Jefferson County’s unfinished section of the Continental Divide Trail inched closer to completion last week when a Senate committee approved the Continental Divide Trail Completion Act.
Designated by Congress in 1978, the CDT runs 3,100 miles from Mexico to Canada along the Continental Divide, with 95 percent of the trail on public lands. Some 57 miles of the CDT run through Jefferson County, much of it along the border with Silver Bow and Powell counties.
Around 15 miles north of Butte, a nine-mile stretch of Jefferson County trail follows a frontage road. The CDT Coalition, the main nonprofit working to complete the trail, examines the land surrounding such gaps to determine the optimal nearby route before starting trail building.
