cell signal. Most hikers stage out of Lordsburg and shuttle in, then walk back out the way they came. The Animas and Playas valleys that follow are a proper initiation: flat, hot, and thirsty, with the desert's colors turning genuinely beautiful at dusk even as your water bottles empty faster than expected. 32.346944-108.7072222 Lordsburg (mi 85) is your first real town — nothing fancy, but it has beds, food, and a way to get you back to the trail.

The character of the trail changes fast north of Lordsburg. Most hikers detour into 32.7725-108.2793613 Silver City (mi 162) to resupply — it's consistently ranked hikers' favorite town on the trail, with real grocery stores, gear shops, and a lively main street, and it doubles as the jumping-off point for the Gila. The approach to the Gila is where New Mexico starts showing off, and the Gila River alternate — it is a side route, but the one nearly everyone takes — is a highlight of the entire New Mexico section, with the trail crossing the river dozens of times as it threads narrow canyons lined with cottonwoods. There are hot springs to soak in along the way, and 33.198752-108.2080934 Doc Campbell's Post (mi 203) is a welcome pit stop near the Gila Cliff Dwellings, where you can restock a little and see cliff dwellings built by the Mogollon people centuries ago.

Past the Gila, the landscape dries out again and builds toward something stranger: the black volcanic fields of El Malpais National Monument. The trail here shares ground with the ancient Zuni-Acoma trail, and it shows — this has been a walking route for a very long time, not just since 1978. Watch your footing on the sharp lava rock, and pay attention to the cairns, since the tread all but disappears in places.

Then comes 34.298333-108.1347225 Pie Town (mi 423), a name every CDT hiker knows before they've ever set foot in New Mexico. It's tiny — no real grocery store — but it more than earns its reputation, home to the Toaster House, one of the trail's few hiker hostels, and, naturally, pie. Stock up carefully here; it's a resupply stop that runs on charm more than inventory.

North of Pie Town the trail opens into rolling plateau and grassland before climbing into the Cibola National Forest, where ponderosa pine and long views take over. 35.155278-107.8422226 Grants (mi 553) is the real deal by comparison — groceries, motels, restaurants — a good place to reset before the terrain climbs again.

The climb out of Grants leads into San Pedro Parks Wilderness, and the shift is dramatic: wet meadows, spruce-fir forest, and mountain weather that can turn on you fast, a world away from the desert you started in. The trail descends from there to 36.0183-106.967 Cuba (New Mexico) (mi 660), another key resupply before the landscape flips again into red rock country.

From Cuba, the CDT crosses mesa tops and canyon country toward the Chama River, sandstone replacing the forest almost overnight. At 36.401799-106.4946558 Hwy 84 (mi 717), it's worth the 8-mile detour to Ghost Ranch — a spot so cinematic it's been used as a film location more than once, and the place Georgia O'Keeffe painted for decades. Even a short visit makes it obvious why.

The last stretch climbs into the Carson National Forest, where aspen groves and alpine meadow signal that Colorado isn't far off. 37.017815-106.45029 Hwy 17 (mi 811) is your last major exit before the border, leading to Chama, a well-stocked little town and a smart place to rest up before things get bigger and snowier.

New Mexico's CDT ends at Cumbres Pass, where desert gives way to mountains for good. Few states along the trail shift character this often or this completely — come ready for heat, long water carries, rough footing, and cold nights at altitude, sometimes within the same 24 hours.

Colorado

 750 mi

Cross into Colorado from Cumbres Pass and the trail changes its whole personality. New Mexico gave you distance and heat; Colorado gives you altitude, and it doesn't let up. This is widely considered the toughest stretch of the entire CDT — long climbs, exposed ridgelines, unpredictable weather, and snow that can linger deep into summer even in an average year.

The San Juan Mountains greet you first, and they're often called the trail's first real test — remote, high, and unforgiving if the weather turns. Northbound hikers frequently hit these mountains still loaded with winter snowpack, and it's common enough that many carry an ice axe and microspikes through here even in a "normal" year; a heavy one can mean postholing for days and hiking wherever the terrain allows rather than where the map says the trail is. The route runs through the South San Juan Wilderness and then the Weminuche, Colorado's largest wilderness area, where roughly 70 miles of trail sit above 11,000 feet and one long stretch never drops below 12,000. It's remote enough that hikers facing a bad snow year sometimes take the Creede Cutoff, an alternate that trades the high San Juans for lower, safer ground — a real dilemma, since this section is also one of the most beloved on the whole trail.

At 37.483186-106.80222610 Wolf Creek Pass (mi 881), it's worth hitching the 23 miles into Pagosa Springs for a proper reset — hot springs included — before continuing into more high, thunderstorm-prone ridge walking. South Fork is a smaller alternative if you need it.

By 37.940366-107.15880411 Spring Creek Pass (mi 979), you're near Snow Mesa, one of the largest expanses of alpine tundra in the country, and Lake City makes a welcoming, low-key resupply — small, but the kind of trail town that knows exactly what hikers need.

The stretch around 38.493936-106.32641112 Monarch Pass (mi 1079), through the Cochetopa Hills and past the La Garita Wilderness, is quieter and gentler than the San Juans, a good stretch to recover some rhythm. Monarch Pass also puts you within reach of Salida, which hikers have voted the single most popular resupply town on the entire CDT — reason enough to linger a day.

North of there, the trail enters the Sawatch Range, and this is where Colorado really shows its scale: the CDT threads past Holy Cross, Mount Massive, and the Collegiate Peaks, a run of fourteeners named for Ivy League schools that dominate the skyline for days. The Colorado Trail shares tread with the CDT through much of this section, so expect more company than you had in the San Juans.

39.0828-106.38113 Twin Lakes (mi 1174) is a small but historic stop — the first town the CDT actually passes through in Colorado — good for a quick resupply before pushing on toward 39.362219-106.31110514 Tennessee Pass (mi 1218), where Highway 24 leads to Leadville, a real mining-town classic with everything a hiker could want: full resupply, laundry, gear shops, and a bed.

Past Leadville, the trail brushes up against Summit County's resort towns. At 39.538064-106.04258415 Hwy 9 (mi 1256), Breckenridge or Frisco make an easy, well-stocked stop before the Vasquez-Gore section, which winds near Vasquez Peak, Ptarmigan Peak, and Eagles Nest Wilderness.

From there the CDT moves into the Front Range and eventually the edges of Rocky Mountain National Park and Indian Peaks Wilderness — arguably as scenic as anywhere on the trail, with glacial valleys and jagged summits, but also demanding real planning: overnight travel in the park needs a wilderness permit, campsites fill up fast in summer, and the exposed high terrain makes early starts essential once the afternoon thunderstorms roll in.

40.2506-105.82416MISSING WIKILINK Grand Lake (mi 1387) is the gateway to all of that, and one of the easiest resupply stops in northern Colorado. From here, the trail eases north through forest, ridge, and old volcanic terrain toward the Rabbit Ears Range.

At 40.381045-106.5795817 Hwy 40 (mi 1485), a 25-mile hitch brings you to Steamboat Springs — another good place for hot springs and a real resupply — before the trail climbs one more time through the Mount Zirkel Wilderness, a quiet, lake-studded stretch of glaciated valleys, on its way down toward Wyoming.

By the state line, the transformation is total. After the San Juans, the Sawatch, and the Front Range, the country ahead opens up, dries out, and flattens — southern Wyoming can feel, for a while, like an entirely different trail.

Wyoming

 507 mi

If Colorado is defined by altitude, Wyoming is defined by extremes — it swings from quiet forest to a genuine high desert to some of the finest alpine scenery in the country, then finishes in one of the most famous landscapes on Earth. It's the Cowboy State stretch of the CDT, and it earns that name: small towns replace Colorado's resort prices, dirt roads become your near-constant companion, and the trail feels wilder and lonelier almost immediately.

Coming out of Colorado, the CDT eases in through the Sierra Madre, a mellow range of forest, ridgeline, and open parks near the Huston Park Wilderness — a good stretch to catch your breath. At 41.153871-106.98142518 WY 70 (mi 1569), Encampment and Riverside offer modest but welcome resupply.

Then the trees disappear and the real Wyoming shows up: the Great Divide Basin, one of the strangest landscapes on the entire trail. Here the Continental Divide itself splits in two and wraps around a basin where nothing drains out — not to the Pacific, not to the Atlantic, nowhere at all; whatever rain falls just sinks into the ground. The walking is flat, sandy, and often on jeep track rather than singletrack, but don't mistake easy footing for an easy day: water is scarce, wind is constant, and shade is essentially theoretical. Wild horses and pronghorn are common companions out here, a nice distraction from the miles, and past hikers have found water caches left along the route — useful, but never something to count on in place of your own planning. 41.790278-107.23416719 Rawlins (mi 1652) is the last full-service town before you commit to the crossing, and it's worth loading up here.

After Rawlins the high desert continues before the ground finally starts climbing again near 42.462088-108.85129820 WY-28 (mi 1773), close to South Pass City, an old gold-rush town turned historic site that's worth a wander if you have the time. Lander is the real resupply hub from here, a proper town with outfitters and restaurants that most hikers are grateful to reach. Atlantic City, a tiny, historic settlement just up the road, is a smaller alternative for a mail drop if you'd rather skip the detour into Lander.

From here the trail climbs into the Wind River Range, and this is where Wyoming becomes unforgettable. The Bridger Wilderness holds well over a thousand alpine lakes and some of the largest glaciers left in the lower 48, and the CDT winds beneath jagged granite peaks that rival anything in Colorado. Snow can linger on the high passes into July, so plan accordingly, and don't be surprised if the mosquitoes turn out to be the toughest part of your day. Many hikers detour off the official route here for the Cirque of the Towers or Island Lake — both widely considered some of the best side trips on the entire CDT — though the crowds at popular lakes and campsites mean it's worth treading a little more carefully than usual, and treating your water even in country this pristine.

43.315393-109.85377721 Highline Trail Jct. (mi 1852) connects to Pinedale, the main town for resupplying around the Winds and a good place to rest before or after the high country.

North of the range, 43.718679-110.01271722 Wy 26 (mi 1940) leads to Dubois, smaller and more limited than Lander or Pinedale but still a useful stop before the trail turns properly wild in the Teton Wilderness — remote forest and river valleys east of Grand Teton National Park, and serious grizzly country from here on. Carry bear spray, store food properly, and know the current regulations before you go in.

From the Tetons, the CDT enters Yellowstone itself, where backcountry permits are required and the landscape turns otherworldly: geysers, hot springs, wide meadows, and some of the best wildlife-watching on the trail. The route passes near Old Faithful, and it's worth timing your visit for early morning if you want the geothermal basin without the crowds. 44.460472-110.82813923 Old Faithful Village (mi 2042) has limited food and services if you need to top up.

Beyond Yellowstone, the trail slides toward the Wyoming-Montana-Idaho corner and leaves the geothermal basins behind for border mountains. Wyoming asks a lot of hikers — desert heat, an exposed basin crossing, high alpine passes, brutal mosquitoes, lingering snow, and real grizzly country — but almost everyone who's walked it will tell you it's one of the best stretches on the whole Divide.

Idaho & Montana

 1020 mi

This is the long goodbye — over a thousand miles of remote border country, big wilderness, and increasingly serious grizzly territory, ending at a lake that most CDT hikers will tell you they cried at. After Yellowstone, the trail spends many miles straddling the Idaho-Montana line before finally committing north through Montana toward Glacier and Canada. Towns get smaller, distances between them get longer, and the wild only gets wilder.

The lowest point on the entire CDT — just 4,200 ft (1,286 m) — is at the very end, at Waterton Lake in Glacier National Park, which tells you almost everything you need to know about how much climbing happens in between.

From Yellowstone, the trail enters the Centennial Mountains, a lonely range straddling the state line where open ridges and exposed slopes offer big views and little shelter. Weather turns quickly here, and resupply is thin on the ground. 44.51924-112.2565824 I-15 (mi 2200) leads to Lima, Montana — not much of a town, but an essential one in a stretch this remote, with a shuttle sometimes available through local lodging.

Onward to 44.814326-113.27250925 Bannock Pass (mi 2294), where a 13-mile hitch on ID 29 gets you to Leadore, Idaho — small, but a genuine rest stop before the trail pushes deeper into the mountains. The climb into the Beaverhead and Bitterroot ranges follows, reaching 45.685489-113.93428326 Chief Joseph Pass (mi 2417), with Darby, Montana offering full services nearby.

North through the broad valleys of the Big Hole region, the trail climbs into the Anaconda-Pintler Wilderness — one of Montana's most demanding stretches, with high passes, alpine lakes, and weather that turns on a dime even in midsummer. Many hikers detour into 46.127778-112.95833327 Anaconda (mi 2659) to reset before continuing; since routes and alternates shift here from year to year, it's worth checking current conditions before committing to a plan.

46.56037-112.3116228 Hwy 12 (mi 2687) opens onto Helena, the state capital and one of the best resupply towns in the northern half of the trail — a good place to fully restock before things get remote again. Farther on, 46.893725-112.49509429 Stemple Pass (mi 2730) leads via a 20-mile hitch to Lincoln, smaller than Helena but an important last stop before the wilderness ahead.

And then comes the Bob. From Lincoln, the CDT enters the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex — the Scapegoat, Bob Marshall, and Great Bear wildernesses combined into one of the largest roadless areas in the Lower 48, and reportedly home to one of the highest concentrations of grizzly bears anywhere in the country, national parks included. This is serious backcountry: blowdowns can slow progress to a crawl, river crossings shift with the season, and resupply points are far apart. The reward is the Chinese Wall, a limestone escarpment stretching roughly 22 miles and rising up to 1,000 feet above the surrounding wilderness — one of the most striking single features on the entire CDT, and worth every mile it takes to reach.

Near 47.473542-112.85870830 Benchmark Trailhead (mi 2814), Benchmark Wilderness Ranch offers a point of contact with the outside world before the trail continues north.

After the Bob and Scapegoat country comes Glacier National Park, the trail's grand finale. Steep valleys, glacial lakes, sharp peaks, and alpine passes make this some of the most dramatic scenery anywhere on the CDT, and the route passes near Triple Divide Peak — one of the very few points on Earth where water can drain toward three separate oceans. 48.443889-113.22166731MISSING WIKILINK East Glacier Park Village (mi 2950) is the last major resupply before the border, and from here the trail runs deeper into the park, where backcountry permits are required and food-storage rules are taken seriously — for good reason.

48.7975-113.657532 Many Glacier (mi 3014) is one of the park's most scenic developed areas, with turquoise lakes and classic alpine trail beneath towering peaks; services vary by season, and snow can linger on the high passes early and late in the year.

Finally, the CDT reaches the 48.998681-113.90611933 U.S.-Canada border (mi 3051) near Waterton Lake — the symbolic end of the trail for most hikers, and the moment more than 3,000 miles of desert, basin, mountain, and wilderness finally catches up with you.

For those continuing into Canada when border access allows, the trail carries on to 49.047003-113.91664634 Bertha Lake Trailhead (mi 3055). Either way, Waterton is a fitting place to end one of North America's great long walks — quiet, glacier-carved, and a long way from the desert dust of the New Mexico bootheel where it all began.

The trail traverses through some of the most extreme wilderness in the continental USA. Trail users should be prepared for any emergency and accordingly plan ahead. It is best to be familiar with outdoor travel by reading about the area you may be traveling in and learn about potential hazards. Basic understanding of how to prevent hypothermia and heat exhaustion or how to avoid and treat poisonous plants and animals among other potentially life threatening situations can help to ensure that your time on the CDT will be rewarding. Trail users are cautioned to expect encounters with rattlesnakes, and be mindful of the presence of wolves and bears. Always letting others know where you are going and when you plan to return is a basic premise when traveling in remote areas. More detailed general safety tips can be found in the Wilderness backpacking section.

There's no reason to fear the mountains, as long as you approach them with proper respect and preparation. As with anywhere else, recklessness and a lack of forethought can get you into trouble, especially in areas with vast and remote back country.

• Altitude sickness - Can lead to dizziness, headaches, nausea, even blackouts and pulmonary edema. Give your body a few days to adjust to the high altitudes before going full throttle with your hiking.
• Dehydration - When you engage in strenuous outdoor activities, be sure to replenish your fluids as you go. You may be losing moisture through your mouth and nose and through sweating, but be completely unaware due to the arid mountain air. May result in dizziness, intense thirst and elevated heart and breath rates.
• Giardia - Drinking untreated water from regional streams is not a good idea owing to Giardia parasites, but tap water is not a problem.
• Hypothermia - Prolonged exposure to the cold can result in confusion, a slowed heart rate, lethargy, even death. Dress warmly in non cotton clothing to allow any sweat to wick away from your body and evaporate. Otherwise, it may thoroughly chill you later in the day when temperatures drop.
• Frostbite - During periods of severe cold, your circulatory system pulls all your warming blood into the core of your body to protect your vital organs. This makes your extremities such as your ears, fingers and nose especially vulnerable. Wear a face mask, insulated gloves and other heavy gear on the worst winter days.
• Sunburn - Lather up with sunscreen, even if there's cloud cover. The high mountain elevations means you have less protection to the sun's powerful ultra violet rays. The rays are reflected off the snow and hits the underside of your jaw. Don't forget to wear UV-rated goggles or sunglasses, as well.
• Know your 10 essentials when going on a hike, because cell phones won't always work in many rural areas, and may not be depended on in an emergency situation.

1. Navigation
2. Hydration & Nutrition
3. Pocket Knife
4. Sun Protection
5. Insulation
6. Fire
7. Lighting
8. First Aid
9. Shelter
10. Whistle

In the southern segments especially there is a possibility of encounters with undocumented aliens and drug runners. While the US Border Patrol is familiar with the Trail route and water cache locations, Trail users should be prepared to provide identification.

• Do not leave vehicles at the Mexican border.
• Lock your vehicle, storing valuables and water out of sight.
• For safety reasons especially, please sign in and out at trailhead registers.

Shared use of these public lands includes ranching and mining.

Water is life and blood in this area. Do not adjust or tamper with water facilities. Do not trespass on private property by approaching ranch houses. Avoid land indicated in white on the land status maps unless trail signs lead you there (indicating an approved easement). While the Trail has been located to avoid open mine shafts, these hazards exist regionally and are not always apparent.

The vast majority of hikers use only parts of this trail, for example to travel between Glacier National Park and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Area in Montana. Many back country hikers may have even been on this trail and not realized it since it utilizes many different types of trails in different areas.

• Great Divide Trail — From the Canadian border, you can continue hiking north on the Great Divide Trail, traversing the entire Continental Divide.
• American Discovery Trail — An east-west trail that crosses the contiguous United States from Delaware to northern California. It crosses the CDT in Colorado in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness.
• Pacific Northwest Trail — An east-west trail that runs from Glacier National Park in Montana to Cape Alava on the Washington coast.