Finding good information can be hard. When you are planning a hike you want to be sure you are getting the best information possible. We have looked at a ton of websites while trying to plan hikes and have come to rely on a select few. I personally like websites that have information from people that have actually hike the trail. I also like to know I can trust the distance and the difficulty rating. We have found a few sites that had that information wrongs and it is really upsetting when you are on the trail and find out that the waterfall you have come to see is actually further away then you thought. The following sites we have found to be very reliable and full of great information
Hiking the Smokies
This is by far one of my favorite websites for finding a hike or looking up a trail to know what to expect. I have not found a trail I have wanted to hike that this site did not have information about. It has information on over 80 different hikes in the Smokies. It includes detailed information about each hike, pictures, and even directions. They do not just write about the trails on the site but have personally hiked every trail they have listed. Another nice feature is that you can find trails by feature (like a view, waterfall, etc.), location, difficulty rating, or in alphabetical order. I honestly can’t recommend this website enough if you are looking for a hike in the Smokies.
Romantic Asheville
Okay, I know this one sounds odd for finding great hikes, but they have a whole section dedicated to outdoor activities near Asheville and they call themselves the Insider’s “Guide to the NC Mountains”. I actually discovered this site when planning a day trip for my mom on mother’s day. I was trying to find a way to see as many waterfalls as possible and this website has a section dedicated to waterfall and a lot of them are right off of U.S. Highway 64. We have another post all about that you can read here.
The best part of this site is once you find a hike you want to do you can find other things to do near Asheville and find a place for dinner. This website is so vast you could spend hours planning your trip. It’s hard to find a website with as much useful information as this one has.
All Trails
The other sites listed have mainly had to fo with trails located in the east TN western NC area, this site, however, has more than 50000 trails. This site allows users to rate the trail so you can see what other people think about it and you can see pictures of what the trail looks like in different seasons. Searching for trails is easy as you can look up a specific trail, find a trail by location and filter based on trail features. They also offer an app, which is able to give you turn by turn directions to the trailhead and allows you to save trails so you can come back to them later. This site does require you to sign up, but it is free. All Trails is a great tool when planning your next adventure.
Roots Rated
Root stated allows you to look up runs, hikes, biking routes, disc golf course, and so much more. It allows you to discover places in over 30 cites all written about by local experts. It gives you all the information you need to decide if a trail is right for you. You are also able to explore activities in many cities that you may not have known had great outdoor opportunities. Another nice feature is that it shows similar adventures to the one you are looking at.
The Afternoon Hiker
This is completely different than the other resources listed so far because this is a book. It was written by a couple that started hiking in the Smokies in the 90s. It is full of great reviews, pictures, and information. I like to flip through this book sometimes just to get inspired to go out and hike. If I do find a trail that interests me I really do not even have to do any online research the trail online to know all I need to hike it. I really like how well written this book is and how they put great detail into their write-ups.
Thank you so much for reading!
I hope that at least one of these resources is new to you and that you gained some useful information. We use these sites almost every time we go on a hike and they are all great in their own way and they all can tell you something different. If you use a website to find trails to find hikes that we did not list please let us know we would love to check it out.
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