Cancellation & Refund Policy

A booking is reserved with a $250 deposit per person. The deposit counts toward your total trip price — it is part of what you pay, not an extra charge. The deposit is non-refundable if you cancel your own booking, no matter how far in advance you cancel (see Section 2). If TCT cancels your departure, the deposit is fully refunded along with everything else you have paid (see Section 5).

If you cancel your own booking, your refund depends on how many calendar days before your departure date you cancel. The $250 deposit is not refundable in any of these tiers.

• 61 or more days before departure: a refund of 100% of what you have paid above the $250 deposit. (You get back everything except the non-refundable deposit.)
• 31–60 days before departure: a refund of 50% of the total amount you have paid, capped so that TCT always retains at least the $250 deposit. (If half of what you've paid is less than the deposit, your refund is reduced so the deposit stays with TCT.)
• 30 days or fewer before departure: no refund.

Cancellation timing is measured in whole calendar days between the date we receive your cancellation and your departure's start date, using U.S. Pacific Time. To cancel, email hello@triplecrowntreks.com with your booking number; your cancellation takes effect on the date we receive it. Any refund is processed by hand back to your original payment method through Stripe.

If you pay a deposit rather than in full, your remaining balance is due 28 days before departure. Bookings made within 28 days of departure require payment in full at the time of booking.

If a balance isn't paid by its due date, there is a 7-day grace period. We don't cancel automatically — we'll try to reach you first — but after the grace period TCT may cancel the booking and release the seat.

A booking cancelled because its balance went unpaid is a cancellation for nonpayment. It is its own category — not a TCT-initiated cancellation under Section 5 — but the hiker-cancellation refund schedule in Section 2 applies, based on how many days remain before departure on the date we cancel the booking, including the non-refundable $250 deposit.

Conditions on a multi-day backpacking trip can change quickly. If TCT makes an ordinary safety or operational adjustment — for example a change of campsite, route, mileage, direction, trailhead, or timing, or a short reroute — and the trek still substantially proceeds, that is not a cancellation and does not by itself create a refund right.

If TCT determines that environmental conditions (such as wildfire, extreme heat, or unsafe trail or weather conditions) require cancelling the departure entirely, that is treated exactly like any other TCT-initiated cancellation: a full refund including the deposit, or a voluntary transfer or credit if you choose one (see Section 5).

If Triple Crown Treks cancels a departure — for any reason, including not meeting minimum enrollment (Section 6) or environmental conditions (Section 4) — you will receive a refund of 100% of everything you have paid to TCT, including your $250 deposit.

If you would prefer, you may voluntarily choose to transfer to another available departure or take a credit toward a future trip instead of the refund. A full refund is always available; a credit or transfer happens only if you choose it and never replaces your right to a full refund. Refunds are processed by hand through Stripe.

Our trips run with a normal minimum of five hikers. TCT reviews enrollment 30 days before departure — before the 28-day balance-payment due date, so a go/no-go decision is normally made before remaining balances are collected. If fewer than five hikers are enrolled at that point, TCT has the right — but not the obligation — to cancel the departure; if it does, Section 5 applies (full refund including deposit, or a voluntary transfer/credit).

TCT may also elect to run a departure with fewer than five hikers. Our maximum capacity is eight hikers; if we choose to run below the minimum, booking remains open up to that capacity.

A material change is one that substantially alters the location, overall character, difficulty, or core experience of the trip you purchased — for example, substituting a different trek in a different region (a California trip replaced with an Oregon trip). Ordinary operational adjustments described in Section 4 are not material changes.

If TCT offers a material substitution, you may choose to:

• accept the changed trip;
• transfer to another available departure, if one is offered or available; or
• decline and receive a 100% refund of the money you have paid to TCT, including your deposit.

If no safe, appropriate alternative exists, TCT may cancel the departure entirely and issue full refunds under Section 5.

If a participant is removed during a trip for safety reasons, serious behavioral issues, or failure to follow guides' safety instructions, no refund is provided. This is consistent with the liability waiver every participant signs. If a participant voluntarily leaves a trip early, no refund is provided.

Separately, TCT may decline or cancel a participant's booking before departure where necessary for safety or eligibility (see our Terms & Conditions, Eligibility). If TCT excludes a participant before departure for eligibility, medical, or safety reasons that are not caused by the participant's misconduct or material misrepresentation, the participant receives a full refund of all amounts paid, including the deposit.

TCT is not responsible for a participant's independently booked travel costs (flights, lodging, other transportation, gear purchased for the trip, or time off work) if a trip is cancelled, modified, or if a participant cancels their own booking. We strongly recommend booking refundable or changeable flights, lodging, and transportation whenever possible, and not booking non-refundable travel until your trip is confirmed.

You may also want to consider travel insurance that can cover trip cancellation, interruption, or independently booked travel. Coverage varies significantly between policies, so review the policy terms carefully. TCT does not recommend or endorse any particular insurer or product, and this is not a promise that any particular event will be covered.

To cancel a booking, email hello@triplecrowntreks.com with your booking number. Any applicable refund is processed by hand back to your original payment method through Stripe.