From hiking an active volcano in Guatemala, to spending the weekend walking in the Peak District – trekking has always been a favourite pastime of mine. The best thing about hiking is that no matter your age or experience, there’s always a trail out there for you. So if you’re looking for some outdoor inspiration, here is my bumper list of the best hiking quotes, by famous naturalists, climbers, explorers, and poets. These quotes about hiking are categorised and collated into a handy PDF for you to download for free at the end of the post.

Famous Quotes about Hiking

1. “The mountains are calling and I must go.” – John Muir

2. “The best view comes after the hardest climb.” – Unknown

3. “Of all the paths you take in life, make sure a few of them are dirt.” – John Muir

4. “Hike more, worry less” – Unknown

5. “Climb mountains, not so the world can see you, but so you can see the world” – David McCullough Jr

6. “Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail”– Ralph Waldo Emerson

7. “It’s not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.” – Sir Edmund Hillary

8. “And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul.” – John Muir

9. “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” – Lao Tzu

10. “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.” – Beverly Sills

11. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” – Robert Frost

Funny Hiking Quotes

12. “DEET is nature’s cologne.” – Every Hiker

13. “Anywhere is ‘within walking distance’.” – Unknown

14. “I have two doctors, my left leg and my right.” – G.M. Trevelyan

15. “Sleeping bags are the soft tacos of the bear world.” – Bears

16. “If you think you’ve peaked, find a new mountain.” – Unknown

17. “I like being near the top of a mountain. One can’t get lost here.” – Wislawa Szymborska

18. “Happiness and hiking go hand in hand or foot in boot.” – Diane Spicer

19. “Backpacking: An extended form of hiking in which people carry double the amount of gear they need for half the distance they planned to go in twice the time it should take.” – Unknown

Trekking Quotes about Life

20. “If you can find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.” – Frank A. Clark

21. “If you’re on the right path it will always be uphill” – Henry B. Eyring

22. “Mountains are not stadiums where I satisfy my ambition to achieve, they are the cathedrals where I practice my religion.” – Anatoli Boukreev

23. “If you’re going through hell, keep going.” – Winston Churchill

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

25. “For hiking is one of those things that you can only do when you have the determination in you.” – Unknown

26. “Wilderness is not a luxury but a necessity of the human spirit, and as vital to our lives as water and good bread.” – Edward Abbey

27. “We live in a fast-paced society. Walking slows us down.” – Robert Sweetgall

28. “On a hike, the days pass with the wind, the sun, the stars; movement is powered by a belly full of food and water, not a noxious tankful of fossil fuels. On a hike, you’re less a job title and more a human being. A periodic hike not only stretches the limbs but also reminds us: Wow, there’s a big old world out there.” – Ken Ilgunas

29. “Hiking is a bit like life: The journey only requires you to put one foot in front of the other…again and again and again. And if you allow yourself the opportunity to be present throughout the entirety of the trek, you will witness beauty every step of the way, not just at the summit” – Unknown

30. “The best way out is always through.” – Robert Frost

31. “May your dreams be larger than mountains and may you have the courage to scale their summits” – Harley King

Climbing Quotes for Hiking

32. “It’s impossible to walk in the woods and be in a bad mood at the same time.”- Unknown

33. “You can’t climb up a mountain, with downhill thoughts.” – Unknown

34. “Somewhere between the bottom of the climb and the summit is the answer to the mystery why we climb.” – Greg Child

35. “Everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you are climbing it.” – Andy Rooney

36. “You never climb the same mountain twice, not even in memory. Memory rebuilds the mountain, changes the weather, retells the jokes, remakes all the moves.” – Lito Tejada-Flores

37. “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.” – M.J. Eberhart

38. “You’re off to great places, today is your day. Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way.” – Dr. Seuss

39. “Me thinks that the moment my legs begin to move, my thoughts begin to flow.” – Henry David Thoreau

40. “Walk away quietly in any direction and taste the freedom of the mountaineer. Camp out among the grasses and gentians of glacial meadows, in craggy garden nooks full of nature’s darlings.”- Unknown

41. “An early-morning walk is a blessing for the whole day.” – Henry David Thoreau

42. “Walking: the most ancient exercise and still the best modern exercise.” – Carrie Latet

43. “After a day’s walk, everything has twice its usual value.” – G.M. Trevelyan

Inspirational Hiking Quotes

44. “Each fresh peak ascended teaches something.” – Sir Martin Conway

45. “I took a walk in the woods and came out taller than trees.” – Unknown

46. “The experienced mountain climber is not intimidated by a mountain he is inspired by it.” – William Arthur Ward

47. “Hiking’s not for everyone. Notice the wilderness is mostly empty.” – Sonja Yoerg

48. “May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view. May your mountains rise into and above the clouds.” – Edward Abbey

49. “Without new experiences, something inside of us sleeps. The sleeper must awaken.” – Frank Herbert

50. “Because in the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in an office or mowing the lawn. Climb that goddamn mountain.” – Jack Kerouac

51. “Now I see the secret of making the best person, it is to grow in the open air and to eat and sleep with the earth.” – Walt Whitman

52. “We don’t stop hiking because we grow old – We grow old because we stop hiking.”– Finis Mitchel

53. “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.” – John Muir

54. “Mountains have a way of dealing with overconfidence.” – Hermann Buhl

55. “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.” – Henry David Thoreau

Advice and Walking Quotes

56. “It’s not all about the views from the top of the mountain, there are so many beautiful things you pass on your journey to the top. Appreciate the beauty along your path! – Unknown

57. “Carry as little as possible, but choose that little with care.” – Earl Shaffer

58. “When everything feels like an uphill struggle, just think of the view from the top.” – Unknown

59. “There is no such thing as bad weather, only inappropriate clothing.”– Sir Rannulph Fiennes

60. “Fall down seven times and stand up eight.” – Japanese Proverb

61. “Remember to turn everything off once a week including your brain and walk somewhere quiet” – Unknown

62. “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.” – Confucius

63. “If the winter is too cold and the summer is too hot, you are not a hiker.” – Unknown

64. “The best thing one can do when it’s raining is to let it rain.” – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

65. “You need mountains, long staircases don’t make good hikers.”– Amit Kalantri

Hiking Captions about Nature

66. “To walk in nature is to witness a thousand miracles.” – Mary Davis

67. “Look deep into nature and you will understand everything better.” – Albert Einstein

68. “I found far more answers in the woods than I ever did in the city.” – Mary Davis

69. “In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous.” – Aristotle

70. “In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.” – John Muir

71. “A walk in nature walks the soul back home.” – Mary Davis

72. “I go to nature to be soothed and healed, and to have my senses put in order.” – Unknown

73. “Nature is not a place to visit. It is home.” – Gary Snyder

74. “Keep close to nature’s heart… and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean.” – Unknown

75. “Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.” – Unknown

Hiking Instagram Captions

76. “Walking is a man’s best medicine.” – Hippocrates

77. “Let’s wander where the WiFi is weak” – Unknown

78. “Leave the roads, take the trails” – Unknown

79. “Wonder. Wander. Repeat.” – Unknown

80. “It feels good to be lost in the right direction” – Unknown

81. “I know I hike like a girl, try to keep up.” – Unknown

82. “Getting to the top is optional. Getting down is mandatory.” – Ed Viesturs

83. “Between every two pines there is a doorway to a new world.” – Henry David Thoreau

84. “You need special shoes for hiking—and a bit of a special soul as well.” – Terri Guillemets

85. “I have a restless spirit. The need to roam and explore this earth is in my soul.” – Unknown

86. “All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.” – Friedrich Nietzsche

87. “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.” – Jennifer Pharr Davis

That’s over 80 Quotes on Hiking

That’s the end of my bumper list, so I hope you’ve managed to find the perfect hiking quote. I’d love to know which one is your favourite, and if I’ve missed any great quotes about hiking then please let me know in the comments below.

As an added bonus I’ve included a FREE downloadable PDF of all these hiking quotes so you can keep them handy, or you can bookmark this page or save it to Pinterest if you prefer.

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