The Pacific Northwest Trail Association celebrated National Trails Day on the newest addition to the PNT, the John Tursi Trail, with two exciting events.

Thanks to the  American Hiking Society, the PNTA was able to add signage along the 1.1 mile  Tursi Trail through the National Trails Fund grant program. Now, visitors enjoying the scenic trails of Deception Pass State Park, the most visited park in Washington, will appreciate that they are experiencing a part of our National Scenic Trails System. 

The iconic PNT Thunderbird service mark may also inspire visitors to discover the rest of the 1,200 mile Pacific Northwest Trail. Simply knowing, that if they wished, they could continue across the Olympic Mountains to reach the western terminus, 258 unforgettable miles away on the Pacific Coast, adds a measure of excitement to any day hike on the PNT.

And while most visitors to the PNT will never attempt such a long trek, the fact that are also 959 miles of trail through the remote mountain landscapes, east of the Tursi Trail, may plant a seed which inspires a lifetime of adventures in the Pacific and Inland Northwest. 

Those who thru-hiked or traveled this section in its entirety before 2016 will fully appreciate the benefits of the short, but important Tursi Trail; it connects with existing trails in Deception Pass State Park, to relocate the PNT off of its former 3.5 mile, 'motorized route' and onto scenic tread.

While one mile of trail may seem like a relatively simple feat to build, the Tursi Trail was at least 17 years in the making. Deception Pass Park Manager, Jack Hartt and Skagit County Parks and Recreation Director, Brian Adams played key roles in the development of the trail, named in honor of John Tursi, philanthropist and Anacortes community leader...

Support the PNTA and show your love of the Pacific Northwest Trail with one of these high-quality caps, for sale now on our website. 

To give PNT'ers the most up-to-date and accurate information possible about the Pacific Northwest Trail, the PNTA has developed an entirely new map set for the 2017 hiking season. 

The 2017 maps are available to use in two ways: an annotated print version, and a georeferenced pdf companion set that can be used in the cellphone app  Avenza , which uses the device's onboard GPS to show your location on the maps.

You can download the Pacific Northwest Trail - Complete Set for Avenza, here .

This map set features the most current primary route and recommended alternates available. Map pages indicate: bushwhacks, wildfire damage, and fire detours. They also point out former routes which have recently been closed by the USFS and PNTA, and explain how PNT'ers must now avoid trespassing in areas where access has changed, such as in Eureka (2016), Northport (2017) and Metaline Falls (2017).

This map set is designed to be used with Tim Youngbluth's Pacific Northwest Trail Digest  and will reference a common set of GPS waypoints used in the book. Melanie Simmerman's Pacific Northwest Trail Town Guide also provides supplemental information about the major 'trail towns' along the PNT's corridor.

The 2017 PNTA maps include basic route descriptions for 15 major alternates along the PNT and other critical information. The PNT Digest describes these alternates and trail conditions in greater detail. It also contains extensively field-researched notes describing trail conditions which support field navigation and provide other useful information.

Concerning third-party map sets and apps:

At this time, the PNTA does not recommend the use of maps produced by third parties. The primary reason we can not endorse these sources is that due to being out of date, they encourage trespassing on private land, either expressly or effectively. Other known problems of these third party sources include recommendations of campsites not approved by land managers. Finally, please be aware that some of these sources may violate the copyright and intellectual property rights of the PNTA and other PNT map authors.