Top Tips: Hiking Trail Etiquette

Basic Hiking Etiquette:

1. Wait for your buddies at all intersections.  Make sure you can see your “sweep.”
2. Yield to uphill hikers.
3. Large groups yield to smaller groups.
4. To let someone pass, step on the uphill edge (you would not want to be nudged off a cliff or hillside).  The exception to this is when yielding to horses.
5. Yield to runners when it’s safe.  Note to runners:  Hikers will yield when they CAN.  Also, please tuck your elbows when you pass hikers on the trail.
6. When stepping off the trail to allow someone to pass, make sure it’s in a safe place (without poison oak or ivy).
7. When you reach the top of a hill, step away from the precipice.  This is for your safety and for the comfort and safety of the hikers behind you.
8. If you’re using poles, no stabbing!  There are hikers who do not like hiking with pole users because of bad etiquette.  Know where your pole tips are in relation to your buddies.
9. Call obstacles in the trail – like low branch and poison oak in the trail.
10. Be aware of dead trees near the trail.  Linger elsewhere.

What’s your top tip for the trail?

Farewell to Spring (Clarkia) Pacifica, CA