How to Hike for the Sights

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While not all of us live in northern Arizona (think Grand Canyon territory), that doesn’t mean there aren’t sights to be hold when out hiking. Whether you live in the piney upper regions of the midwest, the forrests in the Pacific coast, or down south by the beaches, there’s plenty for everyone to see – you just need to know how to go see it.

Hiking has a million benefits as a hobby – it gives you fresh air, builds endurance, and gets your focus away from the office or the house. It gets you outdoors again, but one of the great payoffs to hiking is surmounting the obstacles, making your brief little journey up a hill, and truly earning the sight at the top. This gives you exercise more meaning than running laps in a gym or running like a hamster on a treadmill.

Here are some quick tips for hiking “for the sights,” and how to go about finding the best sights in your area:

Ask those who know – If you’re not doing this, then what’s wrong with you? Of course you ask those who know – ask the hikers, ask the people you see “out there” and find out the best sites i your county. This is one of the easiest ways to do it, and people will be eager to give their recommendations if you look like you’re really willing to take their advice. They might even rank a few sights for you, from best to worst. Take advantage of the social aspects of hiking and learn about the sights in your area.
Snoop around – If you want to quickly find out a sight to see for your first hiking trip, take to the internet. You’ll be able to take a look on Google Maps and even see pictures form particular areas, and this will give you a hint as to what’s out there. If you live in especially rocky areas, this will simplify your search, and if you live in some more desolate regions, you’ll find the best places to link up to. You can’t go wrong with a quick search on the internet as long as you take your snooping seriously.
Explore – Duh! But you might find even greater satisfaction if you don’t look for the sights ahead of time, and simply go hiking in search of the sights. Exploring is a great way to get outside of your head and back into nature, focusing on the adventure itself oand not the latest annoyance at work or the stress at home. Going exploring has something primeval about it, a certain childlike quality that many of us miss in our adult days. Get out there and don’t read the stories; make the stories.
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These are just some of the ways to hike for sights, but you’ll never get to enjoy any of it if you’re not eventually out there, pushing one foot in front of the other. Go out and hike, and the sights will find you.

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