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Hoping to find a less traveled trail? There's a filter for that. Photo by Holly Weiler.

How to find the trail less traveled with WTA’s Hiking Guide

Sometimes, it’s rewarding to get off the beaten path in favor of a new or quieter experience. Here’s how you can use WTA’s free hiking resources to find a less-hiked trail and get some solitude. By Joseph Gonzalez

Washington is home to rugged coastlines and ancient forests, sky-high volcanoes and windswept canyons. With so much abundant, accessible beauty, it’s no wonder the state’s hiking community is active and growing. It’s beautiful to see other trail users outside and having fun — and sometimes, it’s rewarding to get off the beaten path in favor of a new or quieter experience.

Fortunately, WTA’s Hiking Guide contains over 4,000 hikes to choose from. With so many options, you don’t need to hike the same trail as everyone else. Here’s how you can use WTA’s free hiking resources to find a less-hiked trail and get some solitude.

How trip reports inform the Hiking Guide

The drop down filter for WTA's Hiking Guide to find a less traveled trail.

Hikers from across the Pacific Northwest have filed over 268,000 trip reports to date. Trip reports help other hikers learn the latest trail beta, as well as sharing helpful information about roads, bathrooms and more. The state’s more popular trails get regular trip reports. Hikes like Rattlesnake Ledge or Artist Point might get multiple trip reports on an especially nice day!

Some hikers find comfort in knowing other trail users are likely to be nearby. Other hikers prefer a quieter experience, and we developed the “hikes without recent trip reports” filter in our Hiking Guide with that in mind.

Using the Hiking Guide is simple. Use the filters on the left side of the screen to narrow down trail options by region, mileage, elevation, features and keywords. These filters will do the lion’s share of the work to whittle your selection down.

To get even more specialized for lesser-visited-trails, select the “Hikes Without Recent Trip Reports” dropdown list under “trail features & rating.” The filter will only show trail options that haven’t been trip reported on recently. Just choose a timeframe by selecting one of the two options: last trip report 30-90 days ago or last trip report 90+ days ago.

Two WTA trail workers cut a fallen log with a crosscut saw.
The filter will help you find trails like Angry Mountain. The last trip report for this trail was filed over a year before this article was published. Photo by trip reporter OrcaDan

This filter won’t guarantee you won’t meet anyone on trail. But when paired with other filters, it will help you find a trail that works for you on your next hike.

The information provided in WTA’s Hiking Guide and trip reports are written by WTA staff, volunteer Hiking Guide ambassadors and regular hikers, just like you. This tool helps hikers learn where other hikers haven’t been hiking, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t contribute a trip report of your own once you’re done. If the trail you hiked showed up on the “hikes without recent trip reports” list, then you have an opportunity to help another  hiker learn something valuable to plan their next outing.

So take the intrepid step to hike the trail less traveled and leave a trip report. You never know: it might be the freshest trip report for that trail for a long time.