8 Reasons the CDT Is Better Than the AT and PCT
All three of the Triple Crown trails (Appalachian Trail, Continental Divide Trail, and Pacific Crest Trail) are incredible in their own ways. The Appalachian Trail has its rolling green tunnels. The Pacific Crest Trail has its Instagram-worthy vistas. But the Continental Divide Trail? It has heart, soul, and an untamed spirit that make it the best long-distance trail of the three.
Is that subjective? Obviously. Am I still right? Again, obviously.
Don’t believe me? Let’s break it down.
1. Tiny Community, Tight-knit Community
2. The Best Views
The CDT delivers some of the most stunning vistas in the country. The San Juans, with their jagged peaks, striations of snow, and wildflower-filled meadows, offer alpine beauty at its best. The Wind River Range’s crystal-clear lakes and towering granite spires create a sense of grandeur that’s hard to match.
Then there’s Glacier National Park, offering unforgettable views of glaciers, emerald lakes, and mountains composed of rainbow rocks. The scale of the mountains and the sharp ridgelines are a reminder of nature’s raw beauty, making every step on this trail an immersive experience.
Even the road walks are often framed by stunning mesas and rock formations. The conditions on the CDT can be brutal, for sure, but you are almost never lacking for a good view.
3. Less Crowded, More Wild
The CDT’s remoteness creates an unmatched wilderness experience. Unlike the crowded AT and PCT, the CDT allows you to experience the backcountry with solitude. Entire stretches between towns often pass without another soul in sight, offering rare moments of quiet in nature.
This isolation demands true self-reliance. Every decision, such as finding water, choosing campsites, and navigating rugged terrain, requires thoughtful planning and resilience. It’s challenging, unpredictable, and far from easy — but that’s the magic of it all!
Adding to its untamed appeal, the CDT is refreshingly free of the red tape and commercialization that define the AT and PCT. No single thru-hike permit, no competitive lotteries, and far fewer bureaucratic hurdles. While national parks like Glacier, Yellowstone, and Rocky Mountain require permits, they’re simpler to secure than those required on the highly regulated PCT.
The lack of commercial infrastructure means fewer established shelters, marked campsites, and hiker-oriented trail towns. You won’t find gear shops on every corner or a network of trail angels waiting to assist. What you will find is an authentic, self-sufficient backcountry adventure.
4. Skill-Building
The CDT’s unique challenges teach you to develop a wide range of technical skills, ones that you won’t find in abundance on the AT or PCT. With its unpredictable weather, you’ll quickly master how to read the sky and anticipate storms, making weather forecasting an essential gained skill.
Snow travel is another key skill you’ll develop on the CDT, especially at higher elevations. You’ll learn to navigate snow-covered passes, using trekking poles for balance and weight distribution, and begin to understand how snow behaves. On icy slopes, mastering self-arrest techniques and using an ice axe becomes critical to safety.
Route finding is also crucial, as the CDT is less marked than other trails. You’ll refine your skills in map reading and navigating unmarked sections, building confidence in your ability to create your own path when necessary. By the end, you’ll find yourself far more prepared to handle challenging situations thrown at you by the wilderness.
5. Choose Your Own Adventure
On the CDT, to an extent, the trail is what you make it. Numerous alternate trails and crazy side quests near the redline offer you a level of flexibility and adventure that you just won’t find on the AT or PCT. Almost no one on the CDT embarks on the exact same journey; you’d be hard-pressed to find people who chose the exact same path as you the entire way between Mexico and Canada.
From the river crossings of the Gila and the ridgeline climbs of the Argentine Spine to the jagged peaks of the Cirque of the Towers and the breathtaking Teton Range, there are countless incredible experiences just off the redline. Unlike the other two trails of the Triple Crown, CDT thru-hikers are expected and encouraged to customize their journey, allowing you to truly build the adventure most meaningful to you.
6. Completely Unforgettable Wildlife
Picture yourself watching herds of elk galloping across a Colorado alpine meadows, spotting a moose and her calf wading through a lake in the Wind River Range, or coming face to face with a family of mountain goats in southern Idaho. You might glimpse a bighorn sheep scaling impossibly steep cliffs or hear the eerie howls of wolves and coyotes in the distance. All of this (and more!) I experienced during my time on the CDT.
The CDT offers some of the most unique wildlife encounters you’ll find on any long-distance trail. Its route through remote and diverse ecosystems means you’re likely to cross paths with creatures you won’t see on the AT or PCT.
Grizzly bears roam the trail north of Gunsight Pass in Wyoming, while black bears are common throughout the entirety of the CDT. The trail also teems with smaller, fascinating creatures like marmots, pikas, and the eccentric grouse.
Perhaps due to the CDT’s uncrowded nature, encounters with these animals are surprisingly common. While I could’ve done without encounters with critters like scorpions and rattlesnakes, the almost-daily, awe-inspiring interactions with other wildlife made me love the trail even more.
7. The Stargazing Goes Hard
If you think the CDT’s views are amazing during the day, wait until you see the night sky. With so much of the trail in remote, unpopulated areas, the stargazing is out of this world — literally. There’s very little light pollution along the entirety of the trail, so the stars feel so close you could reach out and grab them.
I may not have been the biggest fan of the desert sections of the CDT, but the sight of the Milky Way stretching across the sky every night certainly made the experience better. I had several nights of bad sleep simply because I didn’t want to close my eyes and miss any of the shooting stars.
8. The Trail Angels
When it comes to trail magic, the CDT has its own brand of generosity. Sure, you might not get the classic “trail magic” moments you find on the AT, where a random stranger sets up a table of snacks by the side of the trail. But what the CDT lacks in food handouts, it more than makes up for in sheer kindness from locals who go out of their way to help.
I’ve lost count of how many times someone picked up my restaurant tab without a second thought or invited me into their home to crash for the night. In some towns, I was handed cash just to help cover a meal or supplies. These aren’t one-off moments either.
The smaller number of CDT hikers seems to make the locals more invested in the trail experience. They genuinely want to take care of you — whether it’s offering you a ride to town, letting you stay in their guest room, or leaving snacks in the post office for you to find.
The kindness from trail angels on the CDT isn’t flashy, but it’s real. It’s a reminder that, even out in the middle of nowhere, there are people who’ll do anything to help make your journey just a little bit easier. To this day, there are certain trail angels from my CDT experience that I can’t think about without tearing up a little bit. I went into the CDT expecting little to no trail magic and came out overwhelmed by the sheer level of generosity shown to me by complete strangers.
In Conclusion
Obviously, all trails have their own aspects that make them uniquely wonderful. These are the eight ways in which I think the CDT excels compared to the other two, and which will likely always make this my favorite long-distance trail.
If you disagree with me, that’s fine. We’re all wrong sometimes.
This website contains affiliate links, which means The Trek may receive a percentage of any product or service you purchase using the links in the articles or advertisements. The buyer pays the same price as they would otherwise, and your purchase helps to support The Trek's ongoing goal to serve you quality backpacking advice and information. Thanks for your support!
To learn more, please visit the About This Site page.
Comments 10
I have that book of the PCT that Hal is pictured in. I read it in 1976/77 when I was stuck in New Jersey & married to the wrong person. It was a lifeline for my sanity & I made it back out west to Lake Tahoe & regained myself the summer of 1977. I would love to meet that author that helped me so much about life!
The fluffy buts (antelope) and the wild horses were the most memorable wild life for me.
Great post and you have really sold the CDT to me. My only problem is I thru hiked the AT last year and promised no to go away again for so long…
I have a copy of the National Geographic PCT book that pictured Hal, and also the National Geographic AT book, received as Christmas gifts in 1975 and 1973. They planted a dream in my mind to someday hike the trails. But life happens and dreams get pushed to the side, and I only managed to do the first 500 miles of both trails. Now retired, it’s a matter of seeing if the body is up to continuing the journeys. I would encourage others to not wait so long.
Sounds like my PCT thru in 1988. Very few people on the trail and several wonderful encounters along the way. No lotteries and commercialization back then. I saw almost nobody on the trail from Mojave to Tuolumne and very few from Campo to Wrightwood. 38 miles without water to Barrel Spring and then a 25 mile carry after Warner Springs. Of course, we only had paper maps and guidebooks back then. No cell phones, apps or PLBs. No lightweight gear. It was map and compass in the Sierra in the snow with no tracks to follow.
The first wooden pillars at Monument 78 had just been installed a few days before we arrived in the beginning of October 1988. I believe that those pillars were recently replaced. Friends with whom I hiked WA on the PCT did the CDT a few years later; this was over 30 years ago. It was an incredible challenge. Everybody’s experience is different but all of us get to experience the wonder and joy of a long walk in the mountains.
Trek does these “x reasons why blank is better than blank” at least once a year for each of the triple crown it seems. I’ve been reading since about ‘21 and this is easily the best one yet. I really enjoy Katie’s writing style. Just noticed a tip author button, will be doing so.
This comment alone made my entire day. Thanks so much for taking the time to read and the time to say that! Cheers 🙂
Great write-up, I’ve only ever dreamed of doing a through hike but all your points here really make this one sound like the one to do if I did ever get around to doing one.
Same here! 2024 AT thru completed, promised to only do the PCT in sections, but the caveat is that if I can do the CDT, it will be a single shot. Hoping all works out for you, and for me as well!
Having done all three, I couldn’t agree with you more. Of the three, and/or any other distance hikes I’ve done, the CDT by far is one I would do again. So many great memories and stunning views of landscape and wildlife. HYOH truly prevails on this trail and certainly on a thru-hike of the CDT. It was hard and absolutely Bruitful!