The Great Divide Trail Association | Dedicated to maintaining, protecting and promoting the Great Divide Trail

Discover the Great Divide Trail

Trip-Planning Resources

Trail Maintenance

Discover the Great Divide Trail

Learn about the history of the GDT, take a photo journey on the trail, or read journals of other hikers experiences on the GDT.

Trip-Planning Resources

Whether out on the trail for a day or a month, check out these resources to make your trip planning easier.

Get Involved

Become a member now! Or support the Great Divide Trail by volunteering on a trail maintenance trip, joining a committee, or becoming a sponsor.

Trail Maintenance

In 2020, we refused to give up hope of a trail building season and developed a modified plan that adhered to public health restrictions and guidelines. Thanks to the incredible work of our dedicated volunteers, 2020 was a huge success!

Canada's Great Divide Trail
a journey on the crest of the continent

The Great Divide Trail traverses the continental divide between Alberta and British Columbia, wandering through the vast wilderness of the Canadian Rocky Mountains for more than 1100 kilometres. It is one of the most spectacular and challenging long‐distance trails on the planet.

The Great Divide Trail is not officially designated and not always even an actual trail, sometimes merely a wilderness route, inspiring modern-day adventurers to walk the same paths of the original Indigenous people and explorers to the area. A journey on the Great Divide Trail promises to be demanding but on the GDT you'll discover a definitive wilderness experience in one of the most magnificent settings on Earth.

The Great Divide Trail Association is dedicated to maintaining, protecting and promoting the Great Divide Trail and with your support, we can preserve the GDT and its wilderness experience for generations to come!

About the GDTA

The Great Divide Trail Association is a Canadian not‐for‐profit corporation and registered charitable organization headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, responsible for maintaining, promoting and protecting the Great Divide Trail.

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Membership

We are supported by members who make the Great Divide Trail experience possible. Join the GDTA community - Become a member today.

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Volunteer

Come join a volunteer trail crew and give back to the Great Divide Trail!

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What About Those Parks Permits…?

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The Great Divide Trail (GDT) is unique. It is wild! It is rugged! It is wilderness! It is pristine! It is beautiful! If it wasn’t, it wouldn’t be the GDT. Let’s keep it that way – it is unique. It travels through many areas that are particularly sensitive to overuse…

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2021 Trail Building & Maintenance Trips – Call for Volunteers

Tools of the trade

Time to shake the dust off your summer hiking boots – the dates and locations for our 2021 trail building & maintenance trips have been set and we need you! This year we will be holding 7 trail building trips on the High Rock Trail (near Crowsnest Pass) in June…

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Hiking Northover Ridge

By Barb Lauer It’s time to start dreaming about epic summer backpacking trips! And the Northover Ridge should be on your list – it’s on the continental divide (directly on the BC-Alberta border), is easily accessible from Calgary as a short 1,2 or 3 day hike and is spectacular! It’s…

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A Day on the GDT – The Carthew Alderson Traverse

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By Joan Pendleton The Great Divide Trail (GDT) is a backpackers’ trail. Known as an epic thru-hike, it is over 1100 km long. Divided into seven sections, with the shortest section about 100 km long, section hiking also entices backpackers. But what if one wants to do a day hike…

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