people walking on green grass field during daytimePhoto Credit: Justin Buisson

92 Quotes About Hiking To Ponder On and Off the Trail

Welcome to our curated collection of quotes about hiking. We hope you enjoy pondering and sharing them. Happy trails to you!

The mountains are calling and I must go.


Quote: When all else fails, go hiking. by author T.J. Burr overlaid on photo of T.J. Burr quote; white text on black background

When all else fails, go hiking.


Quote: Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity. by author John Muir overlaid on photo of photo of author John Muir with quote

Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountains is going home; that wildness is a necessity.


Quote: The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet. by author Ralph Waldo Emerson overlaid on photo of photo of author Ralph Waldo Emerson with quote

The civilized man has built a coach, but has lost the use of his feet.


Quote: Returning home is the most difficult part of long-distance hiking; You have grown outside the puzzle and your piece no longer fits. by author Cindy Ross overlaid on photo of woman in white and black striped shirt standing on yellow sunflower field during daytime
Photo Credit: Antonino Visalli

Returning home is the most difficult part of long-distance hiking; You have grown outside the puzzle and your piece no longer fits.




Quote: Hiking is good for your body, mind, and soul. by author T.J. Burr overlaid on photo of T.J. Burr quote; white text on black background

Hiking is good for your body, mind, and soul.


Quote: Take only memories; leave nothing but footprints. by author Chief Seattle overlaid on photo of photo of author Chief Seattle with quote

Take only memories; leave nothing but footprints.


Quote: I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. by author Henry David Thoreau overlaid on photo of photo of author Henry David Thoreau with quote

I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.


Quote: It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end. by author Ursula K. Le Guin overlaid on photo of photo of author Ursula K. Le Guin with quote

It is good to have an end to journey towards; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.


Quote: We’re not even really hiking,
more like meandering in cinematic light. by author Kristen Henderson overlaid on photo of photo of author Kristen Henderson with quote

We’re not even really hiking,
more like meandering in cinematic light.




Quote: Hiking and happiness go hand in hand (or foot in boot). by author Diane   Spicer overlaid on photo of Diane   Spicer quote; white text on black background

Hiking and happiness go hand in hand (or foot in boot).


Quote: Nature is one of the most underutilized treasures in life. It has the power to unburden hearts and reconnect to that inner place of peace. by author Janice Anderson overlaid on photo of Janice Anderson quote; white text on black background

Nature is one of the most underutilized treasures in life. It has the power to unburden hearts and reconnect to that inner place of peace.


The trees were friendly, they gave me rest and shadowed refuge. Slipping through them, I felt safe and competent. My whole body was occupied. I had little energy to think or worry.






Quote: You lift your head, you’re on your way, but really just to be walking, to be out of doors. That’s it, that’s all, and you’re there. Outdoors is our element: the exact sensation of living there. by author Frédéric Gros overlaid on photo of Frédéric Gros quote; white text on black background

You lift your head, you’re on your way, but really just to be walking, to be out of doors. That’s it, that’s all, and you’re there. Outdoors is our element: the exact sensation of living there.










Quote: I found that starting to hike was like pulling off a plaster: better to do it quickly and not hang about. by author Bex Band overlaid on photo of Bex Band quote; white text on black background

I found that starting to hike was like pulling off a plaster: better to do it quickly and not hang about.




Quote: You long to go ito nature because nature doesn't care about you. To be clear, it's not that nature sees you, accepts you for who you are, and loves you anyway: nature just doesn't give a shit about you. by author Diana Helmuth overlaid on photo of Diana Helmuth quote; white text on black background

You long to go ito nature because nature doesn't care about you. To be clear, it's not that nature sees you, accepts you for who you are, and loves you anyway: nature just doesn't give a shit about you.


Quote: If you would experience a landscape, you must go alone into it and sit down somewhere quietly and wait for it to come in its own good time to you. by author Paul Gruchow overlaid on photo of Paul Gruchow quote; white text on black background

If you would experience a landscape, you must go alone into it and sit down somewhere quietly and wait for it to come in its own good time to you.


Quote: And by experiencing prairie---over the four seasons, and at various times of day, in all weathers---you develop a heightened sense of awe and wonder that will spill over into every other area of your life. by author Cindy Crosby overlaid on photo of Cindy Crosby quote; white text on black background

And by experiencing prairie---over the four seasons, and at various times of day, in all weathers---you develop a heightened sense of awe and wonder that will spill over into every other area of your life.






Quote: The long distance hiker, a breed set apart,
From the likes of the usual pack.
He’ll shoulder his gear, be hittin’ the trail;
Long gone, long ‘fore he’ll be back. by author M.J. Eberhart overlaid on photo of M.J. Eberhart quote; white text on black background

The long distance hiker, a breed set apart,
From the likes of the usual pack.
He’ll shoulder his gear, be hittin’ the trail;
Long gone, long ‘fore he’ll be back.




Quote: Whenever the pressure of our complex city life thins my blood and numbs my brain, I seek relief in the trail; and when I hear the coyote wailing to the yellow dawn, my cares fall from me - I am happy. by author Hamlin Garland overlaid on photo of photo of author Hamlin Garland with quote

Whenever the pressure of our complex city life thins my blood and numbs my brain, I seek relief in the trail; and when I hear the coyote wailing to the yellow dawn, my cares fall from me - I am happy.


Quote: Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. by author John Muir overlaid on photo of photo of author John Muir with quote

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.

Longer Version/[Notes]:

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.


Quote: My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She's ninety-seven now, and we don't know where the hell she is. by author Ellen DeGeneres overlaid on photo of photo of author Ellen DeGeneres with quote

My grandmother started walking five miles a day when she was sixty. She's ninety-seven now, and we don't know where the hell she is.


Quote: I represent what is left of a vanishing race, and that is the pedestrian. That I am still able to be here, I owe to a keen eye and a nimble pair of legs.  But I know they'll get me someday. by author Will Rogers overlaid on photo of photo of author Will Rogers with quote

I represent what is left of a vanishing race, and that is the pedestrian. That I am still able to be here, I owe to a keen eye and a nimble pair of legs. But I know they'll get me someday.


Quote: The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone. by author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe overlaid on photo of photo of author Johann Wolfgang von Goethe with quote

The soul that sees beauty may sometimes walk alone.


Quote: Going to the mountains is going home. by author John Muir overlaid on photo of photo of author John Muir with quote

Going to the mountains is going home.


Quote: The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes. by author Marcel Proust overlaid on photo of photo of author Marcel Proust with quote

The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.


Quote: Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit. by author Edward Abbey overlaid on photo of photo of author Edward Abbey with quote

Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit.


Quote: Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you. by author Frank Lloyd Wright overlaid on photo of photo of author Frank Lloyd Wright with quote

Study nature, love nature, stay close to nature. It will never fail you.


Quote: My father considered a walk among the mountains as the equivalent of churchgoing. by author Aldous Huxley overlaid on photo of photo of author Aldous Huxley with quote

My father considered a walk among the mountains as the equivalent of churchgoing.


Quote: You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So... get on your way! by author Dr. Seuss overlaid on photo of photo of author Dr. Seuss with quote

You're off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, So... get on your way!


Quote: May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds. by author Edward Abbey overlaid on photo of brown grass field near gray rocky mountain during daytime
Photo Credit: Ian Merzwinski

May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.


Quote: Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going to fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why. by author Eddie Cantor overlaid on photo of photo of author Eddie Cantor with quote

Slow down and enjoy life. It's not only the scenery you miss by going to fast - you also miss the sense of where you are going and why.


Quote: Hiking is something that I really, really like to do. It's distracting, you're in nature, and you get a nice workout that way. I would tell everyone to hike as much as they can - you just feel so much better when you get outdoors. I'm also into yoga. by author Odette Annable overlaid on photo of photo of author Odette Annable with quote

Hiking is something that I really, really like to do. It's distracting, you're in nature, and you get a nice workout that way. I would tell everyone to hike as much as they can - you just feel so much better when you get outdoors. I'm also into yoga.


When preparing to climb a mountain--pack a light heart.




Quote: We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it. We get it rough enough at home, in towns and cities. by author George W. Sears overlaid on photo of aerial photography of pine trees with mist
Photo Credit: Dorel Gnatiuc

We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it. We get it rough enough at home, in towns and cities.




Quote: If everyone in the world took care of each other the way folks do out on the trail, and if everyone approached each day with as much hope and optimism as hikers do, the world would be a better place. by author Jon Tullis overlaid on photo of full-moon above snow-capped mountain painting
Photo Credit: Benjamin Child

If everyone in the world took care of each other the way folks do out on the trail, and if everyone approached each day with as much hope and optimism as hikers do, the world would be a better place.




Quote: Do nothing in haste; look well to each step; and from the beginning think what may be the end. by author Edward Whymper overlaid on photo of short-beak red bird on tree
Photo Credit: Roberto Nickson

Do nothing in haste; look well to each step; and from the beginning think what may be the end.


Quote: We move through this world on paths laid down long before we are born. by author Robert Moor overlaid on photo of aerial photo of foggy mountains
Photo Credit: Samuel Ferrara

We move through this world on paths laid down long before we are born.


Quote: If you face the rest of your life with the spirit you show on the trail, it will have no choice but to yield the same kind of memories and dreams. by author Adrienne Hall overlaid on photo of aerial photography of trees on mountain
Photo Credit: Spencer Watson

If you face the rest of your life with the spirit you show on the trail, it will have no choice but to yield the same kind of memories and dreams.


Quote: There really is no correct way to hike the trail, and anyone who insists that there is ought not to worry so much about other people's experiences. Hikers need to hike the trail that's right for them. by author Adrienne Hall overlaid on photo of selective focus photography of pink petaled flower
Photo Credit: Andrew Small

There really is no correct way to hike the trail, and anyone who insists that there is ought not to worry so much about other people's experiences. Hikers need to hike the trail that's right for them.






Quote: Hiking's not for everyone. Notice the wilderness is mostly empty. by author Sonja Yoerg overlaid on photo of white snow mountain
Photo Credit: Olivier Miche

Hiking's not for everyone. Notice the wilderness is mostly empty.


Quote: I walked slowly to enjoy this freedom, and when I came out of the mountains, I saw the sky over the prairie, and I thought that if heaven was real, I hoped it was a place I never had to go, for this earth was greater than any paradise. by author Daniel J. Rice overlaid on photo of Daniel J. Rice quote; white text on black background

I walked slowly to enjoy this freedom, and when I came out of the mountains, I saw the sky over the prairie, and I thought that if heaven was real, I hoped it was a place I never had to go, for this earth was greater than any paradise.


Quote: Hiking is just walking where it's okay to pee. by author Demetri Martin overlaid on photo of forest near mountain alps
Photo Credit: Milada Vigerova

Hiking is just walking where it's okay to pee.


Quote: The longest journey begins with a single step, not with a turn of the ignition key. by author Edward Abbey overlaid on photo of Edward Abbey quote: The longest journey begins with a single step, not with a turn of the ignition key.- white text on starry pic background

The longest journey begins with a single step, not with a turn of the ignition key.

Longer Version/[Notes]:

The longest journey begins with a single step, not with the turn of an ignition key. That’s the best thing about walking, the journey itself. It doesn’t much matter whether you get where you’re going or not. You’ll get there anyway. Every good hike brings you eventually back home. Right where you started.




Quote: After a day's walk everything has twice its usual value. by author G. M. Trevelyan overlaid on photo of green forest during daytime
Photo Credit: Rural Explorer

After a day's walk everything has twice its usual value.


Quote: Make your feet your friend. by author James M. Barrie overlaid on photo of grayscale photography of kids walking on road
Photo Credit: Annie Spratt

Make your feet your friend.


Quote: The best remedy for a short temper is a long walk. by author Joseph Joubert overlaid on photo of gray wooden house on green plains near mountain range at daytime
Photo Credit: Karsten Würth

The best remedy for a short temper is a long walk.


Quote: Walks. The body advances, while the mind flutters around it like a bird. by author Jules Renard overlaid on photo of mountains under white mist at daytime
Photo Credit: Ivana Cajina

Walks. The body advances, while the mind flutters around it like a bird.


Quote: Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley. by author Theodore Roethke overlaid on photo of mountains under white mist at daytime
Photo Credit: Ivana Cajina

Over every mountain there is a path, although it may not be seen from the valley.


Quote: Just put one foot in front of the other. by author Austin Peck overlaid on photo of forest near mountain alps
Photo Credit: Milada Vigerova

Just put one foot in front of the other.


Quote: Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion. by author Anatoli Boukreev overlaid on photo of aerial photography of mountain range covered with snow under white and blue sky at daytime
Photo Credit: Rohit Tandon

Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.


Quote: I wear Blundstones for hiking. They're like a work boot with a bit of grip, so you can wear them all day. They're quite groovy. by author Anna Torv overlaid on photo of photo of author Anna Torv with quote

I wear Blundstones for hiking. They're like a work boot with a bit of grip, so you can wear them all day. They're quite groovy.


Quote: I slow down when hiking. The rhythm of nature is more leisurely. The sun comes up, it moves across the sky, and you begin to synchronize to that rhythm. by author John Mackey overlaid on photo of cute labradoron rocks wallpaper
Photo Credit: Yannick Wittwer

I slow down when hiking. The rhythm of nature is more leisurely. The sun comes up, it moves across the sky, and you begin to synchronize to that rhythm.


Quote: In general, when you travel, you get into a different reality and are able to more accurately reflect on your ordinary life. Hiking does that for me. by author John Mackey overlaid on photo of birds flying over boat
Photo Credit: Esteban Amaro

In general, when you travel, you get into a different reality and are able to more accurately reflect on your ordinary life. Hiking does that for me.


Quote: Hiking is the best workout! You can hike for three hours and not even realize you're working out. And, hiking alone lets me have some time to myself. by author Jamie Luner overlaid on photo of aerial photography of trees on mountain
Photo Credit: Spencer Watson

Hiking is the best workout! You can hike for three hours and not even realize you're working out. And, hiking alone lets me have some time to myself.




Quote: The mountains were there and so was I. by author Maurice Herzog overlaid on photo of blue mountains at daytime
Photo Credit: Antoine Rault

The mountains were there and so was I.


Quote: The place where you lose the trail is not necessarily the place where it ends. by author Tom Brown, Jr. overlaid on photo of photo of author Tom Brown, Jr. with quote

The place where you lose the trail is not necessarily the place where it ends.


Quote: Jesus was a hiker. The wilderness was His retreat. by author Toni Sorenson overlaid on photo of photography of lake near tree
Photo Credit: Evi T.

Jesus was a hiker. The wilderness was His retreat.


Quote: Hike your own hike. by author Ben Crawford overlaid on photo of low-angle photography of green leaf tree
Photo Credit: Dave Hoefler

Hike your own hike.

Longer Version/[Notes]:

Hike your own hike to health.


Quote: After all this time questioning whether I could trust myself, my instinct had proven right -- I'd found a path in pathless woods. by author Aspen Matis overlaid on photo of aerial photography of trees on mountain
Photo Credit: Spencer Watson

After all this time questioning whether I could trust myself, my instinct had proven right -- I'd found a path in pathless woods.


I was no longer following a trail.
I was learning to follow myself.




Quote: Hiking is not escapism; it's realism. The people who choose to spend time outdoors are not running away from anything; we are returning to where we belong. by author Jennifer Pharr Davis overlaid on photo of brown wallpaper
Photo Credit: Jeremy Bishop

Hiking is not escapism; it's realism. The people who choose to spend time outdoors are not running away from anything; we are returning to where we belong.


Quote: Hiking up a hill is an ass kicker, going downhill is a little easier. by author Joe Teti overlaid on photo of green trees under blue sky at daytime
Photo Credit: makenzie cooper

Hiking up a hill is an ass kicker, going downhill is a little easier.


Quote: Details of the many walks I made along the crest have blurred, now, into a pleasing tapestry of grass and space and sunlight. by author Colin Fletcher overlaid on photo of photo of author Colin Fletcher with quote

Details of the many walks I made along the crest have blurred, now, into a pleasing tapestry of grass and space and sunlight.


Quote: Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow. by author Henry David Thoreau overlaid on photo of blue and black butterfly
Photo Credit: Beckett Ruiz

Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.


Quote: Freedom -- to walk free and own no superior. by author Walt Whitman overlaid on photo of Walt Whitman quote: Freedom -- to walk free and own no superior.- white text on starry pic background

Freedom -- to walk free and own no superior.




Quote: Trails are like that: you're floating along in a Shakespearean Arden paradise and expect to see nymphs and flute boys, then suddenly you're struggling in a hot broiling sun of hell in dust and nettles and poison oak…just like life. by author Jack Kerouac overlaid on photo of brown rock formation beside calm body of water near mountain at daytime
Photo Credit: Ethan Dow

Trails are like that: you're floating along in a Shakespearean Arden paradise and expect to see nymphs and flute boys, then suddenly you're struggling in a hot broiling sun of hell in dust and nettles and poison oak…just like life.


Quote: Who has not felt the urge to throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence? by author John Muir overlaid on photo of person standing on rock beside body of water between green trees
Photo Credit: Steve Carter

Who has not felt the urge to throw a loaf of bread and a pound of tea in an old sack and jump over the back fence?


Quote: Because in the end, you won't remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain. by author Jack Kerouac overlaid on photo of Bryce Canyon National Park Sunrise Point at Utah
Photo Credit: Zhanjiang Chen

Because in the end, you won't remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.


Quote: Jumping from boulder to boulder and never falling, with a heavy pack, is easier than it sounds; you just can't fall when you get into the rhythm of the dance. by author Jack Kerouac overlaid on photo of solid background
Photo Credit: Annie Spratt

Jumping from boulder to boulder and never falling, with a heavy pack, is easier than it sounds; you just can't fall when you get into the rhythm of the dance.


Quote: My yesterdays walk with me. They keep step, they are gray faces that peer over my shoulder. by author William Golding overlaid on photo of aerial photo of foggy mountains
Photo Credit: Samuel Ferrara

My yesterdays walk with me. They keep step, they are gray faces that peer over my shoulder.


people walking on green grass field during daytime

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