There’s a lot of pressure on a hiker this time of year. Arguably, it’s the best time of year to be on the trail. Cool temperatures, clear skies, dry air, color — fall has it all. Including a lot of pressure to make the right trail choices. Here’s why.

There are 52 weeks in a year. Roughly 7 of those are in the coveted fall hiking season, a window that essentially begins this weekend and runs short of Thanksgiving. True, there are still a few weeks of decent weather after Thanksgiving, but once the holidays get rolling it can be hard to carve out trail time. It’s a time of year that requires strategic thinking to make every hike count. When it comes to smart fall hike selection, I have, over the years, based my trail selections on 7 criteria, one for each week of the fall hiking season. Note: they do not appear in chronological order. 

First color. Most folks love fall for the color, color we’re impatient to wait for. That’s why we start the fall GetHiking! season at Horton Grove (pictured), a 708-acre Triangle Land Conservancy property in Durham that’s rich with hardwoods, is high in elevation (for the Triangle), and is on the northern rim of the metro area. All that adds up to some of the earliest color close to home (if you live in the Triangle).

A given. Odds are you have a favorite hike that becomes even more so in fall, a hike that’s a given, regardless of time of yerar. Make this a priority hike.

Hike local. A trail near home deserves a spot on your list. It will come in handy on that busy fall weekend when you may think you don’t have enough time for a hike. Ten minutes from home? Who doesn’t have time for that?

Short hike. Same logic as above. Surely you can carve out an hour.

Long hike. Fall was made for the long hike. Cooler temperatures and kodachromatic scenery demand that you take advantage of every minute of sunlight. Commit a day, planning to leave home before dawn, get on the trail shortly after sunrise, get off the trail shortly before sunset, get home after dark. Nothing refreshes the soul like a day committed to hiking. 

Water. A hike along water increases your chances of catching good color. — and catching it twice if you get a good reflection.

Mountains. It’s not a complete fall hiking season if you don’t work in a mountain hike. The good news? Even if you’re in the piedmont a mountain hike can be less than two hours away: the accessible Blue Ridge Escarpment has some of the best hiking around, from Shenandoah National Park, the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests and Rock Castle Gorge in Virginia, to Stone Mountain State Park, Doughton Park, and the 88-mile run of the Mountains-to-Sea Trail from Grandfather Mountain to the Devil’s Garden Overlook in North Carolina.

A newbie-friendly hike. Got a friend or family member you’ve been trying to get into hiking? There’s no better time than fall to get them hooked. Make sure it’s a shorter hike, one with minimal elevation gain, and lots of colorful hardwoods.

There’s your hiking plan for the next 7 weeks. No quit reading and get hiking.

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