Why Hiking Is Good for People and the Outdoors

The Pacific Crest Trail hugs the east side of Hogback Mountain in the northern Goat Rocks Wilderness. The trail sits above a high-elevation meadow littered with boulders before switching directions at a windy saddle above Shoe Lake. Deep valleys radiate from rocky ridgelines in all directions. Ice hangs on nearby Old Snowy Mountain. 

At this viewpoint, my friends and I pause. We slather peanut butter on tortillas and stare at Mount Rainier. PCT thru-hikers hustle past our perch. Some pause, and their eyes move slowly as they take in the views. I chat with these ambitious travelers. They tell me anecdotes from their journeys with toothy grins. 

It is a summer weekend at the end of July. My spouse and I are taking our friend, Katelynn, on her first backpacking trip. When the trail climbs steeply, Katelynn charges ahead. She keeps shouting, “This is great!” We stop at a nearby lake and plunge into the water. I sit on a warm rock and think about all the things trails have given me and how their winding paths have directed my life.

Michael DeCramer, Kate DeCramer and Katelynn Carlson pictured near Shoe Lake in the Goat Rocks Wilderness. Photo by Michael DeCramer

Hiking, for me, is a reliable source of joy. I like taking labored breaths as I ascend steep grades. Bounding past fragrant ponderosa pines calms me. On trails, I know where I am going. Whether I am hiking with friends and family or am spending time alone, my legs will propel me only so fast. I move through landscapes. I relax into the pace of my gait. On backpacking trips, I can look at the miles on the map and count the hours ahead of me. As I walk, I know that I have chosen the particular aches in my knees and hips. I accept the familiar fatigue. Unconfined by walls, I have new thoughts. When I hike, I am frequently surprised by beauty. I feel different. Moving along a trail, I feel connected to the world around me. I feel grateful.

In recent years, researchers have found that spending at least 120 minutes per week in nature for the purpose of recreating is positively associated with good health. When individuals have more than 2 hours a week of direct exposure to green space including parks, forests and beaches, they consistently report higher levels of health and well-being than people who do not spend time recreating outside. This does not surprise me. I feel better when I hike, but the magnitude of the impact is striking. According to research published  in 2019, the size of the reported health benefit associated with getting sufficient time in nature is similar to the difference between meeting or not meeting recommended physical-activity guidelines. The positive benefits of time spent outdoors can come from many short trips in a week or one long outdoor experience, such as going for a hike on a weekend. What seems to matter is being outside and experiencing the natural world. 

Whether a few long trips, or many short trips, time outside is critical for our health. Photo by Samuel Canfield

Trails are a critical conduit for my time outside. They allow me and many others to go to the same beautiful mountain lake without trampling vegetation. By giving people the ability to travel on a durable surface and be in nature, trails make important contributions to the mental and physical health of Washington state residents. A 2019 report published by our state government looked at impacts of trails in our state and found that “physical activity associated with trail use results in more than $390 million in health savings annually.” 

Hiking helps boost balance and stability. It helps individuals maintain mobility and healthy lifestyles. Studies have also found that hiking can lower stress and anxiety. And while it’s hard to separate correlation and causation, research suggests there is benefit to simply being outside, not only that people who are in good health are more likely go outside.

WTA exists because people care about trails and public lands. Hiking connects people to nature. As a community, we work together to protect those places where we recreate. Psychologists call forming a bond with an environment or setting “place attachment.” Scholars tell us that having an attachment to the natural world increases pro-environmental behaviors and civic engagement. I see examples of this constantly. 

Last year, WTA trail crews gave more than 158,000 hours of their time to improving the trails we all share. This speaks to a shared passion for assuring that Washington trails are designed, located and maintained to support the conservation of the natural, cultural and scenic resources of the surrounding areas. 

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• Join WTA's Trail Action Network for periodic alerts about important issues that affect hikers, plus invitations to events and more.

In my work, I communicate with the more than 66,000 people who participate in WTA’s Trail Action Network. These hikers give input to public lands managers and elected officials about the importance of trails and public lands. They sign petitions, attend meetings with legislators and write comment letters. These advocates speak with passion about the places they love, like the mountains where I took my friend for her first backpacking trip.

For decades, WTA has labored to increase protections for special places and assure the conservation of publicly owned lands. We advocate for the environment in collaboration with other recreation groups based on our shared connections to mountains, rivers, shorelines, forests and grasslands. There are many challenges facing the environment, including climate change and the associated loss of biodiversity. 

We can better advocate for policies that address these threats because there is a broad base of people who have deep personal connections to the outdoors. Hiking brings me joy. It also strengthens my conviction that I need to demand that the government acts to preserve the places we all love so that we may continue to enjoy them.