Skip to main content

Canada Officially Completes the World’s Longest Continuous Trail System, The Great Trail

Based on land mass alone, Canada is the second largest country in the world — but leave it to Canadians to devise an interconnected network of trails to explore the totality of that massive area on foot. Just in time to celebrate Canada’s sesquicentennial (the country’s 150th anniversary), The Great Trail has been completed and is now officially the longest continuous recreational trail system in the world.

On August 26, authorities announced that the last piece of The Great Trail was finally in place. It stretches from the Pacific Ocean to the Arctic Ocean to the Atlantic Ocean — a span of 24,000 kilometers (about 15,000 miles) across 13 provinces and territories. Outdoor lovers can now walk, hike, bike, ski, or ride a horse from coast to coast to coast. Officials point out that about one-quarter of the trail’s length follows waterways, so hikers will need to prepare for canoeing and kayaking at various spots along the trail. But, for outdoor lovers, that’s certainly not a bad thing.

The Great Trail Canada Interactive Map
Interactive Map/The Great Trail Image used with permission by copyright holder

The Great Trail was 25 years in the making and represents an astounding feat of engineering that dwarfs other long-distance trails (the Appalachian Trail comes to mind). To create this impressive network, existing trails were stitched together with newly cleared and developed land. Individual segments will be governed by hundreds of different authorities and government organizations, all working in concert.

Recommended Videos

Most noteworthy is how the trail affects the country on a cultural level. The Great Trail’s completion connects a staggering 15,000 Canadian communities. It’s the perfect way for resident lovers of the outdoors to easily venture farther from their hometown. In addition to touching the country’s most famous natural highlights, like the world record-setting tides of the Bay of Fundy and the stunning Gulf Islands in the west, it also affords travelers a more straightforward way to explore Canada’s more remote reaches. The trail, for example, touches dozens of First Nation Inuvik communities in the vast Arctic tundra.

The Great Trail is free for all to explore. Before setting out, we’d highly recommend making advanced preparations via this interactive map.

Mike Richard
Mike Richard has traveled the world since 2008. He's kayaked in Antarctica, tracked endangered African wild dogs in South…
This Yosemite campground is finally open after a 3-year, $11M renovation
Yosemite National Park, California

Tuolumne Meadows Campground, originally constructed in the 1930s, has been a staple for Yosemite visitors, accommodating up to 2,200 guests nightly and serving over 141,000 overnight stays annually. However, the campground closed in 2022 to undergo a huge rehabilitation project funded by the Great American Outdoors Act (GAOA). This closure was necessary to address more than $11 million in overdue repairs to Yosemite, including Tuolumne, since most of this campground's infrastructure dates back to the Civilian Conservation Corps era or Mission 66, and it wasn't designed for today's surge in visitation.

The campground was completely off-limits to the public due to extended construction on key areas, including updating utilities and repairing environmental degradation along the Tuolumne River. But finally, it is open and ready for the 2025 season. Here's what you can expect:

Read more
Ovrlnd gets “girthy” with the new, extra-wide Chubby truck camper package
With more sleeping and standing room, it's one of the most livable-yet-compact truck campers we've seen.
Ovrlnd Campers' Bivy Chubby truck camper mounted to a green Toyota Tacoma parked in the woods.

Truck campers are the ultimate streamlined solution for overlanders. But the svelte, trail-friendly form factor means trading agility for living space. Ovrlnd Campers wants to remedy the typically cramped living quarters of most truck campers with a wider, more livable interior.

New for 2025, the Flagstaff, Arizona-based brand is adding a Chubby package to its lineup. By extending the width of any of its existing truck camper models by 3.5 inches on either side, the interior width expands by a full seven inches. That might not seem like much. But if you've spent any time living in your car or out of the back of a pickup truck, those extra seven inches feel downright luxurious.

Read more
Ford Bronco gets its first-ever, fully integrated pop-up rooftop camper tent
It's lighter, more streamlined, and better integrated than (almost) every other rooftop tent on the market.
A Ford Bronco with an Ursa Minor B30 rooftop camper installed.

Since its debut five years ago, the latest-gen Ford Bronco has taken its place alongside the Jeep Wrangler and Toyota 4Runner as one of the greatest overlanding rigs. The problem is that, until now, no one has developed a fully integrated rooftop camping solution. Enter: Ursa Minor's all-new B30 pop-up camper tent.

Get the low-down on Ursa Minor's Ford Bronco B30 pop-up rooftop tent

Read more