Hello and welcome to my Great Divide Trail Guide
Table of Contents…
Conditions
Temperatures
For most trails it can be difficult to find actual numbers surrounding expected conditions. For most of my research on the GDT I generally read “variable and rainy”. I’ve ne
Max = Average daily high temperature for the month
Min = Average daily low temperature for the month
Avg = Average daily mean temperature for the month
Permits
Permits on the the Great Divide Trail are a little bit complex. There is no master-permit that gets you access to camp along the whole length of the trail and there aren’t yet any special considerations given for GDT thruhikers, at least in the permitting and reservation systems of the Canadian Parks. A thruhiker will generally need two things.
1. Parks Canada Discovery Pass
This pass is purchased one time. It is $69.19 and covers access to the the parks the trail passes through. This is the rough Canadian equivalent of the U.S. America the Beautiful Annual pass.
More info and purchasing the discovery pass located here.
This pass gets you into the parks but doesn’t cover anything else. That is where backcountry permits come in….
2. Back Country Permits and Reservations
For much of the GDT, dispersed, stealth, or random camping is not permitted. Throughout many of the parks along the trail, camping is permitted only at established campsites. Spots at these campsites need to be reserved in advance and many of the campgrounds in the more popular locations fill up within hours of reservations opening. For a thruhiker, this can be a logistical difficulty because looking hundreds of miles into the future and knowing exactly where you will camp on a specific night is just a tad difficult.
As PMags notes in his guide, most GDTers try to at least honor the spirit of the reservation system, reserving a site each night they are required to, even if its not the exact place they’re camping.
There are essentially three classifications of camping regulations on the GDT depending on where you are:
Random camping is not permitted. You need to reserve a specific campground on a specific date.
Random camping is permitted, but you still need a backcountry permit for the specific date. This is the case for some of the less populated parts of the National Parks, you can camp where you want but need to pay to stay in the backcountry for the night.
Random Camping is permitted, and no backcountry permit is required. You can sleep where you want, no reservations or permits required.
GDTA Permits Page is here for more info.
So a thruhiker’s challenge is to determine where and when they will need a reservation and to make them before all the campgrounds fill up. Lets break down how to figure out where reservations are needed…
When and Where?
The GDTA has lots of resources around permits and campgrounds. In preparing for my thruhike I used these to develop my own resources that includ more information I wanted to capture while preparing.
The subsequent two resources are the product.
GDT Map
The first is a map of the GDT. This map includes the main route, alternate routes, campsites, camping restrictions, land management, trail access and resupply information.
The map can be viewed on this page or opened in another window for larger viewing.
Map Key:
This map has many layers and can get fairly complex so here is what you need to know…
Main Route: The primary path of the GDT, marked as a red line.
Alternate Routes: Self explanatory, Alternate routes along the GDT. Marked as purple lines.
Camping Restrictions: Sections of trail have different restrictions on random(dispersed/stealth) camping. If you toggle this layer you will see different colored lines overlapping sections of the main route.
None - No overlapping color means random Camping is not permitted on this section of trail.
Orange Trail - Random camping is permitted but still requires a permit. Can be obtained by calling the respective park’s visitor center. See Campground spreadsheet for more details.
Blue Trail - Random camping is permitted, no permit is required. Camp as you please!(Just LNT:)
Parks, Wilderness & Land Management: My best effort to map the different parks along the GDT. Not always perfectly precise. Colors don’t indicate anything, just highlight boundaries.
Campgrounds, Huts and Lodges: All the campsites the GDTA has listed along the trail. After the name I’ve noted the northbound distance in kilometers (and miles).
Resupply and Information: The towns and services along the GDT.
Access Routes and Trailheads: Points and trails to get to the GDT.
Disclaimer: Much of the data on this map is taken directly from the GDTA to make additions. I added the parks, camping restrictions and campsite distances but everything else is right from the GDTA, located here.
If you would like to use the original Caltopo map it is located here.
Campground Details
In additional to the map there is a spreadsheet with campground details, if reservations are required, reservation method, reservation opening date, and other pertinent notes. To make the most of this spreadsheet, I advise making your own copy and adding columns such as ETA and booking status.
This spreadsheet’s orgin is also from the GDTA. Unfortunately their’s is only published as a PDF right now, so I was not able to make notes or modifications, and thus this sheet was born.
To make a copy:
Open this sheet in google drive
Click on ‘File’ in the top left corner
Click ‘Make a Copy’ and save a copy to your personal drive
Make edits and additions to your new sheet.
See spreadsheet in Google Drive
Reservation Openings
Its very important to know these days and have your planned itinerary prepared before reservations open. For the national parks, many of the more popular sites book up for the summer within hours of becoming available. Reservation opening change a little each year but for reference here are the dates they opened for the 2020 season.
Waterton Lakes: 90 days before arrival
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park: 90 days before arrival
(Banff NP): January 23rd
(Mount Assiniboine PP): 4 months before arrival
Kootenay National Park: January 23rd
Yoho National Park: January 23rd
Jasper National Park: January 22nd
Mount Robson: October
Resupplying
Resupplying on the GDT is both simple and complex. It is simple because there aren’t very many options to choose from. It’s complex because those options either have limited selection, or are very pricey. And if you’re coming from the US, it is difficult and unreliable to send boxes ahead that have to pass through customs.
Resources
Unlike many of the the more popular trails in the U.S. the GDT doesn’t have nearly as much data, beta, or opinions around it. Here are some of the resources I used in planning my hike.
The Great Divide Trail Association - The GDTA has a lot of excellent content and was a pillar for my GDT planning. Their website and content is updated regularly.
Hiking Canada’s Great Divide Trail, 3rd Edition - Dustin Lynx is kind of the godfather of the GDT and his guidebook has been the premier resource for hikers the past many years. His guidebook is incredibly comprehensive as it walks north along the trail in detail, noting campsites, alternates, water source distances, resupplies, access points and lots of other useful information.
PMag’s Quick and Dirty Guide to the GDT - A great online guide that gets right down to the pragmatics of hiking the GDT. If you are looking for a quick-start guide to the GDT from a highly experienced hiker, this is the place to go.
John Z’s GDT Video Series - If you’ve spent anytime looking for long distance hiking videos/vlogs, you know John Z has raised the game. His GDT video series was one of my original inspirations for hiking the trail.