Northbound LT border crossing into Canada

[TheYoungOne]

This is kind of a noob question but I was looking options for a 4 week Hike, and one option I have is hiking the LT NOBO and meeting up with some friends in Montreal.

My big question is as a US citizen with a passport, when you hit that US/Canadian border point on the trail and you want to keep traveling into Canada, is there a nearby checkpoint? Can you keep hiking on another trail or walk into Canada from the end of the LT or do I need to backtrack once I get to the end?

[Mags]

Definitely check in at the nearby border station. The border area at the LT terminus is monitored and walking into Canada from there could be a bad thing since it is not official.

Though on the PCT, this little incident could easily apply to the border on the LT.
http://mailman.backcountry.net/piper...er/071015.html
(Note you legally can cross into Canada from the official PCT ending as the Canadian govt has the right paperwork in place for hikers. Nothing like this exists for the LT...or most other trails as the person in the link found out!)

The Journey's End Trail at the LT northern terminus is three miles long and leads to the outskirts of North Troy, Vermont. From there, IIRC, it is about 1 mile to a border crossing station. (Google Maps confirmed it)

It has been quite a while for me since I've been there. Locals can give you more details than I can. But that is the gist of it.

[Slo-go'en]

The northen terminus of the LT dead ends on a hill over looking the boarder clear cut. There is now where to go from there but to turn around and go back.

If you want to cross into Canada, you have to go to Troy and get on the road which leads into Canada where the customs station is. If you try to cross at the end of the LT, you'll just get lost in the woods in the middle of nowhere.

[Dogwood]

What Mags and Slo-go'en said. The LT northern terminus stops near a U.S.CAN border obelisk overlooking what seemed to me as some dense forest. It's not flat either. It wouldn't be my first inclination to bushwack into Can from there. It's not like you're on a trail going into Can as is the case with the PCT going into Manning Park or the CDT going into Waterton Provincial NP.

You don't need to turn around though. Walk(or hitch) into Troy VT on the improved hard packed gravel road. In 2007 and 2009 when I hiked the LT and was heading to the trail, done with the trail, I walked this road and was stopped twice on both hikes by U.S. Border patrol who wanted to know what I was doing. They were very professional and respectful LEOs. The International Border goes through Troy with a typically manned border Custom's building. They'll check your passport. you will need one. Find your way to Montreal from Troy VT on the paved roads. If it were me, near the border crossing in Troy is a diner. I would look for a ride there into Can. Troy locals and Canadian/U.S. citizens often go back and forth into the U.S. and Can here.

[StubbleJumper]

I've actually done this before. It's actually an easy way for folks to get back home.

As others have said, there's a cut-line along the border and that's the official terminus of the trail. However, after taking your obligatory picture of the border obelisk, you can follow Journey's End Trail east, paralleling the border on the Vermont side for a couple of miles. This will take you to Journey's End Road, and keep walking another couple of miles, you'll get to North Troy. Turn north, and you'll hit a staffed border crossing. I can tell you from experience that the Canadians are not accustomed to dirty, smelly, disheveled people walking across the border...in fact, pretty much nobody crosses the border in Vermont without a car. You'll get a few strange looks and a little bit more polite questioning than usual, but once they confirm that you have a passport, you're eligible for entry into Canada (no criminal record, including DUI) and that you have a bit of money on you, they'll just send you across.

From the border crossing, you just walk about 3 miles on a small, paved rural road to the town of Mansonville, Quebec. Mansonville has a corner store and a few restaurants, so that's a nice bonus after walking 280 miles. All of the communities in the Eastern Townships, including Mansonville, have a large English speaking population, so there will be no issues with speaking English. There's a bus that runs from Mansonville through the Eastern Townships all the way to the main bus terminal in Montreal. Information on that bus can be found here: http://www.destinationknowlton.com/k...-schedule.html

When you arrive in Montreal you will be at the main bus station, which is across the street from the Berri-UQAM metro stop. This is the intersection of the orange, green and yellow metro lines so you can pretty much get to anywhere in the city very easily from the bus station.

Have fun!

[bamboo bob]

What they said. In 2010 my wife and I did the LT. Theoretically one could bushwack north and hit a road into Canada but you would be entering the country illegally . Also we had two that's 2 helicopters fly over us at the monument. We walked into North Troy and got a shuttle back to Southern VT.
You need to go through the border station at VT 243 in North Troy It's a 24 hour crossing.

[TheYoungOne]

Cool. I really feared that it would be a hike up to a dead end, then miles of backtracking, and a roundabout journey to get a border crossing making an end side trip to Montreal a major headache. I could easily just drive into Montreal from southern VT after the hike, but it would be kind of cool to walk into another country, and take the bus, to get more of a local feel. Thanks Everyone

[Dogwood]

THX Stubble Jumper. Seems like solid info. I may take your advice if I ever finish another LT hike at Troy.

[BillyGr]

Cool. I really feared that it would be a hike up to a dead end, then miles of backtracking, and a roundabout journey to get a border crossing making an end side trip to Montreal a major headache. I could easily just drive into Montreal from southern VT after the hike, but it would be kind of cool to walk into another country, and take the bus, to get more of a local feel. Thanks Everyone

Another thought - do those friends in Montreal have a vehicle (or could get one - like a rental)? Maybe they would be able to meet you, either in North Troy or Mansonville?'
That way you could have more time to visit while travelling back to Montreal and maybe there would be something interesting en route as well (or not).