From the Mexican border near Campo to Manning Park at the Canadian border, through California, Oregon and Washington. Most people who walk it all take about five months, April to September.
Eagle Rock
A week out of Mexico, the granite grows wings.
Forester Pass
13,153 feet. The top of the trail.
Evolution Basin
Peaks named for Darwin, Mendel and Huxley, standing in their own lakes.
Burney Mountain Guest Ranch
A family ranch 0.8 miles off the trail, between Hat Creek Rim and Burney Falls. Bunks, camping, cabins, three meals a day, showers, laundry with loaner clothes, a hiker box, and a small resupply store. Open from May.
Resupply boxes by UPS or FedEx (USPS doesn't deliver there), marked with your name and the date you expect to arrive.
Burney Falls
Spring water pours straight out of the cliff, cold all summer.
Mount Shasta
In view for days, from every side.
Crater Lake
A volcano's empty heart, filled with snowmelt.
Timberline Lodge
The breakfast buffet is a tradition of its own.
Bridge of the Gods
The lowest point on the trail. Walk across into Washington.
Traditions
Trail names
Other hikers give you one. Many people finish known only by it.
Trail angels
Water caches in the desert, soda in a cooler at a road crossing, a stranger's shower and bed.
Hiker box
Take what you need. Leave what you're tired of carrying.
Zero and nero
A zero is a day of no trail miles. A nero is nearly zero: into town by lunch.
Hike your own hike
Your pace, your gear, your way.
The porch at Kennedy Meadows
Mile 702, where the desert ends. Everyone on the porch claps you in.
Milestones in stone
500, 1000, 2000, spelled on the ground in rocks and pinecones.
Halfway
A small monument in Lassen National Forest. Its mile number moves with every reroute.
The pancake challenge
Seiad Valley café: five 13-inch pancakes in two hours, and they're free.
The Oregon Challenge
All of Oregon, about 450 miles, in 14 days.
PCT Days
Every August in Cascade Locks, by the Bridge of the Gods.
Stehekin cinnamon rolls
The last town. The shuttle bus stops at the bakery.
The moon
Some walk the desert at night under a full moon, out of the heat.
Goat Rocks
The Knife's Edge runs along this crest.
Grasshopper Pass
The last big view before the border.
Canada
Touch the monument. Then walk 30 miles back to Harts Pass.
For sale
Two whole towns on the trail are on the market.
Belden Town
Plumas County, CA
On the trail at mile ~1285, on the Feather River. Hotel, 7 cabins, RV sites, restaurant, bar, store, festival stages.
Downtown Campo
San Diego County, CA
A mile or two from the southern terminus. A WWII cavalry post: 28 buildings, the post office among them.
Lodges, stores, hostels
| Place | Mile | Asking | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Rock Inn Lake Hughes, CA | ~478 | — | Listed |
| Old Sierra City Hotel Sierra City, CA | ~1195 | — | Unconfirmed |
| Kennedy Meadows General Store Tulare County, CA | ~702 | $675,000 | Listing expired |
| Vermilion Valley Resort Edison Lake, CA | ~878 | $975,000 | Listed 2013–2021 |
| Bucks Lake Lodge Quincy, CA | ~1263 | $291,500 | Sold |
| Callahan's Mountain Lodge Ashland, OR | ~1718 | — | Sold 2020 |
| Odell Lake Resort Crescent, OR | ~1906 | $4.1M | Sold 2024 |
| Elk Lake Resort near Bend, OR | ~1954 | $4.56M | Sold 2025 |
| Hiker Heaven Agua Dulce, CA | ~454 | — | Sold ~2020 |
Checked 28 September 2026. Prices and status as reported; miles approximate.
Fire · snow · flood
Snow opens the Sierra, usually mid-June. Fire decides the rest of summer.
Fire
- Postholer trail firesfires near the trail, this year and past years
- PCTA closuresofficial closures and detours
- InciWebone page per wildfire
- NASA FIRMSsatellite hotspots, under 3 hours old
- NIFC outlooksmonthly and seasonal fire outlooks
Snow
- Postholer snowsnow depth along the trail, Nov–Jul
- NOAA snow analysisdaily snow depth and water
- CDEC snowCalifornia snowpack against average
- NRCS SNOTELsnow stations, Oregon and Washington
Flood and fords
- USGS Water Dashboardlive streamflow, for fords
- NWS river forecastsflood stages and forecasts
- Excessive rainfall outlookflash-flood risk, days 1–5
- FEMA flood mapsflood zones in trail towns
Weather
- NWS point forecastopens at the southern terminus; click the map to move
- Postholer mapthe whole trail with smoke and fire layers
- NOAA fire weatherfire-weather outlooks, days 1–8
Years
- 1968Named one of the first two National Scenic Trails, with the Appalachian Trail.
- 1993Finished, with a golden spike in Soledad Canyon.
- 2017Big snow year. Fires closed the Eagle Creek route until 2021 and about 70 miles in Washington.
- 2020The PCTA asked hikers to stay home. 18 finishes reported.
- 2021The Dixie Fire closed about 130 miles, mile 1235 to 1365.
- 2023California snowpack reached 196% of average. Many hikers skipped the Sierra and came back.
- 2025Canada ended PCT entry permits.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Pacific Crest Trail
- PCTA FAQ
- PCTA permit and completion numbers
- U.S. Forest Service: the PCT
- PCTA: Dixie Fire closure
- PCTA: Eagle Creek reopens
- Backpacker: the 2023 snow year
- Trailside Reader: the pancake challenge
- Postholer
- Burney Mountain Guest Ranch
- LongTrailsWiki: Burney Mountain
- Wikimedia Commons
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each. Burney Mountain photo from the ranch.