Category: News

Parent category of all content that could be considered as news (as opposed to blog)

Membership Month 2025
February is Membership Month at the GDTA!

Are you a member of the GDTA? If you are, then from the bottom of our hearts: THANK YOU! By being one of the 600+ members, you help us demonstrate that there are passionate people that love the GDT and want to see it maintained and protected.

There are lot of great things coming up, and we want to thank our members by offering a little something back for your dedication:
First dibs to sign up for our annual Trail Maintenance Trips. These will be open for signups on our website in just a few short days. Stay tuned for a blast-out on our Instagram channel, or on our website.

BIG NEWS: We’re almost set to launch a brand new Wall Poster Map for the GDT! We want to release this with a bang, and we thought the best way would be to reward some of our members. Take a look at the teaser photo. A few lucky members (drawn randomly on March 1 from all active members) will be sent a full-size GDT Wall Poster Map in the mail. These won’t be available for general purchase for a while yet, and when they are, members are going to get first crack at them.
Not already a member?

We hope you’ll consider signing up this month. Membership is not just for people hiking the GDT. Sure, there are the awesome Membership Benefits. But if you love the GDT, the idea of the GDT, or even just natural spaces that are protected, then becoming a GDTA member is one of the best things you can do.

Our members believe in the GDTA’s mission to preserve our mountain wilderness. In fact, we have members that have joined the GDTA solely for this reason. You don’t need to be a hiker, past hiker, or equestrian to believe in this mission – anyone can. By joining the GDTA your presence in our growing, organized, and visible community translates into public demand for wilderness preservation that is recognized by decision makers through the GDTA’s advocacy efforts. In other words, there is strength in numbers. Your GDTA membership adds to this strength and so helps preserve the precious Canadian Rocky Mountain wilderness.

Did you know that our membership numbers are an important demonstration to Parks Canada, Provincial Parks, Grant Providers, and Corporate Sponsors of how important it is to protect and preserve the GDT? The more members we have, the more they take notice.

Sign up now

and help protect this National Treasure!
February 7, 2025
Support the GDTA at the 2025 Calgary Marathon!

The Great Divide Trail Association is this year’s Green Bib Charity for the Servus Calgary Marathon.

The 2025 marathon dedicates time, energy, and resources to reduce environmental impact. If a registrant chooses the Green Bib option, a $10 donation will be made to the Great Divide Trail Association in lieu of a race shirt and medal.

Enter the race, join our team, and fundraise to support the Great Divide Trail. Together, we can make a difference—one step at a time!

Lace-up, join the race, and help us protect the trail we all love.

November 26, 2024
2025 GDT Calendar

Back by overwhelming support is the 2025 GDTA Calendar. Featuring 14 spectacular photos of the GDT, showcasing our Photo Contest winners. These make great gifts!

They are $25 shipped within Canada and $30 to the USA. If you are interested please email Austin.Hager@greatdividetrail.com

These will ship around December 10th via Canada Post assuming the strike is over.

November 23, 2024
2024 Winners of the GDTA Photo Contest

The 2024 GDTA Photo Contest was a huge success, with over 200 photos submitted. A huge thank you to everyone who submitted photos this year. Your entries help the Association as it works to protect, promote, and maintain the trail.

Our winners and honourable mentions are listed below, along with caption information provided by the photographer.

1st Place – Bradley Ayres

Mirror Mountain – Bradley Ayres

Morning Mist on the lake the morning we left Kananaskis, with super calm weather giving the lake a mirror-like quality. This picture is a combination of 4 individual pictures stitched into a panorama.

2nd Place – Rebecca Bradbury

At Ball Pass – Rebecca Bradbury

At Ball Pass on the Great Divide Trail, taking in the endless stretch of mountains and sky (with Rebecca Bradbury).

3rd Place – Sébastien Klam

My lovely friend the porcupine – Sébastien Klam

Arrived to the camp, I pitch my tent and let the tent breathe during the time (30min) I prepare the dinner et eat. I come back to my tent and a porcupine was eating my backpack. The hip pocket is fully destroyed, and the shoulder strap is half eaten. Luckily, it still hold the weight. During the night, he stays all the time at less than 4 meters of my tent. Nobody touch the backpack of a hiker. But porcupines doesn’t care at all.

Honourable Mentions

With so many excellent photos to go through, it was nearly impossible to narrow it down. Here are our honourable mentions.

Very cold, sun is liquid gold – Hailey Rempel

Reflecting – Meaghan Henry

Marvel Lake and GDT – David Burdick

Sunrise at Lone Lake – Sage MacGillivray

Plan makes friends – Yoav Shlezinger

A New Day – Kim Jollymore

Northover Ridge – Leah Harman

Peaceful Rest – Barbara Kitzmantel

November 12, 2024
Photo Contest – Submission Deadline October 26, 2024
Hiking season is winding down, so it’s time to share the amazing things you’ve experienced along the Great Divide Trail! Spend some time reminiscing and go dig through all the photos you’ve taken. Then select your favourite(s) and submit them to the GDTA’s Photo Contest!

Submitting your photos is a unique and simple way to help out the GDTA! As the association works to protect, promote, and maintain the trail, we’re always in need of high-quality imagery. Who better to provide that then those of you who’ve lived it!

Prizes

The GDTA will be awarding prizes for the top three submissions, as voted on by select members from our volunteer community. Please check back here as we’ll be updating this page with more info on the prizes.

Guidelines
- Digital images must be submitted via email to photocontest@greatdividetrail.com
- Submissions must include the following text (please copy and paste this into the email submission)
```
Photographer: <your name>
Working Title: <one-sentence title>
Location: <specific location>
GDT Section: <A through G>
Detailed Caption: <longer caption, please include names of any identifiable individuals>

With this submission I affirm that I have read and agree to the terms and conditions of the GDTA Photo Contest. 
```
- One photo per submission, multiple submissions are allowed
- Submission deadline: Saturday October 26, 2024 at midnight Mountain time.
- Photos can be from any year.
- Photos can be color or black & white digital images of any location along the Great Divide Trail
- JPEG or TIFF files are allowed and ideally higher than web-resolution (at least 300 dots-per-inch or approximately 1000×1500 pixels for a 3×5 photo).
- If you’d like your photos to be considered for our annual calendar or magazine covers, they should be at least 8.5×11 inches at 300 dpi or approx. 2500×3300 pixels in size.
- Photos can be horizontal or vertical. Please upload in the proper orientation.
Terms and Conditions

No purchase is necessary to enter or win. Void where prohibited. By entering this contest, you agree to the terms and conditions relating to this contest and you are responsible for understanding your rights.

Photos entered are considered licensed to the Great Divide Trail Association in perpetuity. By entering the photo contest, you are giving the GDTA the right to use your photos as we see fit to promote the trail and its protection.

You will retain copyright to any photograph you submit. You only grant the GDTA rights to your photograph royalty-free, in perpetuity, nonexclusively to:
- Reproduce, distribute, transform, display and/or to perform your photographs in all print and electronic mediums at any size.
- Use your photos worldwide.
- Provide your photograph to other individuals and organizations for non-commercial use, such as in news stories, newsletters, reports, slide shows, displays, web pages, and the like.
- Archive in electronic forms so that your photos can be used to support our mission.
- The GDTA may request additional permission to use your photo for Commercial and Editorial uses that directly benefit the GDTA and the trail.
Whenever possible, the GDTA will provide attribution in the form the photographer’s name and/or photographer’s website URL per GDTA’s discretion. Attribution will appear next to the photo or in the credits of the work product.

By entering, participants agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless the GDTA, its respective subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees, volunteers, attorneys, agents and representatives, from any and all third party liability for any injuries, loss, claim, action, demand or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with the competition (collectively, “Losses”), including without limitation any third party claim for copyright infringement or a violation of an individual’s right to privacy and/or publicity right. The Contest is void where prohibited by law.

Contest entrants are responsible for ensuring that he or she has the right to submit the photos that he or she submits to the contest.

¹The concept and inspiration for this contest comes from the Pacific Crest Trail Association’s annual Photo Contest.
September 23, 2024
2024 Annual General Meeting

Monday, September 16th at 6:00 PM MST – ONLINE

Don’t miss this year’s AGM! We’ll be unveiling exciting updates on our strategic planning, and you’ll be the first to discover the path forward for our association and trail. Tune in to get the inside scoop and be part of the future!

The Annual General Meeting is open to all active GDTA members, and is where members receive updates and vote for new Board Members.

All of the information is available on the AGM 2024 page (member access only). Not a member? Become a Member Today!

September 10, 2024
Sections E and F: Jasper National Park Closure

Sections E and F:

Jasper National Park, remains closed. All permits and reservations in Jasper through March 31, 2025 will be automatically cancelled and refunds issued. Highway 16 and the Icefields Parkway (93N) are open but no stopping and services are limited. This means the GDT is open from Owen Creek trailhead (e1) to Cataract Pass (e12), noting hikers cannot enter Jasper National Park at Cataract Pass and have to backtrack and exit at the Sunset Pass trail junction (e6). There are no detours available.

July 22, 2024
Section D: Fire Update

The Blaeberry and Amiskwi valleys have reopened, meaning Section D of the GDT can be thru-hiked. The GDTA has assessed the section of the GDT impacted by wildfire north of Amiskwi Pass, and there is significant damage to the trail. The GDTA recommends hikers avoid the damaged section by following Ensign Creek Road between km 587.2 and the start of the Collie Creek Alternate @ km 593.3. BC Wildfire Service still reports the Blaeberry fire as “being held” but please check current status prior to attempting this section of the trail.

July 22, 2024
2023 GDTA Trail Building and Maintenance Trips

This was the most ambitious year in the field for the Trail Building and Maintenance Committee crews to date, with over 6,000 field work hours put in by 153 volunteers.

The season started with parallel trips into the Blaeberry: one, a basecamp trip to Collie Creek to complete the revival of an old trail to take the GDT off the logging road and the other a backcountry self-supported trip on the David Thompson Heritage Trail to complete trail repairs due to a major avalanche last year.

Work on the High Rock Trail between Alison Creek and Window Mountain Lake was completed over 6 backcountry trips, including a new trail completed to take 2 km of the GDT off steep ATV tracks. New signs were installed at key intersections along the route. Deadfall was removed between Window Mountain Lake and South Hidden Creek, and the South Racehorse Creek bridge was repaired. Some trail was rerouted to protect an environmentally sensitive area.

A new bridge was installed across Baril Creek on the Original GDT in Section B. A self-supported backcountry crew replaced the temporary log bridge and completed trail maintenance work up to Fording River Pass and from Baril Creek to just over the ridge to the south.

The first women’s only walking trip from South Hidden Creek to North Racehorse Creek took place in late July. Trail clearing, blazing, and an assessment for backcountry campsites were completed.

In Section A, a walking trip from Sage Pass to Scarpe Pass included trail maintenance and blazing along 14 km of trail, 600m of trail construction from Scarpe Pass to La Coulotte Ridge and an assessment of the campsite at Sage Pass.

Once again, the GDTA partnered with Friends of Jasper to clear and maintain the trail on Maligne Pass in Section E, clearing encroaching small trees and shrubs along 500m of trail east and west of Mary Schaffer Campground.

Two parallel trips were coordinated in Section G. Volunteers on a walking trip from Sheep Creek to Cecilia Lake completed trail clearing and maintenance that was started in previous years. The construction of a bridge at Cecilia Creek was done in parallel and both crews and tools were helicoptered in and out.

Two trips into the White Goat Wilderness Area were completed in collaboration with the Trail Protection and Advocacy Committee to set up and take down trail counters and wildlife cameras at the beginning and end of the trail season. This will help gauge activity along the Cataract Creek trail, to help convince the Government of Alberta to permit maintenance of that trail.

It was a successful season working in challenging conditions of heat and smoke. Thanks to all our volunteers and especially to our hard-working trip leaders who organized each of the trips.

November 25, 2023
Winter 2023/24 Trail and Road Conditions
December 1, 2023

Winter conditions are here. Snow is falling and accumulating on the GDT so expect wet, icy and slippery trail conditions. Boots, hiking poles, snow cleats or snowshoes are recommended. Temperatures are below freezing, so be prepared for winter conditions and short days when travelling into the backcountry this winter.

Remember that the GDT is not designed for snow travel and is not maintained in the winter. When the trail is covered in snow, finding it may be impossible so excellent navigation skills are required. Hiking or skiing on the GDT when it’s snow covered means exposing yourself to potential avalanche risk. In many places, it’s unwise to travel the trail during these conditions. While planning your hike, research snow conditions and check out the Canadian Avalanche Centre for the latest avalanche bulletins.

TRAIL CLOSURES AND NOTICES:
- SEASONAL CLOSURE – Jasper National Park: The GDT is closed from Four Point Campground (e15) to Trapper Creek (e24) and from Moose Pass (f15) to Bess Pass (g3) from November 1, 2023 to May 16, 2024, to prevent winter trails from facilitating an unnatural level of predator access to threatened woodland caribou.
- CLOSURE – Collie Creek Alternate Route: The Blaeberry bridge near Cairnes Creek Rec Site was removed on August 30, 2023, cutting off access to the Collie Creek Trail on the east side of the Blaeberry River. The main route of the GDT via Ensign Creek Road to Cairnes Creek is still open.
- CLOSURE – Mount Robson Provincial Park: The Berg Lake trail will open for winter use from December 5, 2023 to April 30, 2024. Closures on the Berg Lake Trail for the summer 2024 season are still to be confirmed.
- CLOSURE – Egypt Lake and Bryant Creek shelters are closed until further notice due to construction.
ACCESS:
- Winter conditions exist on many mountain highways and roads. Roads can be snowy and icy so check for the latest conditions before you travel and carry chains and/or winter tires. For more information, check out Alberta 511 and Drive BC.
- Highway 40 is seasonally closed from Peter Lougheed Provincial Park to Highwood House beginning December 1.
- Forestry Trunk Road 940 is seasonally closed south of Cataract Creek and northwest of Plateau Mountain Road beginning December 1.
- A Kananaskis Conservation Pass will be required for all vehicles visiting Kananaskis Country and provincial sites in the Bow Valley Corridor. The pass is not required for people arriving without a vehicle on foot, horseback or bicycle.
- Walker Creek FSR is inaccessible to regular vehicles during the winter.
National and Provincial Park Trail Conditions:

Banff National Park
Jasper National Park – NEW Submit a Jasper trail condition report
Kootenay National Park
Waterton Lakes National Park
Yoho National Park

Akamina‐Kishinena Provincial Park
Castle Wildland Provincial Park
Castle Provincial Park
Elk Lakes Provincial Park
Height of the Rockies Provincial Park
Kakwa Provincial Park
Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park
Mount Robson Provincial Park
Peter Lougheed Provincial Park
November 1, 2023