Is hiking your new fave family go-to activity? With indoor activities on the outs this year, plenty of parents are looking for outdoor ideas.
Whether you’re on the hunt for a new outdoorsy vaycay spot or just want to get outside for an afternoon of family-friendly fun, LawnStarter put together a list of the top cities in the United States for hiking!
photo: Nina Uhlikova via Pexels
LawnStarter chose 11 key indicators, grouped into four categories, to rank the most hike-able cities in America. These categories include “access” (the key indicators are number of hiking routes, number of camping sites, number of camping stores), “diversity” (the key indicators are variety of route difficulty), “climate” (the key indicators are yearly average number of very cold days), yearly average of very hot days, sunshine, average monthly precipitation, and air quality) and “safety” (the key indicators are natural hazards index and natural/environmental death rate).
After reviewing the stats, LawnStarter ranked the top 10 cities for hiking:
- San Francisco, CA
- Oakland, CA
- Los Angeles, CA
- San Diego, CA
- Portland, OR
- San Jose, CA
- Huntington Beach, CA
- Moreno, CA
- Tucson, AZ
- Long Beach, CA
If you’re looking for the city with the most hiking routes, Phoenix, Arizona is the top choice. Hikers who want the best variety of route difficulty will enjoy walking work outs in San Bernardino, California and Salt Lake City, Utah. Fams who aren’t into the chilly weather, should check out the cities with the lowest yearly average number of very cold days—Miami Florida and San Francisco, California.
Get the rest of the stats from the study on LawnStarter’s website here.
—Erica Loop
RELATED STORIES
Peppa Pig Is Coming to LEGOLAND in 2022!
Here’s How to Take Your 4th Grader to Every National Park—for FREE
Spring Family Vaycay? These Are the Best Cities for Outdoor Adventures
