finding the best hiking trails

Saturday, June 6 is American Hiking Society’s National Trails Day.  Whether you are planning your first hike or you 100th hike, finding the best hiking trails in your area is the first step to a great hiking experience. There are numerous hiking trails that you can choose from, but researching the park and the trails is the way to get the most pleasure out of your adventure. By researching the hiking trails available in the area you are interested in, you can then choose from the trails that seem more promising to you. This will help you to be confident in finding the “perfect hiking trail” for you. Here are few ways to help you to find the best trails for your hike.

Get Recommendations

The easiest and best way to find suitable trails in your area is to ask for recommendations from people you know that enjoy hiking – friends, family, neighbors, and work colleagues.  You can then do additional research of those recommendations to find you ideal trail.  When we first moved to California, I bought the book 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles: Sacramento by Jordan Summers to help us find local trails in the area. We have hike about 60% of the trails listed in the book.

There are 60 Hikes Within 60 Miles books for almost every major metropolitan city to help you find trails close to your area, from Boston to Seattle you can find a book that is suited for you.

Contact the Park

Contacting your local park or recreation areas can offer you some ideas for locating a great place to hike. Local parks are an excellent place to plan your first hike to get a feel for what it is like. By contacting the park or recreation area, you can request brochures and maps of the park and ask questions to gather more information on guided tours, vegetation, and wildlife. Most local, state, and national parks are online to help you gather information about the park and the surrounding areas.

Internet: Hiking Close to Home

The internet offers great resources for researching any local parks or hiking trails. Just type in a phrase like “hiking trails” or “hiking parks” and your city or town and you will receive many search results that you can look through. You can refine the search even further so that the results are personalized to your needs by adding special terms like “family friendly”, “easy”, or “popular”.

Search results will almost certainly come from hiking websites full of helpful information about the area, wildlife, and conditions. You should be able to find just the information that you need from these websites. Websites like www.everytrail.com is a great resource to gather information, share trips, connect with other hikers, and find great new things to do on and around your hike.

Internet: Hiking Distant Trails

You may be attracted to the idea of traveling further away from home to hike, such as in a State or National Park. A standard internet search will give you the official websites of the parks or recreation areas where you are looking for information. To save yourself valuable time, you will want to research the park and trails beforehand. The internet is a great tool for not only researching the trail but also finding the information you need about the park closures or warnings, and for other sources of information like where to stay while you are away.  The National Parks Service has a National Trail System website designated just for researching trails within the National Parks system.

Visit the Tourist Office

The local park ranger station or tourist office will also have a lot of up-to-date information available. While searching the internet is a great way to gather preliminary information, sometimes websites are not updated regularly. Often the tourist office will be able to supply the most recent information regarding sections of the park or trails that are closed close due to dangerous conditions or preservation of natural resources. The office can also help you by giving you recommendations for other places to hike if your trail is closed for unforeseen reasons. Local residents in the area of your trail or park will also have good information about the area, so you might consider asking questions about local trails.

The best hiking trails for beginners are those that are well maintained, popular, safe, and cheap to hike. A little research goes a long way to an amazing adventure in the wilderness.

How did you find your favorite trail?