Hiking in the United States

The low population density compared to Europe, the large number of national parks, and the rugged country in the West and the Appalachians are major factors that have formed the hiking opportunities that exist today. Particularly in mountainous regions, protected areas (such as national parks) are often geared more to hikers than anyone else.

Hiking in the U.S.A can be made more serious than it can be in all but the most extreme environments elsewhere. However, what many residents consider to be a "hike" is often not very much. Meanwhile, there are others for whom hiking is their main hobby, and they have the best hiking gear you could have.

If you're hiking in the United States, it's best to stick to the trails and not leave the path, especially in forested areas, high-elevation deserts and grasslands. Among sand dunes with no vegetation, the path may be poorly marked, and in such situation deviating from it is not frowned upon – except in high-elevation deserts, which are especially fragile.

Plan ahead before you get going. You should incorporate some flexibility in your planning when you're out there, but without a basic plan to guide you, things can go wrong very quickly.

Bring more water and food than is necessary for the amount of time you will spend. Know the climate of the place where you're going to hike, since there are many temperature extremes in the Western United States.

Trails in the United States, particularly in parks, will begin at trailheads where there is a parking lot for cars (often unpaved), restroom facilities, and in many cases picnic tables and a water fountain. At the most-visited trailheads in parks, visitor centers can be found as well. Trailheads are starting points for trail networks, and because of this, many miles of trails can be found beyond, and they usually lead into wide open spaces. The farther from the trailhead you get, the poorer you can expect the route markers and signage to be.

If you can't or don't want to drive, getting to the trailhead can be a challenge. Some great hikes have bus access, but many don't. Taking a taxi to the trailhead is an option too, but make a plan for how to get back, bearing in mind that out in nature you may not have cell phone service.

• Essentially all of the United States national parks have hiking opportunities, as do many of the national monuments and other national scenic areas. Trails will usually be shown on park maps.
  • Reservations sometimes have their own parks. For example, the Navajo Nation operates tribal parks, including the famous Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. These parks have a lot in common with the National Parks, but don't have so many hiking trails. (For example, Monument Valley has hardly any hiking trails open to the public.)
• There are United States National Trails that are much longer than most of the ordinary trails; these "national trails" provide opportunities for hikes comparable in length to what people such as Lewis and Clark explored. Two well-known examples are the Appalachian Trail and the Pacific Crest Trail. In the U.S., you can also hike two of the longest hiking trails in the world: the American Discovery Trail from the west coast to the east coast, and the Continental Divide Trail along the Rocky Mountains from the Canadian border in Montana to the Mexican border in New Mexico.
• There are state parks throughout the United States that are managed by the state government instead of the U.S. government. They're often smaller and not quite as dramatic as the National Parks, but they provide a good idea of the countryside found in a region.

Some regions of the country have better hiking opportunities than others. The West has the open spaces, but at the same time it can also be dangerous due to wildlife, extreme temperatures, and the extremely low-density population of many areas.

Main article: United States National Trails System

• Ala Kahakai National Historic Trail
• Appalachian Trail — a U.S. National Scenic Trail that follows the Appalachian Mountain Range
• Arroyo del Valle Trail — short hike near Livermore, California
• Continental Divide National Scenic Trail
• Ice Age Trail
• Juan Bautista de Anza National Historic Trail
• Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
• Natchez Trace National Scenic Trail
• Pacific Crest National Scenic Trail
• Ohlone Trail — crosses the ridges south of Livermore in California
• Oregon National Historic Trail
• Pony Express National Historic Trail — the Pony Express was once how mail was delivered across the country
• Santa Fe National Historic Trail
• Trail Of Tears National Historic Trail

Because many of the trails in National Parks and even State Parks in some cases, are too long to finish in one day (and, of course, the same goes for the National Trails as well), you'll need to do some camping along the way. In many cases, parks will have camping areas, and if there are camping areas, go to those to camp. They will have more facilities, like restrooms, a place to start a campfire, and picnic tables.

If you want to stick to day hikes and therefore spend your nights in some form of lodging, hotel chains and smaller lodging agencies are widespread in the United States and you can expect at least some form of lodging near any of the reasonably popular national parks and any state parks that are near town/city areas. However, in some of the very popular parks like the Grand Canyon, you should book hotel rooms months ahead because everyone else is doing exactly the same thing.

• Cycling in the United States
• Hiking and bushwalking in Australia