“How hard will that hike be?” That’s a question that all dayhikers and backpackers, from beginners to experts, think about all the time—and it’s not always easy to answer. But there are ways of evaluating the difficulty of any hike, using readily available information, that can greatly help you understand what to expect before you even leave home.

Whether you’re new to dayhiking or backpacking, a parent planning a hike with young kids, or a fit and experienced dayhiker or backpacker contemplating one of the toughest hikes you’ve ever attempted, it’s important to have a good sense of what you’ll face on a new and unfamiliar hike and whether it’s within your abilities.

Exceeding your limits or those of someone with you can invite unwanted consequences—and the person with the least stamina, abilities, or experience often dictates any party’s pace, limits, and outcomes. Those consequences may range from an unpleasant experience that dissuades someone from wanting to go again, to failing to reach your destination or make it back to your vehicle, potentially creating a more serious situation.

There’s no one standard for measuring the difficulty or strenuousness of trails, but there are “hard” measures—statistics for any hike—that are commonly used as reference points.

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People enjoy hiking for a variety of reasons, but many of those who hit their local trails do so for the exercise the activity provides.

However, there’s a big difference between breaking a sweat and working out your muscles during a hike and biting off more than you can chew. You don’t want to wear yourself out and require assistance getting back to the trailhead. Conversely, you don’t want to head out for an afternoon in hopes of working out your calves and burning a bunch of calories only to find that the trail you chose is no more challenging than a sidewalk.

To avoid either eventuality, you’ll need to pick a trail that suits your skill and fitness level. This will help you have a great time and achieve the goals you’ve established.

There is no widely recognized, universal trail-rating system. Different parks, trail guides, hike leaders, websites and books subscribe to different rating systems, making apples-to-apples comparisons hard. Some rating systems use numbers to rate trails, while others employ the easy-moderate-strenuous convention. Still others use variations of these approaches.

The Sierra Club rating system is primarily based on the length of the trail and the elevation change hikers will encounter while completing it. This system breaks trails down into one of three categories: Easy, Moderate or Strenuous.

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