Empowering hiking resources designed to get you to the trail
How to Find Places Around You
Google It
Start with a google search. You can quickly see what trails are directly nearby or for a specific park where you want to explore. Using google maps to find parks, reservations, wildlife protection areas, state parks, or national parks is a perfect starting point…especially if you are traveling!
Tourist Office
Find a tourist office and inquire about the best hikes and outdoor activities to do
Ask Locals
Ask locals for recommendations – from food to local camping, locals always know best! (Except for directions, sometimes…)
Park Offices
Stop by the park office at local, state, and national parks to grab a map and definitely ask for trail recommendations depending on the day, who’s traveling with you, and how you feel.
Apps
You can easily find free and paid options to camp, wild camp, or overland via iOverlander. They provide crowd-sourced information including user reviews, photos, and recent updates online and on their app – the mobile version is the best. And you can use it offline, which is perfect for taking to the harder-to-reach places. They always up leading you to the best stories anyway!
Different Types of Parks to Visit you head To The Trails
Local & State Parks
Explore US State Parks by starting here.
National Parks
National Forests
National forests provide you with incredible protected areas to explore that are often free to visit.
Pick which Local & State Park to Visit for your Hiking Trip
An incredible starting place to take to the trails is with parks right in your own backyard. Starting the ever-expanding list are some United States-based state parks:
Tennessee
- Some incredible rock walls are ready to be climbed
- Great Smoky Mtn NP resources below
Texas
- Start with this interactive state map for Texas which lays out all of the state parks for you in one place
- Enchanted Rock State Park
- McKiney Falls State Park
- Pedernales State Park
Kentucky
- See what state parks in Kentucky you can photograph, fish, or hike around here.
- Cumberland Falls
- Natural Bridge
- Taylorsville Lake
What’s your favorite state park to explore? Leave the name of your favorite state park in the comments to see it added to the list!
National Parks
National Parks are an amazing place for you to start exploring. While they require planning and dedicated time to visit, they are well mapped out with trails and breathtaking views that you can see via car or on a week-long backpacking trip.
How to Plan a Trip to a National Park
Start here on the main National Park website to browse for where you would love to visit first! You can search by state with their easy-to-use interactive map and once you’ve picked your first destination, you can easily find all of the National Park maps to download for free.
Top U.S. National Park Recommendations
Glacier
Changing you on a molecular level is Glacier National Park
Montana, USA
Grand Tetons
Zion
Breathtaking slot canyons and exposed rocks leave you invigorated at Zion National Park
Utah, USA
Amazing International Parks worth Exploring
Torres del Paine
Torres del Paine is an incredible national park in the heart of Patagonia.
Ventisquero Colgante
Ventisquero Colgante – Parque Nacional Queulat, Chile is a National Park with n amazing hanging glacier.
Izta-Popo Zoquiapan
Izta-Popo Zoquiapan National Park is an incredible National Park in Mexico where you can hike, park, and stay at high elevations between two active volcanoes. Check out this incredible write-up of what to do there.
Catedrales de Marmol
Catedrales de Marmol in Chile takes you inside marble caves in a boat.
Hiking Checklists for Your Adventures
Staying organized and prepared – albeit not everyone’s hiking style – is an excellent way to actually enjoy yourself on the trail. That’s why below you’ll find a ton of different checklists that are all free, printable, and downloadable so that you feel empowered and ready to get outside.
Specific Park Recommendations from Episode 3
In Episode 3, To The Trails Podcast interviews Fernando. He talks all about his mishaps and incredible experiences in Iceland and Chile! The parks that he refers to the most are linked below. I mean, have you seen mountains and landscapes as exquisite as these?!
- Conguillío National Park, Chile with incredible photos
- Westfjords, Iceland with a complete guide for you to plan your own adventure
Apps and Sites that Make it Easy to Get Outside
These links are incredible and free resources for you to use whenever and wherever you want to go. Whether your soon-to-be exploration is a short, easy hike day walk or a long, well-planned trekking adventure, these are knowledge-based starting points:
AllTrails
AllTrails is a crowdsourced hiking trails site where you can get initial ideas for hikes
iOverlander
iOverlander is a fantastic source for you to use if you are car camping, overlanding, or looking for a weekend trip. It has crowd-sourced comments, photos, and is free.
Various Ways to Spend more time Outside
Overlanding
Overlanding is a term used by people who are traveling across states, cross country, or even globally! Generally, they live in a vehicle of sorts. Imagine a tiny house on wheels, an RV, or a camper van.
If you’re driving, you can find free and paid options to camp, wild camp, or overland via iOverlander. They provide crowd-sourced information including user reviews, photos, and recent updates online and on their app – the mobile version is the best. And you can use it offline, which is perfect for taking to the harder-to-reach places. They always up leading you to the best stories anyway!