25 hiking goals for distance, summits and a year on the trail
A good hiking goal counts one thing: kilometres walked, metres climbed, summits reached or hikes done. Here are 25 examples, from a first 5 km on a marked trail to 500 km in a year. Pick the one that fits the hills near you, set an end date, and write each hike down when you get home.
Hiking goals for beginners
A first hiking goal is about going out often on easy ground.
- Hike once a week for 6 weeks.
- Hike 5 km on a marked trail.
- Hike for 2 hours without a long break.
- Finish one hike with 300 m of climbing.
- Follow one route from a paper map, with your phone in your bag.
Hiking distance goals
Distance goals are totals you add to, so a rainy weekend costs nothing. If you find yourself jogging the flat parts, you have drifted into trail running goals.
- Hike 15 km in a day.
- Hike 25 km in a day.
- Hike 100 km in a month.
- Hike 500 km in a year.
- Walk a 100 km trail from one end to the other.
Hiking summit and climbing goals
Summit goals count tops reached or metres climbed. When the path turns to rock and you need your hands, climbing goals take over.
- Climb 1,000 m in one day.
- Reach a first summit above 2,000 m.
- Stand on the highest point in your region.
- Reach 10 different summits in a year.
- Climb 20,000 m in a year.
Hiking skill and experience goals
Some hiking goals are things to have done once. A hike in every month means winter too, and skiing goals cover the snowy half of the year.
- Sleep out on an overnight hike, carrying everything you need.
- Hike in every month of the year.
- Watch a sunrise from a summit.
- Hike in full rain gear once, on purpose.
- Take someone on their first hike.
30 day hiking challenges and year goals
A day-count challenge keeps you going out when no big trip is planned.
- Walk a trail on 15 days out of 30.
- Do 52 hikes in a year, one a week.
- Hike 10 trails you have never walked.
- Walk every marked trail in one park.
- Do a 3 day trip from hut to hut.
What is a good hiking goal?
A good hiking goal is specific and a bit hard. A review of 35 years of goal research found that specific, hard goals lead to higher performance than being told to do your best. "Hike more" does not tell you when you are done. "Hike 500 km this year" does.
Choose the unit that fits where you live. Flat country suits kilometres. Mountains suit metres climbed or summits. A busy life suits a simple count of hikes.
Then write it the SMART goals way, with a number and a date: "52 hikes by 31 December, one every weekend." Now a missed weekend is a thing you can see and make up.
How to track hiking goals
Write the hike down the day you do it: the distance, the climb, or just a tick. A review of 138 studies found that people who monitored their progress reached their goals more often, and that recording it beat keeping it in your head.
Kilometres and metres climbed are amounts. Hikes and summits are counts. Many walking challenge ideas use the same two shapes, with steps in place of trails.
A year of hiking is long, and the middle is where goals fade. A picture that fills up one hike at a time keeps the whole year in view.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a good hiking goal for a beginner?
- One hike a week for 6 weeks, on marked trails of about 5 km. That builds the habit and the legs together. After that, try 15 km in a day or a first summit.
- Should I count distance or elevation?
- Count what is hard where you hike. On flat trails that is distance. In the mountains it is metres climbed, because 10 km with 1,000 m of climbing is a much bigger day than 10 km on the flat.
- What if I turn back before the top?
- Log what you walked. A total of kilometres or metres still grows on a day you turn back, which is one good reason to set a total and not only a list of summits.