We post a lot about hikes on this website, and generally we try to give the reader some idea of how cool the trail is. Some trails are amazing, some are good, and some are meh, but we have not had a true measuring system for this.
Over the last few months, I have been thinking about a system for rating trails, and I’m finally ready to roll it out! I think it’s simple, easy to understand, and conveys to pretty much anyone how worthwhile the hike is!
Going forward, all of our trip reports of hiking trails will include a rating and our reasoning for it. We have also gone back and added ratings to all of our already posted trip reports!
Below is an explanation of the system, and a few examples of hikes that we’ve done that fit each rating!
Some Notes About The Ratings:
The rating system is based on a 10 point scale, 10 being all time great, and decreasing in quality as you go down. However, the lowest score any hike can receive on this scale is a 6. There are two reasons for this. First, I initially imagined this scale as a 1-5 range, but the connotation of a ⅖ doesn’t really match up with my experience. There are some really good hikes that I would have given a two that are very good, but that doesn’t come through when you call it a 2!
This presented a problem with what to do. I didn’t want to keep it as a 1-5, but a ten point scale didn’t really seem right either, because I didn’t expect to use 1/10 or 2/10. So, what I decided was to keep five rankings, but move to a maximum of 10.
The end result is a 6-10 scale, which sounds weird, but the way I explain it is that 1-5 is if you would have stayed home and ate chips on the couch! Any day on the trail is a good day, even if it isn’t great, and I think that comes through with a rating of 6/10! It’s almost like an A-F scale!
Length:
An important thing to note about these rankings is that a hike of any length can earn any rating. There are 10/10 five mile hikes, and there are 10/10 nineteen mile hikes. All five mile hikes are being compared to other five mile hikes. A short hike will not be dinged because it has fewer great views than a twenty mile hike, it obviously will if both are great hikes.
Influential Factors:
Trail Quality: A 10/10 hike should have a well built and well maintained trail. It shouldn’t be overgrown, be rough and rocky, or be crisscrossed by tree roots. It doesn’t need to be perfect, but a really rough trail probably won’t be a 10. Off trail bushwhacking will not penalized for poor trail quality (unless it is advertised as a standard trail).
Views: This is probably the most obvious one, but a 10/10 has to have amazing views. Not sure that much more needs to be said!
Exposure: I personally really like exposure on a hike (when you’re close to the edge or a trail has a steep drop off). This is a category that some may disagree with, but I tend to get pretty bored if an entire hike is on a six foot wide path nowhere near a cliff or edge. A 10/10 should have some exposed sections of trail, not necessarily the whole thing, but some exciting sections!
The Ratings:
10/10: A World-Class Hike
Other words beyond world-class that you might use to describe 10/10 hikes are bucket list, amazing, once in a lifetime,or incredible! These are hikes that would be the best or one of the best around wherever you put them. You might plan an entire vacation around doing just one of these!
There aren’t a ton of 10’s out there, and being simply mind blown isn’t enough to be a 10. A 10/10 should have incredible views, a well maintained trail (unless you’re scrambling), and sections of exposure.
Examples of 10s:
9/10: A Great Hike
A 9/10 is a great hike, but it’s not quite at the level of a 10. Generally, a 9 will have views that equal to those of a 10, or a fun exposed trail, but will lack a bit in another category. I’ve hiked a lot of trails that had incredible views and very nice trails, but had no exposure or any really exciting sections of trail. Or similarly, a hike may have a super exciting and exposed trail, but the views aren’t world class.
A 9 would be a great hike anywhere, but it may not be the best around. You might plan a trip around a 9/10, but it probably won’t be a trail most people have heard of. If you hike a 9/10, you’ll have an awesome day!
Examples of 9s:
8/10: A Good Hike That Is Worth Going Out Of Your Way To Do
An 8/10 is a really good hike that you will not regret doing. While an 8 often does not have world class views, or may have long sections of uneventful walking through the woods, it’s still a really good hike.
If you go to the really good national parks like Yosemite, Glacier, or Rocky Mountain, I would argue most of the hikes are in the 8 range. Now, if you’ve never been to the mountains before, an 8 might absolutely blow your mind. 8’s often have amazing views, usually at the end destination like an alpine lake, but they generally are lacking in the other categories. Maybe the trail is poorly maintained, or maybe 90% of the trail is just a bland walk through the woods.
An 8 is a good hike, and should lead to a really nice day on trail, but 8’s are not special trails, and when you compare them to the truly elite trails in the world, they’re just not quite the same.
Examples of 8s:
High Meadows to Cold Creek Trail
7/10: A Solid Hike Worth Doing If You Have The Time
A 7 is a solid hike. You won’t finish it and regret doing it, but you’ll probably feel like there were better hikes you could have done. There probably aren’t great views, there probably isn’t any exposed trail, and the trail may or may not be well maintained.
In the big time national parks, a 7 would be considered a pretty poor hike, but in a lot of places a 7 is still pretty good. If there’s a trail in Yosemite that earns a 7, I’d probably skip it, but if a trail somewhere else not known for hiking got a 7, it may be one of the better trails in the area.
You won’t be upset that you did a 7, but you’ll probably feel like it could have been better. 7’s are generally uneventful, and don’t have the big time views and payoff that would make an uneventful hike an 8.
Examples of 7s:
Bear Creek Summit via the Madrone Trail
Fordyce Falls via the Spaulding Lake Trail
6/10: Skip It
I very rarely rate hikes as a 6, but when I do it’s really not good. I definitely would skip a hike if it’s rated as a 6 on this website.
There’s not a lot that makes a hike totally skippable, but there are a few things that I have seen that really make me not want to go back, because even a boring walk through the woods should at least get a 7.
One reason a hike might earn a 6 is it’s overrun with people and isn’t special, or even worse is overrun with mountain bikes. I did a trail once that had mountain bikes flying past me about every 45 seconds, and I saw maybe 5 hikers the whole time. Would not recommend.
If you see a 6, find something else.
Examples of 6s:
5/10 Or Less: You Were At Home Eating Chips On The Couch
Go outside.
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