CDT itinerary
Every mile marker on the CDT route, in order, with the distance and elevation change between each one, and which permit each stretch needs. To set alerts for your dates, go to the Continental Divide Trail permit page.
Which permit covers this route
The CDT. One reservation is a trailhead or zone plus an entry date; you roam after that, issued by walk-up.
- Stops mapped
- 33
- Across the markers
- 3100.0 mi
- Published route length
- 3100 mi
How long it takes: 5-7 months. That is the figure the permit publishes. This page does not divide the route into days, because no source records which stop you sleep at.
The stops below are the route's published mile markers, in order, with the elevations recorded against each one.
Distance and elevation change on each leg are the difference between the two published figures either side of it, so the legs are arithmetic on the markers and nothing more.
The CDT route, stop by stop
Mile 0.0
4,296 ft
Crazy Cook Monument (Southern Terminus)
The obelisk marking the CDT's start on the New Mexico-Mexico border, in the Chihuahuan Desert.
1.1 miles to New Mexico National Defense Area
Mile 1.1
New Mexico National Defense Area
A U.S. Army-controlled zone now covering the trail's southernmost 1.1 miles.
146.8 miles to Saddle Rock
Mile 147.9
5,638 ft
Saddle Rock
96.5 miles · 4,212 ft up to Diamond Peak
Mile 244.4
9,850 ft
Diamond Peak
85.7 miles · 1,486 ft down to Coyote Peak
Mile 330.1
8,364 ft
Coyote Peak
175.5 miles · 58 ft down to Cerro Lobo
Mile 505.6
8,306 ft
Cerro Lobo
143.1 miles · 1,256 ft down to Cerros Colorados
Mile 648.7
7,050 ft
Cerros Colorados
93.7 miles · 1,108 ft up to Vaquero Tank
Mile 742.4
8,158 ft
Vaquero Tank
85.1 miles · 1,867 ft up to Cumbres Pass
Mile 827.5
10,025 ft
Cumbres Pass
80.5 miles · 1,632 ft up to Spotted Lake
Mile 908.0
11,657 ft
Spotted Lake
76.8 miles · 944 ft up to Stony Pass
Mile 984.8
12,601 ft
Stony Pass
92.5 miles · 2,255 ft down to Lujan Pass
Mile 1077.3
10,346 ft
Lujan Pass
88.4 miles · 1,775 ft up to Cottonwood Pass
Mile 1165.7
12,121 ft
Cottonwood Pass
76.5 miles · 1,689 ft down to Tennessee Pass
Mile 1242.2
10,432 ft
Tennessee Pass
85.0 miles · 3,839 ft up to Grays Peak / Torreys Peak area (Colorado)
Mile 1327.2
14,271 ft
Grays Peak / Torreys Peak area (Colorado)
High Front Range stretch.
135.4 miles · 4,620 ft down to Willow Creek Pass
Mile 1462.6
9,651 ft
Willow Creek Pass
137.9 miles · 272 ft up to Battle Pass
Mile 1600.5
9,923 ft
Battle Pass
123.6 miles · 2,417 ft down to Rocky Draw Reservoir
Mile 1724.1
7,506 ft
Rocky Draw Reservoir
123.4 miles · 2,362 ft up to Crows Nest
Mile 1847.5
9,868 ft
Crows Nest
114.1 miles · 616 ft down to Sheridan Pass
Mile 1961.6
9,252 ft
Sheridan Pass
114.0 miles · 1,203 ft down to Grants Pass
Mile 2075.6
8,049 ft
Grants Pass
144.9 miles · 407 ft down to Pete Creek Divide
Mile 2220.5
7,642 ft
Pete Creek Divide
115.8 miles · 39 ft up to Bannock Pass
Mile 2336.3
7,681 ft
Bannock Pass
122.3 miles · 414 ft down to Chief Joseph Pass
Mile 2458.6
7,267 ft
Chief Joseph Pass
84.3 miles · 514 ft down to Lower Seymour Lake
Mile 2542.9
6,753 ft
Lower Seymour Lake
136.7 miles · 211 ft up to Champion Pass
Mile 2679.6
6,964 ft
Champion Pass
108.2 miles · 829 ft down to Flesher Pass
Mile 2787.8
6,135 ft
Flesher Pass
102.2 miles · 634 ft up to Spotted Bear Pass
Mile 2890.0
6,769 ft
Spotted Bear Pass
33.5 miles to Glacier National Park wilderness zone
Mile 2923.5
Glacier National Park wilderness zone
Backcountry permit zone covering the trail's final ~115 miles inside Glacier.
12.5 miles to Blackfeet Nation crossing
Mile 2936.0
Blackfeet Nation crossing
A roughly 6-mile reservation crossing requiring its own tribal permit.
64.5 miles to Bald Hill
Mile 3000.5
5,586 ft
Bald Hill
37.5 miles to Chief Mountain Border Crossing
Mile 3038.0
Chief Mountain Border Crossing
Seasonal, lower-elevation alternate finish at the Canadian border.
62.0 miles to Waterton Lake / Goat Haunt (Northern Terminus)
Mile 3100.0
4,209 ft
Waterton Lake / Goat Haunt (Northern Terminus)
The trail's primary northern end inside Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park.
Getting a CDT for the dates you want
Planning the route is the easy half. CDT dates go fast, and the ones that come back are cancellations. They return to the booking system without warning and are gone again quickly. PermitSnag checks CDT around the clock and alerts you the moment a date opens.