3-state trail · National Scenic Trail

Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail

1,200 mi long · across 3 states · centroid 71 mi from Spokane

The Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail runs roughly 1,200 miles from the Continental Divide in Glacier National Park, Montana, west through Idaho's panhandle and Washington's North Cascades, ending on the Pacific coast at Cape Alava in Olympic National Park. Designated in 2009, it is one of the youngest and most remote National Scenic Trails.

Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail
Photo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0).
States
Montana, Idaho, Washington
Length
1,200 mi
Trail type
National Scenic Trail
Network
National (nwn)
Centroid nearest city
Spokane, WA · 71 mi · ~2.0 hr drive
Centroid coords
48.6669°, -117.6906°
Official site
pnt.org
OSM relations
4 sub-relations on OpenStreetMap
From Wikipedia: The Pacific Northwest Trail (PNT) is a 1,200-mile (1,900 km) hiking trail running from the Continental Divide in Montana to the Pacific Ocean on Washington's Olympic Coast. Along the way, the PNT crosses three national parks, seven national forests, and two other national scenic trails. It travels against the grain of several mountain ranges, including the Continental Divide, Whitefish Divide, Purcells, Selkirks, Kettles, Cascades, and Olympics. It was designated as the Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail by Congress in 2009. Excerpt from the Wikipedia article on Pacific Northwest Trail, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Termini

Start & end

Eastern terminus: Glacier National Park, Montana.

Western terminus: Olympic National Park, Washington.

Plan your hike

Practical notes

Maps + permits: long-distance trails like this often require permits for through-hiking, backcountry camping, or specific sections (especially in National Parks). Check with the maintaining organisation listed above and the relevant land manager before booking travel.

Water + supplies: water sources vary seasonally on most U.S. trails. Carry a filter and consult current trail-condition reports — through-hiker journals (PCT-L, AT Reddit, etc.) and the maintaining organisation publish regular updates.

When to go: hiking seasons vary widely with elevation, latitude, and snowpack. Through-hikers traditionally start the AT in March-April (Springer northbound) and the PCT in late April (Campo northbound). High-elevation western trails (CDT, JMT, Wonderland) generally aren't passable until July.

If you've hiked Pacific Northwest National Scenic Trail and have current notes (water sources, trail closures, permit changes), tell us at /contact — we update pages as we learn.

Stay nearby

Affiliate · disclosed
Driving in? The nearest documented metro is Spokane, WA — 71 miles away (~2.0 hr drive). See accommodation in Spokane on Booking.com → RoamFound earns a small commission if you book through this link, at no extra cost to you. How we handle affiliate links.

Other trails within 50 miles

25 nearby

Washington

Sullivan Lake National Recreation Trail

21 miles from this trail's centroid

Washington

Thompson Ridge

25 miles from this trail's centroid

Washington

Trout Lake Trail #17

26 miles from this trail's centroid

Washington

Emerald Lake Trail

26 miles from this trail's centroid

Washington

Wapaloosie

35 miles from this trail's centroid

Washington

Kettle Crest Trail North

35 miles from this trail's centroid

Sources

Public data + curation

Trail data on this page is compiled from OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), the maintaining organisation's public-facing materials, and Wikipedia (CC BY-SA where excerpts are quoted). Distance, terminus, and descriptive text for nationally-designated trails are hand-curated from federal land-manager websites and trail-association sources. We do not modify the underlying data; this page presents what is already publicly recorded. To suggest corrections, see our methodology page.