Great Divide Trail

Infobox Hiking trail
Photo=Great divide trail map.jpg|thumb
Caption=Map of Great Divide Trail
Name=Great Divide Trail
Location=Alberta and British Columbia, Canada
Length=Convert|1200|km|mi|-2
Use=Hiking
HighPoint=Unnamed pass, Convert|2590|m|ft|0|abbr=on
LowPoint=Old Fort Point trailhead, Convert|1055|m|ft|0|abbr=on
Sights=Canadian Rockies
Difficulty=Strenuous

The Great Divide Trail, or GDT, is a wilderness hiking trail in the Canadian Rockies. The trail closely follows the continental divide between Albertaand British Columbia, crossing the divide no fewer than 30 times. It begins in Waterton Lakes National Park at the Canada-US border (where it connects with the Continental Divide Trail) and ends in Kakwa Provincial Park north of Jasper National Park.

The GDT is not officially recognized by Parks Canada and therefore is not signed and not always even an actual trail, sometimes merely a wilderness route. The GDT passes through five National Parks: Waterton Lakes, Banff, Kootenay, Yoho and Jasper; seven Provincial Parks: Akamina-Kishinena, Elk Lakes, Peter Lougheed, Height of the Rockies, Mount Assiniboine, Mount Robson and Kakwa; four wilderness areas: Beehive Natural Area, Kananaskis Country, White Goat Wilderness and Willmore Wilderness Area; and five forest districts: Castle, Bow/Crow, Cranbrook, Golden and Robson Valley.

Great Divide Route and Great Divide Trail

The Great Divide Trail is a nationally recognized hiking trail, although not yet complete. The Great Divide Route is the mountain biking version that parallels the Great Divide Trail. Occasionally they will intersect and share sections.

The Great Divide is the continental divide separating water that flows east towards the Atlantic and Arctic Oceans and west towards the Pacific Ocean.

External links

* [http://www.rmbooks.com/gdt/history.htm History and brief description]
* [http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~durocher/trips/rockies/gdt2005/gdt2005.html Map, photos, and description of trail from Kananaskis Lakes to Field]
* [http://www.bradlandproductions.com/gdt.html Maps, photos, and video of the entire Great Divide Trail]