When choosing the best hiking trails an important consideration in getting the most enjoyment from your walking holiday or backpacking journey. Are lakes, waterfalls, mountains, wildlife, wilderness, a foreign destination or gentle hiking trails what appeals to you?
What to Look For When Choosing the Best Hiking Trails
Destination – First, is your walking holiday going to be on hiking trails close to where you live. If so, this should be easy to research by just checking the website of the local hiking or trail association. Also ask your friends about their experiences. The book 50 Places to Hike Before You Die can also be an excellent resource as experts share their thoughts.
Organized hiking tours – If you plan to hike with a walking holidays company check their brochure listing the destinations offered and see what appeals to you considering your style of hiking. Some companies such as HF Holidays offer rotating itineraries for returning walkers along with two or three levels of hiking in each destination.
Who are you hiking with – If on a family walking holiday the hiking trails may need to be shorter with gentler terrain. If choosing the best hiking for a group of experienced friends they may be expecting a challenging hiking trail so ask them about their interests.
Seek advice – If planning your own walking holiday further from home ask friends, family or if you belong to a hiking club ask the other members about their favorite hiking trails. Because they enjoyed the hiking trail doesn’t mean it is suitable for you so ask about the distances walked, type of terrain, details about getting to the trailhead and what made this hiking trail so appealing.
Using available resources – Once you have narrowed down the destinations check hiking trail guidebooks and the internet for more detailed information. Check the hiking seasons, for example, many trails in the Canadian Rockies don’t open until late June each year. I was visiting Jasper National Park in late June and some of the trails were still partly closed one year.
Local transport – If hiking in a location such as Auyuittuq National Park in the Nunavut, Canada or Milford Sound in New Zealand, not only are the seasons a consideration but transportation getting there may be very limited.
Fees – If choosing a long distance hiking trails such as the famous West Coast Trail on Vancouver Island there are limits to the number of hikers at any time to protect the environment and you need to apply for a permit well in advance. There may also be fees associated with hiking in most state, provincial or National Parks.
Local tourist offices – Once you arrive in the destination the local tourist office can provide a wealth of information. Offices in destinations such as the English Lake District, Zermatt in Switzerland, Banff in the Canadian Rockies deal mostly with hikers and can provide sound advice about hiking trail conditions and any hazards. For example in Banff National Park the location of recent bear sightings are posted and yes we did see a black bear near the trailhead.
Signs along the trail – Learn what the signage along the hiking trail looks like and what the blazes mean. In the Swiss Alps for instance there are three types of blazes each indicating a different level of difficulty. The local trails where I live have one blaze to continue straight and a double blaze for a direction change.
If planned right everyone will be asking you which hiking trails you are planning the next time! You want to be choosing the best hiking trails so that you are talking about your experience for years to come.