Below a brand new federal coverage, hikers can be prohibited from venturing south of the PCT’s southern terminus monument, the path’s primary group stated this week.
The PCT southern terminus monument with the border wall within the background (Photograph: Emma Veidt)
Up to date February 12, 2026 01:44PM
Hikers tackling the Pacific Crest Path will not be capable to entry the wall marking the U.S.-Mexico Border below a brand new federal coverage, the Pacific Crest Path Affiliation (PCTA) introduced this week.
When the federal authorities transferred 760 acres of land alongside the California-Mexico border to the Navy in 2025 as a part of its marketing campaign to cease unauthorized crossings, many Pacific Crest Path hikers speculated about how the change may have an effect on them. In December, the PCTA stated that the newly-announced Nationwide Protection Space appeared to finish simply exterior the southern terminus of the path, and didn’t seem prone to have an effect on entry to it within the quick time period. However in an replace posted on February 11, the PCTA stated that the group’s federal company companions had knowledgeable them that as a army set up, the wall and the few dozen ft between it and a barbed wire fence simply south of the monument can be off-limits to hikers. The southern monument stays accessible right now.
“After visiting the monument, I like to recommend heading straight north on the path,” stated the PCTA’s Southern California Regional Consultant Anitra Kass.
Previously, it was a typical custom for Pacific Crest Path hikers to the touch each the Mexico and Canada borders throughout their thru-hikes. Now, a 60-foot-wide parcel of land that features each the border wall and the street south of the PCT terminus will make that follow inconceivable, no less than for now.
“Whereas the monument stays the official begin of the Pacific Crest Path, we all know that for many individuals, strolling to the wall has been a long-standing private ritual,” Kass wrote. “It’s disappointing to lose that custom. On the similar time, it’s important that each one guests respect posted boundaries and comply with present laws.”
Over the previous yr, the federal authorities has introduced a collection of closures or restrictions on U.S. lengthy trails because it makes an attempt to crack down on unauthorized crossings of the U.S. border. a In fall 2025, contractors working for the Division of Homeland Safety blocked off the southern terminus of the Arizona Path with concertina wire. Entry to the Continental Divide Path’s southern terminus can be restricted below the principles of the New Mexico Nationwide Protection Space. Whereas U.S. residents can apply upfront for permission to enter, visiting hikers are successfully banned.
