*

The family of layered chromium trihalides has been studied for decades due to its rich magnetic phases coupled with insulating properties. The recent isolation of monolayer CrI₃ has renewed interest in these materials to incorporate magnetism into 2D van der Waals heterostructures. Transition metal halide magnets have revealed intriguing ground states differing from the bulk when cleaved to thin films but this phenomenon is not yet understood. Here, we use electron tunneling through few-layer crystals of the layered antiferromagnet CrCl₃ to probe its magnetic order in the ultrathin limit. By measuring the magnetoresistance in spin filter magnetic tunnel junctions, we measure the interlayer exchange in CrCl₃ barriers two to four layers in thickness and find that it is greatly increased in thin films compared to bulk.