Enter the 2015 Pacific Crest Trail photo contest

The Pacific Crest Trail is stunningly beautiful. Every year thousands of fantastic photos are taken of the trail. Many of the pictures we’ll publish in 2015 will be selected from those entered in the PCTA’s annual photo contest.

Do you have photographs that would look great on the cover of the PCT Communicator, in our annual calendar or in our trail protection materials? Volunteering your creative work lets you give back to the trail that you love.

Put your photos to good use and help the trail. Please enter our 2015 Photo Contest.

Put your photos to use and help the trail! Thanks for sharing your best photos with us!

Put your photos to use and help the trail! Thanks for sharing your best photos with us!

Prizes provided by our friends at Eagle Creek

This year, we are awarding prizes for the top three overall winners. Judges will pick three winners in each category and then choose the best three of the entire show.

Winners will be announced in the spring/summer 2015. Winning pictures will be published on the PCTA website. Only residents of the United States are eligible to win prizes. Sorry, international shipping is cost-prohibitive.

Contest Categories

  • Trail Majesty – A photo that captures the beauty of the PCT.
  • Human Spirit – A photo along the PCT that shows hikers or riders.
  • Equestrian – Any photo along the PCT that shows horses/stock and/or their riders in their PCT environment.
  • Trail Work – Photos of PCTA or other trail maintenance volunteers along the PCT.
  • Flora and Fauna – Photos of plants and animals along the PCT.

Your photographs help the PCTA protect the Pacific Crest Trail, the surrounding landscape and the hiking and equestrian experience for future generations. Thank you for helping to further our mission through your photography.

ENTER the photo contest here!

Author: Mark Larabee

Mark Larabee is the PCTA's Advocacy Director. He is the former editor of the "PCT Communicator" magazine and co-author of "The Pacific Crest Trail: Exploring America's Wilderness Trail" published in 2016. Larabee is a journalist, part of a team who won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for breaking news for The Oregonian newspaper. He hiked the PCT across Oregon for a 2005 series for the paper and has been with PCTA since 2010. He lives in Portland.