Planning your hikes is part of the fun, although being spontaneous can be fun, too. There are so many resources out there to plan hikes these days!
I’m linking up with My First 5K and More, Running With Attitude, Runs with Pugs, Zenaida and Run Laugh Eat Pie for Fit Five Friday. Today I’m sharing 5 ways (and things to think about) when planning your hike.
1: AllTrails App
AllTrails may not be perfect, but it’s a great help in planning your hike. I like to look at the most recent comments. Is it buggy? Muddy? I always look at the elevation gain, too, because I’m usually hiking with Mr. Judy and Bandit. If you have the Pro version (which I suggest), you can do things like print out trail maps, look to see where nearby rest stops might be, and create lists.
2: Bring Fido
I like to check out Bring Fido if we’re hiking with Bandit. There’s not usually a wealth of information there, but you might find a hike you didn’t know about or a caution about a certain hike if you’re bringing your dog.
3: Actual Books!
Yes, I bought an honest to good, real life book for the vacation that didn’t happen. It has plenty of hikes that are within driving distance of us, so it will be useful and hopefully someday we’ll actually get back to that vacation (or somewhere similar). The book I bought was about hiking with your dog, and it rates hikes by difficulty and also dangers for dogs (among many other features) so very useful.
4: Facebook Hiking Groups
I also got on a local Facebook Hiking Group I’m a member of (and often get ideas for hikes from) and asked for any suggestions on where to eat, parking, and hikes that might meet our requirements. They were very helpful!
5: Yelp
You gotta refuel before or after your hike, right? I use Yelp (and sometimes TripAdvisor) to search out nearby restaurants, and whether or not they’re dog friendly — or at the very least have an outdoor patio. Not all restaurants with outdoor dining are also dog friendly. The one we ate at before our most recent hike was a real winner and even brought water for Bandit.
Bonus Tip: Blogs
One thing AllTrails isn’t always very good at is giving you an address for the Trailhead. We’ve usually had good luck finding something when we search for blog posts on hikes we want to do. Some hikers write really detailed posts that are so helpful!
Final Thoughts
Mr. Judy and I have been hiking, on and off, since before we were married. It all started with a visit to Yosemite and Sequoia National Parks when my brother graduated from law school. I remember when we went to Great Smoky Mountains in the 90s, we had a lot more trouble trying to plan and pick our hikes. There’s so much information readily available now!
Do you plan your hikes?
What resources or tips would you add?
Chocolaterunsjudy 
I use many of those mentioned. But mostly Google. That leads me to nearby hikes waterfalls ice cream etc.
Blogs have the best information. FB tends to have info overload. Easy for one person can be hard for another. . I also ask my hiking friends since they know what kind of hikes I like.
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Blogs definitely do have great info and have helped us out a lot simply finding parking many times!
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In our first couple of years dating my husband and I did a 7 day hiking trail called the Bibbulmun Track in Australia. It was so hard, I cried every night as the sun was setting and we were still far from camp. But it helped to cement our relationship and I knew then that he was the one!
These are such brilliant resources! Hiking is not very advanced here but there are a few hiking groups on Facebook and I also like looking at some of their routes and trying them out!
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That’s great that you managed to keep going & that the hike brought you closer together.
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These are great resources. I have to admit I’m not much of a hiker (especially during the summer months in Florida, yuck) but I’ll check out AllTrails when it gets a little cooler. Thanks!
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Hiking was definitely sparser when we lived in TX. But there were still some great areas! I always consider it reverse cabin fever in the south during summer.
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We don’t have many options for hiking in my area (that I know of anyways). I’d like to add the to my arsenal ((someday)), but for now we keep pretty active with running and biking with friends. The apps mentioned sound like great resources!
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You definitely have plenty of ways to stay fit, Kim. Most places do seem to have some kind of hiking — I found so many new places over the last year or so.
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No hiking for me but I have checked out the AllTrails app. I think Darlene recommended it to me.
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I would love just running by the lake there!
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The only time I have planned hikes is when we travel. These are great ideas for the future thanks for sharing them
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You never know what you’ll find in your backyard. Could be an albino squirrel. 🤣 It’s just funny how many places I didn’t know about until relatively recently!
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I agree that the AllTrails app is not perfect but still a helpful planning tool. I also get a lot of great information from state/park websites. I had not heard of Bring Fido – I will have to remember to check them out!
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There is also dogfriendly.com. And Traillink!
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