Canada · Long-distance path · Thru-hike

Great Divide Trail

A long-distance path in Canada: 1,119 km (695 mi) with 56,749 m of ascent, about 55 days on foot.

Distance
1,119 km (695 mi)
Ascent
56,749 m
Days
55
High point
2,590 m
Send on WhatsApp
Follow it in the app

The line is OpenStreetMap's mapping of the route (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), via Waymarked Trails, with heights from a 30 m terrain model. Check the current official route before a long trip: diversions and permitted paths change. Where the mapping has gaps (5 km), the line is drawn by our router along mapped paths: check those stretches against the waymarks. See the source.

0 km100 km200 km300 km400 km500 km600 km700 km800 km900 km1000 km1100 km2,315 m954 m
Move along the height chart to see each point on the map.
Great Divide Trail
Kurt Stegmüller · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

The trail

The Great Divide Trail follows the Continental Divide through the Canadian Rockies from Waterton Lakes National Park, on the Montana border, by Crowsnest Pass, Banff and Jasper to the Kakwa area in the north. It is about 1,130 km; the line here, from OpenStreetMap, measures 1,119 km. It is a remote route: parts have no maintained trail, rivers have to be forded and bears are common. Read the Great Divide Trail Association's information and the parks' permit rules first.

Summits on the way

  • Amber Mountain 2,565 m · 806 km from the start

Tops within 300 m of the line. Summits from OpenStreetMap.

Start and finish

Start: 48.99869, -113.90612

Finish: 53.84633, -120.41897

Directions to the start

Google Maps Apple Maps

To the finish: Google Maps · Apple Maps

Places to stay

Rooms in the towns and villages along the way:

Affiliate links: if you book, Global Adventurer earns a small commission at no cost to you.

Paths change, and the weather decides the day. The line comes from the source named under the map and the heights from a terrain model, so treat the figures as a guide. Check for diversions before you go, take a map, check the forecast, and turn back if it isn't right.

More trails in Canada

Long-distance pathBerg Lake TrailCanada · 19.2 km · 2 daysLong-distance pathThru-hikeEast Coast TrailCanada · 313 km · 20 daysLong-distance pathThru-hikeBruce TrailCanada · 948 km · 43 days

All trails in Canada →