A Historic Backpacking Trail Is Open Again—but a Border Dispute Could End It For Good

The National Park Service reopened the Chilkoot Trail in Alaska’s Gold Rush National Historical Park on Sunday, marking first time the entire historic 33-mile cross-border route has been hikeable since a series of floods closed it about five years ago.

But that reopening comes with a catch: With the U.S. currently banning entry via the trail, and Canada still considering whether to do the same, it’s possible that hikers on either side of the border may need to cut their trips off at the halfway point.

The Chilkoot Trail stretches from Dyea, Alaska to the ghost town of Bennett, British Columbia. In the 1800s, the Chilkoot Trail allowed gold rushers to access the Klondike gold fields. Today, the trail is mainly used for hiking and running. Prior to its closure it accommodated about 15,000 visitors every year, most of whom began their trips in Alaska and hiked to British Columbia, where they could take a train back to Skagway on the U.S. side of the border. After two years of consistent trail maintenance, the U.S. portion has new footbridges, campsites and trail tread.

Angela Wetz, the superintendent of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historic Park told Alaska Public Media, “U.S. Customs and Border Patrol will not allow hikers to enter the US on the trail this year, as it’s not a designated port of entry.”

Meanwhile, Canada is evaluating its own border policies. A NPS proposal that would allow hikers to enter Canada via the Chilkoot is currently in the hands of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). While the agency has not yet come to a decision, there’s reason to believe that the CBSA may ban crossings after years of allowing them, given that it did so earlier this year at the Pacific Crest Trail’s northern terminus.

The Chilkoot Trail and PCT are among several prominent paths that are facing shifts in border management this year. In April, the U.S. Army took over 110,000 acres from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) along the US-Mexico border in New Mexico under the auspices of a new National Defense Area, leaving some Continental Divide Trail hikers wondering if they would still be able to access the southern terminus. While it isn’t clear whether the Army will allow hikers long-term access to the ten miles of the CDT that currently fall inside the NDA, the Continental Divide Trail Coalition continued shuttling hikers to the southern terminus through mid-May, and says it is working with local authorities to determine the status of the area.