PNT itinerary
Every mile marker on the PNT 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 Northwest Trail permit page.
Which permit covers this route
The PNT. One reservation is a trailhead or zone plus an entry date; you roam after that, issued by walk-up.
- Stops mapped
- 16
- Across the markers
- 1200.0 mi
- Published route length
- 1200 mi
- Ascent, at least
- 15,159 ft
How long it takes: 2-3 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 PNT route, stop by stop
Mile 0.0
8,977 ft
Chief Mountain (eastern terminus area)
Eastern terminus at the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park.
25.7 miles · 4,768 ft down to Goat Haunt / Waterton Lake
Mile 25.7
4,209 ft
Goat Haunt / Waterton Lake
Backcountry area in Glacier where PNT hikers commonly camp under the park's wilderness permit.
58.8 miles · 2,991 ft up to Mount Locke
Mile 84.5
7,200 ft
Mount Locke
66.2 miles · 1,208 ft down to Webb Mountain
Mile 150.7
5,992 ft
Webb Mountain
108.2 miles · 1,268 ft up to Long Mountain
Mile 258.9
7,260 ft
Long Mountain
105.8 miles · 5,119 ft down to Leadpoint
Mile 364.7
2,141 ft
Leadpoint
112.8 miles · 1,950 ft up to Cougar Mountain
Mile 477.5
4,091 ft
Cougar Mountain
108.2 miles · 2,930 ft down to Nighthawk
Mile 585.7
1,161 ft
Nighthawk
120.0 miles · 4,690 ft up to Dry Creek Pass
Mile 705.7
5,851 ft
Dry Creek Pass
127.7 miles · 1,840 ft down to Bell Pass
Mile 833.4
4,011 ft
Bell Pass
99.8 miles · 3,989 ft down to Anacortes
Mile 933.2
22 ft
Anacortes
Puget Sound town where PNT hikers catch a ferry toward the Olympic Peninsula.
14.1 miles · 17 ft down to Deception Pass
Mile 947.3
5 ft
Deception Pass
Strait crossing on Whidbey Island en route to the Olympic Peninsula.
63.6 miles · 4,260 ft up to Mount Zion
Mile 1010.9
4,265 ft
Mount Zion
65.6 miles · 3,525 ft down to Goblin Gates
Mile 1076.5
740 ft
Goblin Gates
64.1 miles · 48 ft down to Lagitos Hill
Mile 1140.6
692 ft
Lagitos Hill
59.4 miles · 659 ft down to Cape Alava (western terminus)
Mile 1200.0
33 ft
Cape Alava (western terminus)
Western terminus on the Olympic coast, the westernmost point in the contiguous United States reachable on foot from this trail.
Getting a PNT for the dates you want
Planning the route is the easy half. PNT 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 PNT around the clock and alerts you the moment a date opens.