Your hiking trails too crowded during the pandemic?

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Here in Henderson, NV our beautiful hiking trails are now becoming crowded (relative to pre pandemic). I have step off the trail five or six times in 2 miles to let people pass at a safe distance B/C they are usually too uncaring to do so themselves.

But today it’s cold (40s) and rainy so I’m donning my fleece clothes and WPB rain gear and hiking B/C I doubt if there will be anybody on the trail.

[PaulW]

Same here in western Colorado; crowded trails, filled parking lots, and many out of state visitors. Total opposite of what I expected. Luckily, I enjoy watching the sun come up so I head out early.

[Rex Sanders]

All trails (plus beaches and gasp surfing!) in my county are closed hard for the next two weeks, except the signs don’t have an end date so I’m not holding my breath. Cops and rangers hanging out at all the usual and some of the more obscure spots, with ticket books in hand.

Guess I’ll be pounding pavement for a while (ouch!). But not on my one lane twisty canyon road. Locals are zooming down the mountain 20 mph above speed limits (instead of the previous 10) because traffic is so light and the cops are elsewhere.

I’m not really whining, we’re still very fortunate compared to many, many others. And our local curve is definitely not exponential.

— Rex

[Paul Wagner]

Not too bad.  In Marin County (a few miles away) they are now ticketing cars parked at trailheads and near open space.  They want you to walk closer to home, and not drive around looking for a place to walk…

[Luke Schmidt]

The big debate in Alaska was whether spring bear hunts would go forward.  Last I heard residents can hunt but you (probably) aren’t supposed to leave your area. It’s a bit of a grey area.

My thought was that suddenly everyone in Alaska would become a “hunter” i.e. they will buy a bear tag as an excuse to get out (with no real plans to shoot a bear). Hopefully the “stay local ” restriction is followed.

On the positive side there are no local cases which is good.  The local gas station is clearly less busy than normal. Tourism will take a hit I’m sure.  I feel bad for all the mom and pop outfitters doing sea kayaking or whitewater tours.

[John Vance]

Here in the SLC valley I’ve seen more people on the locals trails in one day than I used to see in a week.  Lots of families out with kids and grandparents of all ages.  No real increase in Mt bikers though. Our higher trails are still covered in snow but the ski resorts closed the first week or two of March when travel stopped.

[David Thomas]

Luke: Yeah, my reading of the Alaskan governor’s orders are that hunting and fishing are allowed, but it’s unclear if that could would permit intrastate travel.  And you wouldn’t even need a bear tag (not that they cost anything for residents), just a $29 resident fishing license to claim you were heading out to a particular fishery, I suppose.
My issue with hunting is that usually there are 3-4 guys from different households, living in very close quarters (a tent!) for several days.
Back to the OP’s Q: I’ve been avoiding the beach because it while there’s lots of space (it’s 200-feet wide when it’s not high tide), it means leashing up the dog frequently, so as not to attract off-leash dogs.  So I’ve been doing my 2-mile loop on some old forest road/trails where I very rarely see anyone else and could just reverse my loop if I did.

[HkNewman]

Due to less traffic, Oakland just announced temporarily closing over 70 miles of road to give residents more places to walk/bike …

https://www.ktvu.com/news/oakland-to-restrict-cars-on-74-miles-of-streets-paving-way-for-pedestrians-and-bicyclists

If your locale doesn’t many essential workers, like Defense Dept contractors, think articles like the above should be sent to your council members (cc mayor), challenging them if Oakland can do it …?

 

[Brad Rogers]

I did see 3 people in 15 miles my last time on the trail which is more than I normally see on the same route, but unfortunately all the trails are closed now, so I sat around last Friday rather than hiking.  One of the trailheads didn’t have any sort of marking on it but I knew it was supposed to be closed (Cumberland Trail State Park and all the state parks are officially closed) and though I figured while I could park and hike, I probably shouldn’t.

 

[AK Granola]

What a cool idea – closing the roads so more people can ride bikes! Can we make that national?!

We have so many miles of trails and no permits needed that they can’t really “close” them. And not enough cops to give tickets – not even enough to work on all the crime that goes on. I have noticed that with warming weather more and more people are out at the popular places, but the local grocery store is still the absolute worst – and the best place to spread the virus. Authorities would make more progress to enforce social distancing at the store than worry about the outdoors here. I think as our snow melts, more and more spaces will open up and people will be more distributed. We’ve had such a long hard winter, I think if they actually tried to keep people in their houses there would be a revolt. But in our community it’s just not necessary – there are lots of places to go and not be around others.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Karen, love your 1st sentence.

Here in Henderson, NV the city fathers have done a great job of making bike lanes on the major surface streets, and planning for great parks, and hiking trails in our surrounding mountains and finally building paved “leisure trails” running through the city.

 

[Erik G]

Most trails in my area are closed. Per LPNF website, all developed recreation sites are closed…except trailheads. It would probably be relatively easy for me to sneak away to some of the more secluded parts of Northern LPNF, but not sure the family would be too appreciative of that.

[Geoff Caplan]

Here in the UK, they’ve asked people not to travel and to exercise from our front doors. National parks like my local Dartmoor or the Lakes are closed to outsiders. So the only people on the trails are locals.

I’m lucky enough to be self-isolating in a lovely little Devon fishing village, with miles of great coastal walking on my doorstep – cliffs, beaches, coves, wetlands…

Over Easter this area would normally be heaving with people, with crowded trails, beaches, pubs and restaurants. It’s been quite surreal to walk for hours with only the occasional encounter. And the beaches are empty, apart from a couple of isolated coves where locals can sunbathe discreetly 50 yards apart. Rather impressively, this has been entirely self-imposed. There are no police or rangers here to enforce the rules.

I’m finding that older people who are more at risk are very conscientious about leaving space as you pass on the trail. Younger people who know they are not at much risk are generally less thoughtful – most of the time it’s me that has to make the effort.

Your heart bleeds for the local businesses – this is a catastrophe for them. But the walking has been great!

[John Mc]

Here in the Seattle area all trails are closed in both National and State Parks.  I haven’t been hiking in three weeks due to the ruling.

I hope people aren’t ignoring this ruling.  I heard gates to trailhead are closed.  Most of our Cascade and Olympic trails are still snow covered.

 

[James Marco]

Well, it is mud season here in the ADK’s. While hiking is not forbidden, it sure as hell is not encouraged. There are still some people that are trying to get out, maybe most of us backpackers. But we all realize that spreading this to the small towns, marina’s, diners, and so on will be a certain catastrophe. Not quite ice out, probably not for a couple more weeks, so I am simply planning for a trip later on in the year, if I don’t get infected. I can still dream of warm, sun filled afternoons, nice crackling camp fires, and a bunch of MYOG stuff to see me through a frosty night.

[Diane “Piper” Soini]

My understanding of the Los Padres NF closures is it’s just developed areas. So Red Rock is closed because the parking area is a developed area. But if you wanted to go to Red Rock you could hike Tunnel to Angostura Pass, to the trail that goes to Matias Potrero then down Devil’s Canyon to the dam and then down to Red Rock. The only problem with this is that Tunnel Trail and all the front country trails are crawling with people. I have never seen so many people.

I’ve been staying away from front country trails and beaches. Too many people. I’ve been hiking in the backcountry or I take walks around town and carry a mask around just in case. If I camp I stay away from designated camp sites and stealth camp wherever looks good to me. You can walk down State Street and hardly see anyone at all.

[Sam C]

I dunno.  I live in Maryland and where I usually go between Maryland, West Virginia and Virginia are typically crowded as is.  I haven’t been out hiking in about a month or so but I suspect it’s the usual around here.  Two of my local county parks have been packed, though.

[Dean F.]

Local trails are pretty crowded.  I took a drive a few weekends ago and all the parking at the trailheads were full, with spillover on the road margins for about a quarter-mile in both directions.  Well, at the trailheads within a 20-minute drive of the city, that is.

Oddly, though services are closed, local parks like Bandelier NM do still have their campsites open- you pay by credit card at a little machine at the entrance.  No staff around, so the store and visitor center are closed, and no interpretive rangers to talk about the resource.  Just you and whomever else shows up.  First come first served.

[Lyle G]

It was really bad right after the shelter in place order was issued here (East SF bay area). I think a lot of people have realized they don’t actually like hiking and its cooled off a bit. They’ve also closed a lot of parking areas. I’ve spent countless hours looking at maps and there are some infrequently used trail heads and trails that are still quiet.

[David K]

<p style=”text-align: left;”>Trails in NY are packed.  I went backpacking in an area that the local ranger said normally has no people and saw at least 150 over 3 days.</p>

[Vincent Vilcinskas]

I live near Hot Springs NC. on the AT. I’m usually out two or three times a week day hiking . The hiker volume is way down.

[Tipi Walter]

I just got back from a 15 day backpacking trip from May 1 to May 15 and didn’t see a single hiker or backpacker in that time—except for a guy I invited at the beginning.

But this is normal for the mountains of East Tennessee—as locals don’t backpack—as a general rule.

[John L]

The trails in my area have been packed with locals and tourists. I live in San Luis Obispo County. We get visitors from the Bay area, LA area and the central valley. I have also seen lots of out of state license plates.

I do a lot of mountain biking too. I can ride to a state park from my house that is still open. It is so packed with people I have been avoiding it. So I started riding fire road and trails off a fire road that is part of the Los Padres NF near San Luis Obispo. On a typical ride up there I might see 2-5 cars and maybe a couple of other mountain bikers over the 4-5 hour ride. Lately it has been 40-50 cars, 20-30 hikers, people camped everywhere with illegal campfires and leaving their trash and human waste unburied. Memorial day weekend was a zoo. There were well over a hundred car up there, people camping in big groups of 15-18 tents. Large campfires (no fires are allowed at all in LP NF right now). Two different groups had kegs of beer. So yeah my local trails are more crowded during the pandemic.

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