Discover the Longest Trail in Canada

Canada is widely known for its natural beauty and vast wilderness areas. The country is sparsely populated compared to many other countries of a similar size. Given this, the land up north is filled with awe-inspiring landscapes and scenery. Naturally, this makes it prime territory for some amazing hikes. Due to the abundance of land in Canada, there’s plenty of room to stretch out.

The longest trail in Canada is the Trans-Canada Trail. This trail is technically an inter-connected network of separate trails. Avid hikers who are interested can tackle massive tracts of the Canadian wilderness. Using the Trans-Canada Trail, one could hypothetically walk from coast to coast, and then north up into the arctic.

Not only is the Trans-Canada Trail the largest trail in Canada, but it’s also the largest trail system in the entire world. If you’re interested in learning more about this massive trail, here is some information that can help you learn more about it.

Facts About The Trans-Canada Trail

All in all, this massive trail system covers more than 28,000 kilometers or, 15,000 miles. It’s truly the longest continuous trail system in the entire world. The highest point in the Trans-Canada trail system is in the Canadian Rockies at 7,169 ft. The lowest point is at sea level, and there are many points that are at this elevation.

The Trans-Canada Trail crosses all of Canada’s provinces. There are six main provinces that the trail crosses. They are Cape Spear, Newfoundland, Victoria, British Columbia, Tuktoyaktuk, and the Northwest Territories. “Mile 0” of the Trans-Canada Trail begins in Victoria, BC.

Due to the trail’s enormous size and the brutality of the Canadian winter, hiking it in one go is nigh impossible. However, many people have hiked the entirities of the main sections of the trail. Because of the aforementioned brutal winters, most hikers will find the trail hospitable in Canada’s beautiful summer months. In particular, there’s a focus on July and August.

The Trans-Canada Trail is comprised of five main trails and over 20 smaller trails. Because the trail crosses such a wide variety of terrains, there are dozens and dozens of activities that one can engage in on its paths. Some of the most popular include hiking, biking, horseback riding, cross-country skiing, and snowmobiling.

The History of The Trans-Canada Trail

The Trans-Canada Trail was established in 1992 in order to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the founding of Canada. The trail owes its existence to generous funding by the national and provincial governments of Canada. These governing bodies supply the trail with funds in order to allow it to receive maintenance and repairs when needed.

Since the trail crosses through so many towns and territories, there are thousands of organizations, towns, and the like that are invested in maintaining the trail with upkeep. This makes it a true community effort for the Canadian people. Because of this, the trail is sometimes considered to be one of the largest public projects on the planet.

The Trans Canada Trail has incited some mild controversy in its time. This is because some thru-hikers have unfortunately died while attempting to traverse long sections of the trail. There are all of the normal hazards incurred with extended outdoor activities. In addition to these, some of the sections of the trail have travelers hiking along the side of busy highways.

The Future of The Trans-Canada Trail

The Canadian Government has plans to expand upon the existing network of the trans-Canada trail, as difficult as that is to believe. This might mean that even more distant reaches of Canada will become interconnected with the rest of the country.

As the climate warms and the Arctic recedes, there’s a possibility that certain areas that the trail currently passes through will become less accessible or altered in some way. The actual results of these changes remain to be seen.

Getting to The Trail

Because the trail has so many sections and starting points, you can approach it from many different points. This means that there’s a very wide variety of experiences you can have when traversing the trail. Much of where you start will depend on which side of Canada you want to experience.

That being said, as mentioned before, the trail’s official “mile 0” begins in Victoria, BC. This would be a great starting point for most hikers, as the west coast of Canada is generally less harsh and more temperate than many of the northern and central provinces.