This is the longest stretch of your hike but should also be the easiest, as you won’t be carrying three extra days of food with you. There’s a significant amount of descent (about 1,750 feet) but, given that it’s spread out across 12 miles, the overall experience is relatively relaxed.



You can also look

The 33-mile Chilkoot Trail is undeniably famous because of its Gold Rush history, with so many historical artifacts scattered along its length that it’s been dubbed “the longest museum in the world.” Before that it was a vital trade route for the Indigenous Tlingit people, who journeyed between Alaska

Stage 1 of the Chilkoot Trail begins just outside Dyea, a ghost town near Skagway. Here, you’ll pick up the trail (which was recently repaired after major flooding) and more or less follow the path of the Taiya River to Canyon City Campground. All told, this stage runs for eight miles and has nearly

No matter how you slice it, today is a big day: You’re going to make the nearly 3,000-foot climb up the rocky, uneven ground up to Chilkoot Pass, which also serves as an international border between the U.S. and Canada.



The main feature of this stage is elevation gain, as you trek up past The Scales

Your second day of hiking the Chilkoot Trail is shorter but substantially steeper than the first — a good taste of what you’re in for tomorrow as you hike up to Chilkoot Pass. But for tonight your goal is Sheep Camp, tucked deep in the rainforest and so far away from civilization that, if it weren’t

Today’s the big day! Whether you cross Hutchins Creek first thing in the morning, or did it last night before finding a spot to camp on the west bank, your next order of business is hiking up a series of short, steep switchbacks that take you out of Hutchins Creek Valley to the ridge known as Devil’s

It’s a pleasure to wake up beside this picturesque rock dam and the rapids created by its natural spillway. Normally you can pick your way across the rocks without a problem but, if the water is running high, this spillway becomes very unsafe. In that case you’d need to detour to the south, taking Little

Until you reach Giant City State Park, the majority of today’s trail leg is on the lands of Southern Illinois University, which has historically been very friendly and accommodating to the development of the River to River Trail.



Soon after it departs the surprisingly idyllic surroundings of the old lodge

Now that you’ve had a bit of rest, it’s time for another long day: About 19 miles on the trail. That is as much effort as it sounds like, but it’ll take you through some of the most spectacular wilderness on the River to River Trail, and help ensure that your camping prospects shake out in a reasonable

This is another relatively road-heavy stage. But it’s also much shorter than all the rest at about eight miles total, and the starting and ending points are truly beautiful. Compared to the other legs of this thru-hike you might even consider this a rest day of sorts, with (relatively) plenty of time