CDT Trail towns

I enjoy the town stops in my trips and particularly so when the trip is wilderness oriented, it is then that coming down to town has a most distinct added value. During a long distance trip, hiking becomes your job and the town stops are the weekend break. To me, they become a very important part of the story.

This is not a resupply strategy guide neither a report on all typical towns along the CDT. Rather, it is an account of my resupply stops, all 25 of them.

Many Glacier, MT

Pop. N.A.

Not a real town but a seasonal outpost within Glacier National Park limits. There is not much there but it’ll be very welcome if you’ve been hiking through Glacier in typical spring conditions, i.e. lingering snow, stormy afternoons and occasionally cold temps. The CDT goes through town if you take the official route or barely 2 miles off if on the alternate.

Many Glacier has two sections about a couple miles apart. The one of interest for most hikers is at the north end of the Swiftcurrent lake, it holds the campground and the Swiftcurrent Motor Inn, restaurant & shop. At the southern side of the lake there’s the rather posh Many Glacier Hotel. I can imagine it’ll be expensive and there are no groceries there so you’d still need to visit the Motor Inn if you mean to resupply.

The campground has backcountry sites, which are the ones you book through your backcountry permit. There’s also a walk-in site. I was in Many Glacier still early in the season (June 14th) and the campground regular sites were full.

The restaurant opens early and closes late. The shop is basic but good enough for a full resupply if you’re not picky. I guess there’s some risk of finding it under stocked if there’s been many hikers in front of you.

I arrived in Many Glacier wet and tired after a very rainy afternoon. It really helped lift my spirits.

East Glacier, MT

Pop. 396

This is another walk-through town of which there aren’t many on the CDT so most people stop here. East Glacier has two sections about a mile apart. I came to call them “Woods” and “Desert” after the respective look and feel of each. This was a bit of an exaggeration but with some truth to it. Indeed, East Glacier lies just at the edge of the woods as you come out the eastern side of the mountains and the scene turns into grassland.

Desert was the biggest part of town and where most services were. Here is the Post Office and the gas station convenience store, which is your best bet for a full resupply. There’s a general store too but its grocery selection was very limited. The gas station convenience was a tight but fair resupply if the aisles were well stocked but I can imagine you could have problems if you were behind a major thru-hiker jam. There was also the Two Medicine Grill, easily my favorite restaurant in town as it was the only one open for breakfast and the only one offering the full array of good old American shit. It’s oddly hidden from view despite being on the main street as it’s got a very small share of facade space.

I stayed overnight in the Woods section at the Brownies Hostel. The area felt nicer and I was recommended this hostel over the one in Desert and I happily walked the mile for breakfast and lunch. The restaurant next to Brownies does nice burritos and Brownies itself sells some hot food and a few groceries, probably not enough for a decent resupply.

I loved East Glacier and took my first Zero Day there.

Lincoln, MT

Pop. 1013

Lincoln is a double row of buildings and a few dirt side streets along both sides of a road. This is a very common configuration in North America. When a town grows around a spring or a market place, as it’s often the case in Europe, it takes a round/square shape. When it grows around a road, it takes a linear shape that feels somewhat alien when I think of what a town means to me. You get used to it.

In fact Lincoln turned out a very nice place to stay. It’s about 2 miles long and it requires a bit of walking but nothing serious if you stay close to the services. The grocery store is almost small-supermarket size and there is some limited but nice selection of restaurants/pubs.

I got to Lincoln in between two of the longest stages of my trip, 8 days from the north, 7 days to the south, more than enough reason to take my second Zero in a row.

Homestead Lodge, MT

Pop. N.A.

As the name seems to imply, this is not a town but a front-country lodge. There’s nothing but the lodge buildings there.

It is located by the Interstate, just above Butte town and it used to be a very interesting option for a resupply, maybe a short stay, avoiding the hitch/hike down to town and back when it was very close to the trail. The lodge hasn’t changed location but the trail has been re-routed in the area and now it’s about 3 miles off over a dirt road with very little traffic.

It’s probably still much better than hitching a ride down to Butte on an Interstate access ramp but Butte is also reachable from a regular highway further down the CDT. Homestake Lodge lost another bit of its appeal when it stopped offering a bunkroom. As of 2019, it was only full cabins available. There are no supplies at all at the lodge but you can send yourself a box. It’d still be fine for a logistically easy resupply without the need to go down to a rather big town if you mean to pick up your box and leave. An overnight stay will be pricey for a solo hiker even though it can be fine for a duo/group but you’d probably need to book the relevant cabin in advance.

I ended up staying for the night at a discount that made it worthwhile. It was important to take an overnight break, being in the middle of two 7 day long stages. I had a nice, relaxing time. There’s basically nothing to do there, which may be fine with many thru-hikers, it certainly was with me. The owners were super nice and did everything in their hands to help with thru-hiker specific needs and made me feel very welcome despite my not being their target customer.

This is the one stop that I wouldn’t do again though, switching to Butte or the Mill Road access to Anaconda (i.e. Anaconda from the Butte route, not the shortcut)

Darby, MT

Pop. 779

Another linear town developed along a road but this one feels bigger than Lincoln and it even has some paved side streets. Darby has a bit of thru-hiker focus, if only because one of the motels has turned one of its cabins into a bunkroom. There is a real supermarket and I remember how walking along its aisles felt like being in wonderland, so many options! Breakfast at the Montana Cafe, right in front of the bunkhouse, was among the best of the whole trail, or maybe I was particularly hungry by then or just missing town food after 2 weeks.

I was very comfortable in Darby and treated myself to yet another Zero day, my third in only a month. I still thought it was well deserved.

Leadore, ID

Pop. 103

My only town stop in Idaho, Leadore was one of the most picturesque urban locations of the whole trip with its decadent Wild West feel and it was one of the tiniest, if not the tiniest one. It’s literally a few scattered buildings along a dusty road with the magnificent backdrop of the Lemhi Range closing the valley to the west.

As a trail town, I liked it, everything was necessarily close, the motel had a very relaxed, hiker-friendly vibe, the restaurant had all the greasy basics and the grocery store made for a decent resupply despite reports on the contrary.

You certainly didn’t need to spend time walking around or deciding where to go. I loved sitting in the motel porch truckspotting and chatting to hikers and locals alike¹. Good place to relax.

Lima, MT

Pop. 228

Lima resembles a motorway service area, if only because it’s by the interstate and the motel/restaurant/petrol station just off the ramp make up for about 50% of the town. Then there are a few more buildings, including a PO, an outfitter and some residences.

Access to Lima from the CDT is different from most town stops. Not only it’s over an Interstate, also there’s no ramp at the CDT crossing so hitch-hiking is probably not legal and rather useless anyway. Instead, the motel owner can pick you up. In 2019, he was doing 3 scheduled trips per day so you don’t even need to phone but you may need to wait for a few hours.

Lima is tiny and very convenient if you don’t need anything else but the basics. Everything is within 5 minute walking distance. Resupply was on the petrol station convenience store and it was probably the tightest of my whole trip together with Pie Town in the far south, still doable if the shelves are stocked.

I had a great, relaxing time in Lima. I took yet another Zero here.

Old Faithful, WY

Pop. N.A.

This was my only town stop where I didn’t spend the night. As you may imagine, Old Faithful is not a proper town, rather a National Park year round service area around the famous geyser, still bigger than a few of the real towns along the way.

Staying there for the night would be possible but I don’t think any thru-hiker will, legend says it’s very expensive and booked out well in advance. Closest campsite on the CDT is Lone Star, just 3 miles south.

Other than the lodging issue, Old Faithful makes for a very convenient stop. It’s right on trail, it has all services and it’s as compact as you can get. If you’re not sleeping there, both laundry and shower depend on the goodwill of some of the establishments but as of 2019 it was all good will and smiles, at least in my case. Beware of the naming mess, it seems all businesses needed to make it clear they’re right by the big geyser so all of them are named after it, then the first one took Inn as the surname, the second one must have gone for Lodge and the third one run out of imagination and went for Snow Lodge. As of 2019, the laundry service you could use was found at the Old Faithful Snow Lodge and I got a shower at the Old Faithful Inn. Both had AYCE breakfast for all those arriving early enough. The cheapest lunch buffer is at the Old Faithful Lodge.

The area around Old Faithful is amazing for the thermal features, then there’s the main geyser itself and all of it is spectacular. The problem is the crowds. Either hiking direction, you’re here in the middle of the high season. I arrived mid morning and it was still fine but the afternoon turned into a mess of cars and people. I did all my duties, waited for the geyser to come out and was relieved to leave.

Dubois, WY

Pop. 974

Yet another linear town of the Wild West and a nice meeting point for hikers in both directions for it is around this area that North and Southbounders cross paths. In addition, Dubois has a sort of trail angeling place to stay so most people will likely meet there. It was great fun.

Dubois has a good outfitter with a backpacking focus, which is great news. The outdoor stores near the CDT anywhere but in Colorado are usually geared towards hunting/fishing but the one in Dubois has probably grown around the CDT itself. I took the chance to replace some broken or worn out items.

I took my 5th Zero day in Dubois, gathering strength in the local restaurants before yet another week+ section through the mighty Wind River Range.

Atlantic City, WY

Pop. 37

The town is as tiny as the figure suggests and it was a wonderful haven after a long stage through the big mountains and before the roughness of The Basin. Atlantic City would actually be perfect if you could resupply onsite but there’s not even the smallest shop so if you’re fine with sending yourself boxes, this is the place to do it. I actually picked up my supplies in nearby South Pass City but the B&B or the restaurant in Atlantic City would probably hold a box too.

The town is about a mile off trail so you can avoid the odds of hitch-hiking. Some people pitch at the caravan park or use the tee pee in front of The Miner’s Grubstake but if you don’t mind forking a few dollar and the 5 min walk to the food, you can get the whole Atlantic City experience by staying at Wild Bill’s. Lodging can’t get any more hiker-friendly, or just friendly.

Rawlins, WY

Pop. 9259

Biggest town so far and among the biggest along the Divide. It’s the first time on a Southbound course that you find a town with an actual urban plan. Rawlins is also the first case of the dual scheme where most of the services of interest to hikers are off the downtown on a commercial area that feels like a nowhere place.

Rawlins is itself in the middle of nowhere and it seems to have grown around the railway line, the only obvious reason to set up a town in this dry, wind-blown grassland.

The best part about Rawlins is that it’s on trail, no hitch-hiking! To my dismay, I couldn’t find a decent place for a hearty breakfast as I went through town in the morning and I accepted with resignation the mall area was more convenient for an overnight stay.

Rawlins was probably my least favorite CDT stop, partly because I had to walk quite a few miles back and forth between mall and downtown after my most needed new shoes failed to arrive at the PO on time. I missed the basic, traditional restaurants that make for the best hikers meals. I enjoyed some time on my own.

Steamboat Springs, CO

Pop. 12965

First town in Colorado and what a change of scene, Steamboat Springs is the first installment in the Colorado series of tourist stage sets. Everything is spotless, in strong contrast to the rough character of every town in Montana, Idaho or Wyoming. No more Wild West flavor or, if there’s any, it’s rather fake. Everything is expensive.

Steamboat Springs is another case of dual town with a downtown and a mall area, which is where the most affordable lodging is, though still expensive. Both sections are a couple miles apart. The good news is the free bus service which makes this town logistically bearable. There are several outdoor stores, one of them particularly big, a good place to get new gear if you don’t mind the steep prices. No shortage of restaurants.

It was rather lonely in Steamboat Springs, I didn’t meet any other hiker and the vibe was very alien to me. I still had a good break but I didn’t shed any tear when I left.

Grand Lake, CO

Pop. 498

Grand Lake starts another series, the Colorado hostel run. This is very good news because, as outlined in Steamboat Springs, the Colorado towns are touristy and expensive. The hostels make the lodging very affordable, they also work much better than motels as a meeting place and are much more fun. The one in Grand Lake looks and feels more like a high-end lodge than a conventional hostel but if you get a bunk room it’s still cheaper than any motel. The place has a hell of a view and the staff there were super nice.

Grand Lake is right on trail. It’s a good stop if only for that. Oddly enough, the grocery stores are small and have a limited selection, I guess tourists will drive somewhere close for a supermarket. Restaurants though are more than enough to keep you satisfied for the tough stages ahead.

I arrived late in Grand Lake so I awarded myself another Zero.

Breckenridge, CO

Pop. 4928

If Steamboat Springs and Grand Lake were posh, Breck takes this to new heights. The whole valley is Colorado Rockies tourist central and it reminded me a lot to the urban mess so common in European mountains.

I could have easily skipped Breckenridge, as I did when I first hit the area in 2008 during my Colorado Trail thru-hike, going straight to Leadville instead, but it would have made for a long stage when I didn’t need to and Breck is still very convenient, it’s close to the trail and there’s free bus service to town. Plus, a very nice hostel.

So I planned to stop in Breckenridge and I was happy I did. The hostel is at the opposite end, almost off town but the brewery is within reasonable walking distance and that’s all I needed to step out of home for after I did my shopping on the way in. It was still a long, tough journey along the Front Ranges from Grand Lake and I really welcomed the overnight break.

In true Colorado fashion, the hostel is spotless. Nothing seems to be sketchy in wealthy America except the prices.

Leadville, CO

Pop. 2759

After stopping in Breckenridge, I could have skipped Leadville. Logistically speaking, I should have but I really did want to stop here, thus joining my 2008 schedule in the Colorado Trail and revisiting my favorite towns from back then. Leadville was one of them.

Leadville is actually one of the nicest towns on the CDT. In 2019, I found it more touristy than it looked to me back in 2008 but still not as much as the previous Colorado stops. Leadville feels like a real town, not an oversized resort. It’s an old mining settlement with the cool factor of being the highest incorporated town in the country at 10152 feet high.

Leadville has an actual urban plan and it’s very compact for American standards. Everything is within walking distance except the supermarket but you should be able to borrow a bike to get there if you stay at one of the hostels.

I loved Leadville in 2019 almost as much as I did in 2008, sod off pragmatic logistics.

Salida, CO

Pop. 5856

This was the one other town I needed to revisit after my previous trip in the area. After Leadville, I was within a proper stage breakdown to stop in Salida so there was no question. Plus I now have friends there that I loved visiting but even if you don’t, you wouldn’t want to miss one of the nicest towns on the CDT. Salida is a bigger version of Leadville in that it feels like a real town and it’s very compact so you have lots of services and everything is within walking distance, including a good outfitter with a backpacking focus.

Everything but a proper breakfast place, which is the only thing missing from the downtown but you really want to visit the Pancake Place at the edge of town. Borrow a bike to get there if you stay at one of the hostels.

Same as in Leadville, I stayed at the same hostel I did 11 years back, the Simple Hostel, and the place was just as incredibly nice as it was back then. Lots of thru-hikers and bikers that made for a great vibe. Loved, loved, loved it.

Another Zero Day was happily spent here. This time I didn’t even need it. Just because.

Lake City, CO

Pop. 379

This is a town I didn’t visit in 2008 but it was the clear winner from the same road crossing at Spring Creek Pass in 2019. Lake City has become very welcoming to thru-hikers -and there are lots of them now that the Colorado Trail has become really popular- since a thru-hiker established there, opened a hostel and worked with the community to make the trail known.

I knew about the hostel option and I had set Lake City in my plan but it was only a few days before getting to town that I knew that the hostel owner was former fellow thru-hiker Lucky from the PCT class of 2006. It was great to meet again even if that forced me to take a Zero in town to wait for him back. You’d never say no to a good excuse for a Zero but, in addition, it was beyond great for me to meet Lucky again.

As you may imagine, there’s no friendlier place to stay than a thru-hiker-run hostel. Other than that, Lake City is a very nice stop even if the grocery stores are small and a bit tight for a full resupply in front of one of the most important stages of the CDT across the Weminuche Wilderness.

South Fork, CO

Pop. 356

The last town in Colorado brings back the linear model, this time devoid of any charm. South Fork looks more like a service area along a road than a proper town, the feeling backed by the total absence of any pedestrian infrastructure, there are no sidewalks or ped crossings and even walking the 5 minutes between my motel and the only working restaurant felt like being in the middle of a road when I did it at night. Dinner had not been too memorable either.

The good thing is services are all within walking distance even if you feel like you could need a ride to get there.

It was a short, quick overnight. I didn’t like South Fork but it got the job done.

Chama, NM

Pop. 1199

The change of scene in leaving Colorado was even more radical than when entering it. Chama is half a world away from the eerie prettiness of the tourist hubs, something that will not be back. The town is a bit run down but it also feels more real.

On the minus side, this is a pocket sized version of the dual town, the cheap motels and the supermarket on one side and the downtown on the other. And since this is not wealthy Colorado anymore, there’s no free bus, actually no bus at all between the two but a lower-fi, funnier version of public transport in the free bikes that you can borrow from the visitor center and keep for the while.

I liked Chama and I took here a Zero to recover from all the physical and emotional wear of the Southern Colorado mountains, the storms, the wind and the cold. A new trip had began.

Cuba, NM

Pop. 748

Cuba is painfully linear but most of the useful services are in the same area so it turned out convenient. It is on trail, which is bad for adventure but good for convenience.

Once again I felt how far Colorado seemed to be, even though it was still physically not that much. The architecture shift that started in Chama goes well beyond in Cuba, with many buildings resembling the traditional Adobe make. The other striking thing about Cuba is that it’s really run down, with many abandoned buildings and out-of-business places.

It’s certainly far from pretty but once again it feels rather real and I kind of liked it. It was a utility stop and a good one at that.

Grants, NM

Pop. 9011

Grants is a big town for CDT standards, which is often not very good news when you’re looking for a break, easy logistics and some relax but it is on trail so it’s kind of a must. I didn’t have much expectations and even then it turned out disappointing. Let’s say I’ve seen industrial states in Europe that look more like a town than Grants did to me. This is probably a bit unfair as I didn’t get to walk the residential streets. At least, I could see some good hints of hiker-friendliness as I crossed town on my way in.

Grants is heavily dual and I decided to park myself in the mall area to avoid major walking along the pedestrian-unfriendly middle ground. It was a purely functional stop for me and one place I didn’t miss upon leaving.

Pie Town, NM

Pop. 186

I never knew how much of the Pie Town thing was joke, how much it was legend or how much it was real. A town that’s just a couple cafes that specialize in pie? I guess the sketch maps in the guidebook, showing little else than the cafes, didn’t help. Can you actually eat anything else but pie?

I actually asked that latter question to fellow hikers that reassured me, indeed you can. Other than the roadside cafes, and there are three of them², there is an actual urban area with a few homes and people living in them.

The funny part is that the pie thing is real: the cafes specialize in pie, they make it daily, there’s a rich folklore about the unique, secret recipes, the road signs mention it and there’s a pie festival in September. I tried a few different ones, including a weird mix with spicy green chili. I thought it’d be my only chance anywhere of tasting something like that.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Pie Town has its own place in CDT lore. After the latest route update, it’s officially on trail so most people will go through. A bit of a downside, the only local resupply option is 3 miles down the road. Then, there’s a hosting trail angel so many hikers will stay and the place becomes a meeting point. The Divide Cycling Route also goes through town so there’ll be riders too. It was that far into my trip that I met my biggest bunch of fellow travelers and it was the most fun of times.

Truth or Consequences, NM

Pop. 5948

Unusual place name and the most unusual town stop for CDT hikers. I don’t think any other used it in 2019 and probably hardly anyone anytime else. It’s not even mentioned in the guidebook or the apps. Even the road that would give access from the trail is not stated anywhere. More than a town report, this is a bit of a story.

Truth of Consequences is well off the trail, to the east of the Black Range, a section of CDT that’s hardly used by hikers who mostly take the Gila River Canyon alternate. The Black Range is remote and so rarely used that there’s hardly any information on it. When I tried to plan for this section, I had to look deep in the maps to realize there was a road there and I didn’t even know if it was a paved one. Then I had to keep researching maps to see where that road would take me, then try to find out what services would I find there.

Getting this kind of info is a non issue nowadays on the CDT. It’s all in the guidebook and the app. It’s even odd to realize how difficult it can be to gather it from other sources, namely the Internet. The first town down from the CDT on NM Highway 59 was called Winston and it was unclear if I could actually resupply there or get any lodging, the only sure thing was that the place was tiny. That’s as much as I could find out on a web search. Further east, I noticed Truth or Consequences as the next viable town stop but it was damn far.

I got to NM Highway 59. After about an hour of standing by the empty road, the first car appeared. It wasn’t a hitch, it was a tackle. I was lucky I was picked up by the most awesome guy who informed me about what I could find in Winston and offered to stop there, let me see, ask around and decide if I’d stay or keep riding to TorC.

Winston was technically doable, the store was tiny but an austere version of a full resupply would have been possible. Only a big cabin available for lodging but I was offered to camp by the church. It would haven been easier to come back to the trail from Winston, yet I was so worn out after my toughest section of the whole trail that I decided to take the offer to keep riding and get to Truth or Consequences.

I didn’t get to know or even see the actual town. My driver left me on a mall area off town where I found all I needed and had a well deserved, overnight break after all the hardships of the previous days. I was on my own as never else on the trip, far from the trail in a place where no other hikers would be and where nobody would know what the CDT was but I could relax, physical and mentally, and gather strength for the final section across the Black Range before I was back into the perceived safety of the well-trodden path. It worked out great.

The potential problem of using TorC realized the following morning when I couldn’t get a ride to get out, not to the trail nor anywhere. I’d try to hitch a ride for 6 hours straight and not even one car stopped.

I was already planning to get a second motel night after the most ridiculous of Zero days when a car did stop. It was no other than my driver from the previous day on his way back to the mountains. He was twice my saver.

Let me add that I input some information on the Guthook App³ about Hwy 59, Winston and TorC. I still need to contact the guidebook author about considering including it all.

Silver City, NM

Pop. 9887

I had high expectations from Silver City after reports about it being a very hiker-friendly, nice trail town. On top of that, 2019 saw the launch of a hiker-owned hostel. What could go wrong?

Nothing did! Silver City was probably the nicest town stop of my whole trip, all the possible factors where there: it is a real town, lively and rich in local culture. It is on trail, it’s got all services, it’s very compact for American standards and everything you would need is within walking distance. The hostel is a dream of a place, run by a thru-hiker who obviously knows what hikers need and also works hard to provide it, including a great vibe that makes the place feel like home⁴.

At a personal level, I was exhausted after the Black Range and I needed a break more than anytime else along the trip. From the moment I decided to take on the wild side through the Black Range, my mind was set on reaching Silver City and it became my beacon. Getting there became a major highlight of my days on the trail.

I took a Zero here and I would have taken a few more but I had to keep going. Only two more stages to finish the CDT.

Lordsburg, NM

Pop. 3195

Lordsburg is in the middle of the desert and it probably gets its life from the Interstate and the railway line that skirt the town. The setting is not too pretty but it comes very handy and convenient for thru-hikers. If only for that, it turned out a nice stop for me.

Lordsburg is on trail and about 100 miles from the terminus so it’s a very popular stop, pretty much everybody will go through and stop here. The services are more limited than I’d had expected for a town of its size but they’re more than enough: a nice supermarket, a great restaurant and several motels of which at least one is very hiker friendly. All you need before that final stretch.

1. As of July 2021, I just knew that Sam, motel owner and my host in 2019, has just passed away. He was the main character among those locals that provided a great time for hikers and certainly myself. He’ll be remembered
2. 2020 update: only 2 remain open
3. Now renamed as FarOut
4. Sadly, the Triple Crown Hostel closed in 2022