Best Hiking Trails In North America

Looking for the best hiking trails in North America? Steel yourself for a confusing array of options, some of them with required permits and fees attached.

Hiking trail information for North America can be divided along national lines: United States and Canada. The 2 countries have different governing bodies, and different rules and regulations for hikers wanting to access established hiking trails on public lands.

To begin unraveling this complicated picture, let's focus on finding the best hiking trails in the United States.

I find it helpful to start by generating a list of the federal agencies involved in establishing and maintaining hiking trails, in order to get a clear picture of how public lands are divided, subdivided, and micromanaged.

Keep in mind that once you locate the correct federal department, you must also correctly identify which agency within the department you need to contact for information about the best hiking trails.

Department of Interior: National Park Service, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Bureau of Reclamation of Lakes & Reservoirs.

Department of Agriculture: Forest Service.

Department of Defense: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Department of Transportation.

Here's a great resource for trying to make sense of all of these departments, offices, and agencies. This organization's goal is to be a single source of recreational information, including maps with hiking trails, for public land.

Thank you very much, Public Lands Information Center!! It saves many, many headaches for hikers searching for a list of North American best hiking trails outside of their own back yards.

OK, that's one level of complexity: federal. Now we need to address the state agencies which are involved in access to hiking trails.

This process will vary, depending upon the state you are interested in. American Trails is an organization which can help you make sense of the differences in the way states manage hiking trails.

There are at least 4 State agencies with something to say to hikers looking for trails in Washington State:

Washington Wildlife & Waterfowl Management Areas

Washington State Trust Lands & State Forests

Washington Department of Natural Resources (DNR)

Washington State Parks & Monuments

Yikes!!

So be sure to do your research prior to leaving for a new hiking destination. There will be permits, current maps, and even trail head parking permits to sort out. You don't want a great hiking trip ruined by bureaucracy, do you?

If you're specifically interested in researching Western United States best hiking trails, check this out.

And this brings us to specific types of hiking trails. Federally funded trails fall into 3 large categories: National Historic Trails (there are currently 19 of these), National Scenic Trails (there are 11, the most famous being the Pacific Crest Trail and the Appalachian Trail), and the National Recreation Trails (1100 hiking trails).

All 3 types of hiking trails were created as a result of the National Trails System Act in 1968.

All of them provide access to hiking trails on public lands, with different twists implied by their names.

For example, the Historic Trails follow original travel routes as closely as possible. This includes Native American trails and pioneer trails. Here's a way to combine two loves: history and hiking, if you're so inclined!

Of course, there are lots of great trails which fall outside of these big 3 categories. And there are lots of resources to locate best hiking trails by state, too many to list here. But I'm willing to send you links, if you let me know which area of the United States you're interested in.

I'm not as familiar with Canadian hiking systems, but as far as I can tell, they are arranged by province. I've done some hiking in British Columbia, and highly recommend the Rogers Pass area between Golden and Revelstoke, B.C. Fantastic trails and geology, not to mention the wild life. I'd be happy to recommend a few trails!

My goal in writing this is to inform you about the layers of complexity you might bump into during your quest for something as simple as a map or a North American hiking trail.

Don't be discouraged, there are lots of well maintained accessible trails in your region. You might have to hunt and peck on your computer keyboard a bit, but the links I've shared should get you started.

Please let me know if you need more resources, I'd be happy to help you get on the trail of your choice! As long as you send me a few pictures of your wonderful trip here (vicarious hiking, it's called!).

For some basic map information to make sense of North American hiking trails, try this.

Best hiking trails: locating them is not for the faint of heart! Here are more options for planning a great hiking trip.