How to find the perfect hike

How to find a trail

My best suggestion for finding a trail near you is to use an app to find a trail. My favorite app is called All Trails. It will automatically display the trails that are close to your location and provides a lot of very good information on those hikes.

Finding the right trail

Finding a trail you like is the easy part. Finding a trail that is right for you is a little more challenging. You need to pay attention to how long the hike is and how much elevation change the hike has. Keep in mind that hiking on level paved roads is very different then hiking a trail. You will be very surprised to find out that how much longer it will take you to go the 1 mile on a trail as compared to how long it takes to go 1 mile on a level paved road or sidewalk.

Pick a trail that you can reasonably accomplish

Figure out how much time you will have to hike by subtracting out the time that it will take you to travel to the trail and how long it will take you to return. Once you know how long you have for hiking then figure out how long it will take you to hike the trail by taking the amount of time it would take you to hike that same distance on a flat sidewalk and double it. If the trail has a significant amount of uphill then triple the time to account for the time you will spend stopping and resting along the way. After you find out how long you will be hiking don't forget to add in the time you spend at the end of the trail. My general rule of thumb is I can do about 2 miles per hour on a trail that is flat and level and about 1 to 1.5 miles per hour on an uphill trail. I know that sounds slow but did I tell you that you will be surprised by how much longer it will take you then you expect. Also, pay attention to if the distance shown on the app is one way or out and back.

Be sure to read all the details about the hike

there are a lot of details about the hike in the description that will let you know if this hike is right for you.

How good of a rating did the trail get

If others gave it a good rating then that says a lot about how much you will likely enjoy this hike.

When is the trail available for hiking

If it is winter time you will need to find out when the trail is accessible

Are there fees or permits required

If the trail is located inside a national or state park then it is likely that you will need to pay an entrance fee to get into the park. There are very few trails that require a permit for day hiking but some examples of hikes that require a permit are Half Dome in Yosemite National Park and Mount Whitney. If you are planning to camp overnight then it is very likely that you will need a permit.