The City of Mount Shasta Becomes PCT’s First Designated Trail Town

The Pacific Crest Trail Association and the city of Mount Shasta are throwing a big ol’ party. The two announced their inaugural Trail Town Celebration to be held Saturday, July 21, to commemorate the city of Mount Shasta as the PCT’s first official trail town, as well as the launch of the PCTA’s Trail Town Program.

Appalachian Trail thru-hikers are already familiar with the concept of officially recognized trail towns. The Appalachian Trail Conservancy has a long-standing tradition of recognizing and designating towns along the AT through their Appalachian Trail Community Program. Most thru-hikers are used to seeing the placard identifying the community as a trail town placed somewhere visible when they enter town. Not only does this tell them the town is hiker friendly, but designated trail towns are likely to host events and programs that celebrate and benefit the trail community as a whole. As of now, over 40 communities along the AT have requested and received the designation.

The PCTA program will be in the same vein. While the city of Mount Shasta will be the first to receive the designation, the program hopes to include many more communities along the PCT. Aside from the economic boost the towns will receive by getting declared an official outdoor recreation destination, the program hopes to increase accommodations and services for thru-hikers, as well as volunteer outreach and advocacy for the trail itself.

The celebration is free to the public and will take place in downtown Mount Shasta. Activities include a guided hike on the PCT, gear demos, prize giveaways, live music and dancing, and a whole lot more. Food and beverages will be sold. A full schedule of events can be found here. If you live in the area or are a thru-hiker who happens to be passing through, make sure to head on down and celebrate some very exciting news for the future of the PCT.

Featured image courtesy of John Gallo

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