Hike a section of the Pacific Crest Trail
A friend has invited you to do this with them.
The Pacific Crest Trail runs about 2,650 miles from Mexico to Canada through desert, the Sierra Nevada, deep forest and the volcanic peaks of the Cascades. It is divided into 29 sections of manageable length, so you can walk one piece of a continental route without giving up half a year.
Demanding£100 to £500 / $130 to $650A few weeksOutdoorsAlone or with othersCalifornia, Oregon, WashingtonSummer to early autumn in the high country
Someone who has done it
Nancy Zelick walked the trail from the Mexican border to the Canadian one in 2026, rather than a single section; a wildfire closure left one 198-mile stretch for next summer.
These are real people who did this, as reported by the outlets named. We opened each one before linking it. None of them is connected with this site.
How to start
- Read the Pacific Crest Trail Association's Discover the Trail pages and choose a section in California, Oregon or Washington.
- Check whether your section crosses a wilderness area, national park or state park that needs a permit, and look up current closures.
- Plan your water, food and camps for each day, and leave your route with someone at home.
Where to go
We opened this link on 7 October 2026 and found it to be what we say. Dates, places and prices are on the official page, where they stay up to date.
Plan this
Pick a day, or a month, and we will set out how to get ready, step by step, with a date and a reason for each. The hard part of a day out is the timing: the right season, tickets and getting there. The plan watches the calendar for you.
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