If you were planning to start a Continental Divide Trail hike this autumn, the famous first steps have moved — literally. The Continental Divide Trail Coalition (CDTC) has announced a temporary closure of the trail's first 1.1 miles from its southern terminus on the US–Mexico border, while crews build a second border barrier and widen the road leading to it. The closure is expected to lift in mid-November.
This is the latest twist in a difficult year for CDT starters. Since spring 2025, roughly 110,000 acres of border land around the terminus have been under US Army control as the New Mexico National Defense Area. That means every hiker — American or international — has needed a background check and an Army permit just to walk the trail's opening mile, with clearance issued through Fort Huachuca.
Now the practicalities get more awkward. Construction has restarted in the High Lonesome Well area, with work underway to double the width of Commodore Road through the defense area to the border. The section of Commodore Road near Mengus Tank is actively under construction and considered unsafe to drive.
For anyone heading to the terminus in the coming weeks, the CDTC's guidance is clear: the trail is shut from mile 0 to 1.1, hikers and non-construction vehicles should stay well clear of the work zone, and nobody should cross the existing barbed-wire fence. Signage is going up and the area will be monitored. The coalition's fall shuttle has also changed its pickup point — it will now collect hikers at Cache Box 1, about 13.9 trail miles north of the terminus, rather than at the border itself.
Once construction wraps up, the trail and the defense area are expected to reopen, but the permit-and-background-check requirement through Fort Huachuca will remain in place for anyone wanting to access the NDA. The CDTC keeps a dedicated page with the latest access details, which is worth checking close to your start date since conditions on the ground are clearly shifting fast.
For the vast majority of holidaymakers, this is a niche story — but a meaningful one. Thru-hikers and section hikers planning a southbound-to-northbound start at the iconic Crazy Cook monument area will need to rethink logistics: where the shuttle meets them, how to secure Army clearance, and whether to begin their walk 14 miles north. International travellers should factor extra time for the background check process. The rest of the 3,100-mile Continental Divide Trail through New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho and Montana remains open, so trips further north are unaffected.
