FAQ About Navigating the PNT

Of America’s eleven National Scenic Trails the PNT is among the newest. It earned federal designation very recently, in 2009.

Each long-distance trail has its own story that chronicles how it transformed from an idea into to a more refined and continuous pathway. Advocacy work by the PNTA, financial support from our members, and countless weekends spent working on the trail by dedicated volunteers, are all part of story that unfolds across generations.

This chapter in the story of the PNT is a familiar one; it’s very similar to the stories of the Pacific Crest and Appalachian Trails, which earned federal designation fifty years ago, when the National Trails System Act of 1968 was first established. Like they originally were, the PNT has largely been cobbled together from a network of pre-existing hiking trails through the backcountry; but also: bike paths, old rail beds, dirt roads, paved roads, bushwhacks, cow paths, and beaches.

Today, the PNT offers an experience that may be more challenging and rugged than it will be a generation from now. Until then, making the effort to be fully prepared for an adventure on the PNT is key to having a safe and enjoyable trip.

At this early stage of development, the current route of the PNT offers the following navigation challenges:

• Bushwhacking through dense forests where no trail exists
• Mixed Class 2 and 3 scrambles in rocky areas
• Confusing networks of mapped and unmapped logging roads
• Following overgrown connector trails and forest roads
• Following trails which may not have been recently maintained
• Most of the PNT is not blazed or marked with signage

You can learn more about the challenges of wilderness navigation on the PNT, here.

While the PNTA works toward solving routing issues on the PNT, we remind our trail’s users that they are effectively acting as ambassadors for the trail.

The route shown on the PNTA’s mapset and on our official hiking app, produced through a partnership by Atlas Guides, describes the current route of the Pacific Northwest Trail. In some areas, easier, or more direct options may exist on the ground, but access is not guaranteed. These kinds of user-generated routes may inadvertently cross significant portions of private property where no easements or land use agreements are in place. If routes that involve trespassing are promoted within the trail community, via third party maps or user generated routes, it erodes goodwill for the trail and weakens our position to negotiate for the ideal trail corridor of the PNT.

Official PNTA maps and hiking apps protect the Pacific Northwest Trail by sharing important rules and regulations of local land managers. They also encourage responsible use by communicating the Leave No Trace Seven Principles as applied to the Pacific Northwest Trail.

The PNTA’s strip maps show multiple route options. The PNT is a relatively young trail in comparison to the Appalachian Trail and Pacific Crest Trail and is therefore still in a period of growth and change.  The terminology can be confusing.

Ron Strickland’s original full length guidebook describes both a Practical route (one possible to hike at the time of writing) and suggestions for an Ideal route that could be built in the future to fulfill his vision for the ultimate hiking experience.

The Congressional route is the one officially designated by Congress in 2009 when the PNT became a National Scenic Trail.

The Primary route is the route which the Pacific Northwest Trail Association, in partnership with local land managers, has developed in the time since, in order to address practical issues on the ground.

Alternate routes are routes which may have been part of the vision for the trail at one point, or they may simply be other ways for hikers to get to the same place, developed to address closures or other trail conditions. In other cases, alternate routes may be better trails for horse riders where the main route is impassable or closed to stock.

The PNT is still in the process of change. We continuously advocate for opportunities to create a better experience for trail users so that the future trail is safer, more enjoyable, and exceeds the expectations of a National Scenic Trail.

The PNTA mapset is produced in part with the support of people like you!

The Association offers our strip maps and other resources for free to the public in order to improve access to our public lands. Our mapset helps fulfill our mission to protect the Pacific Northwest Trail with easy-to-read page notes that promote responsible trail use and Leave No Trace Outdoor Ethics.

For a limited time each spring, PNTA offers hard copy maps at bulk production cost to our new and renewing members.  It’s our way of saying, “thanks” for helping to make our work possible. PNTA members can take advantage of the convenience and cost savings of high-quality, locally sourced, bulk-printed maps.

Look for other map announcements on our Facebook page and in our free monthly electronic newsletter.

Commercial printing instructions:

First, download the zip files from the section you need or download the entire trail corridor as a single zip file. Due to their high resolution, these maps can be printed full size at 11″ x 14″ or at 8.5″ x 11.”

Some thru-hikers use a commercial printer to produce their maps. Be sure to inquire about water-resistant paper options and consider double-sided printing to save carried weight.

Home printing instructions:

For letter size paper (8.5″ x 11″), download and unzip the file and open in the latest version of Adobe Acrobat. In the print dialog box for ‘Page Sizing & Handling,’ select either Fit or Custom Scale, and set the value to 52%. Under ‘Orientation,’ select Auto Portrait/ Landscape.

Questions about the PNTA’s map set can be sent to: maps@pnt.org.