PCT Long-distance Permit itinerary
Every mile marker on the PCT Long-distance Permit 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 Pacific Crest Trail Long-distance permit page.
Which permit covers this route
The PCT Long-distance Permit. One reservation is a trailhead or zone plus an entry date; you roam after that, issued by reservation.
The permit is issued for a named entry point. Southern Terminus Monument and Northern Terminus Monument 78 are the ones on this list.
- Stops mapped
- 9
- Across the markers
- 2650.0 mi
- Published route length
- 2650 mi
- Ascent, at least
- 16,298 ft
How long it takes: approx. 5 months for a full thru-hike (typical range 4.5-6 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 PCT Long-distance Permit route, stop by stop
Mile 0.0
2,915 ft
Southern Terminus Monument
Entry point: the permit is issued for this trailhead
The PCT begins at a wood-and-metal monument on a hillside above Campo, California, at the US/Mexico border.
696.2 miles · 3,279 ft up to Kennedy Meadows (South)
Mile 696.2
6,194 ft
Kennedy Meadows (South)
The gateway to the Sierra Nevada, where desert hikers pick up bear canisters and ice gear before the High Sierra.
78.8 miles · 6,959 ft up to Forester Pass
Mile 775.0
13,153 ft
Forester Pass
The highest point on the entire PCT, a knife-cut notch blasted into a granite wall on the Sequoia-Kings Canyon boundary.
154.5 miles · 2,104 ft down to Donohue Pass / Yosemite boundary
Mile 929.5
11,049 ft
Donohue Pass / Yosemite boundary
PCT thru-hikers on the trail corridor through Yosemite are covered by the PCT Long-distance Permit and do not need Yosemite's separate wilderness permit unless they leave the PCT corridor to hike elsewhere in the park.
86.6 miles · 1,438 ft down to Sonora Pass
Mile 1016.1
9,611 ft
Sonora Pass
A high, exposed crossing of Highway 108 north of Yosemite, often still snow-covered in early season.
1129.0 miles · 9,471 ft down to Cascade Locks / Bridge of the Gods
Mile 2145.1
140 ft
Cascade Locks / Bridge of the Gods
The lowest point on the entire PCT, where hikers cross the Columbia River into Washington on the Bridge of the Gods.
244.5 miles · 2,874 ft up to Snoqualmie Pass
Mile 2389.6
3,014 ft
Snoqualmie Pass
A ski-resort town and I-90 crossing that doubles as a resupply stop for Washington section hikers.
229.9 miles · 3,186 ft up to Hart's Pass
Mile 2619.5
6,200 ft
Hart's Pass
The last road access before the Canadian border; northbound hikers who cannot cross into Canada now backtrack here.
30.5 miles · 1,955 ft down to Northern Terminus Monument 78
Mile 2650.0
4,245 ft
Northern Terminus Monument 78
Entry point: the permit is issued for this trailhead
The PCT ends at Monument 78, the international boundary marker, a few feet from a wooden PCT terminus post inside the United States.
Getting a PCT Long-distance Permit for the dates you want
Planning the route is the easy half. PCT Long-distance Permit 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 PCT Long-distance Permit around the clock and alerts you the moment a date opens.