Canada Now Terminates Cross-Border Travel from Pacific Crest Trail
Canada Now Terminates Cross-Border Travel from Pacific Crest Trail
The Government of Canada has ended the program that allowed US thru-hikers on the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) to hike into the Canadian portion of the trail. For decades, thru-hikers simply applied for a permit to reach the end of the trail, which is now terminated.
The 4,265-kilometre trail begins in Mexico, continues through California, Oregon and Washington state and into Canada. Previously, thru-hikers were able to apply for a permit through the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to hike across the border on the remaining 13-kilometres of the trail into Canada. The trail stretched into E.C. Manning Park, south of Hope in southern B.C. On Monday, January 27, the agency announced that the permit will end.
In alignment with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection—which does not give travellers access to the US from Canada on the trail—those wishing to complete the Canadian portion of the hike will have to enter Canada via a designated port of entry. The closest designated ports of entry to the hiking trail are in Abbotsford and Osoyoos, both about 100 kilometres from the trail. The second option is to end their hike at the border.
Therefore, instead of being able to reach the terminus in E.C. Manning Park, rest and rejuvenate at the resort for a day or two and access a road to head home, hikers will have to backtrack about 48 kilometres, essentially do the Harts Pass-to-border leg twice and exit the backcountry after their thru-hike. However, the border permit had only ever allowed hikers to cross from the US to Canada—and southbound hikers have always had to do the longer, alternative route.
Although the PCT has seen a closure between the border similar to this from 2020 to 2023, during the COVID-19 pandemic, this sudden change is speculated to be the product of US President Donald Trump’s threats to increase tariff if Canada does not do more to secure the border.
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