Plan a hiking trip: permits, safety and the days between

A hiking trip is three decisions made in the right order: which hikes you can finish before dark, which permits and campsites sell out months ahead, and how you stay safe and fed where the signal drops. Then put each trail on the map as a route, so the hikes, the drives to the trailheads and the days between them are timed in one plan.

Choose hikes you can finish

• Time it honestly. Roughly an hour per 5 km of flat walking plus an hour per 600 m of climb, then add for altitude, heat, scrambling and photographs. A hike that finishes after dark is a different hike. (Altitude, heat and choosing a hike you can finish)
• Set a turnaround time, not a place. Decide it the night before from the sunset Treader shows for that day, and keep it however close the summit looks.
• Give altitude a night. Above about 2,400 m anyone can feel it, and about 1 in 4 people who sleep that high do; sleep low, drink water often, and skip alcohol for the first two days.
• Desert days start at dawn. Four litres per person, salt with the water, and the middle of the day is rest.

Permits, quotas and the campsites that sell out

• Know which system you are facing. First-come counters are beaten by turning up early, rolling windows by a calendar alarm, lotteries only by how you apply: midweek dates, every alternative ranked, one entry per person, the second-chance draw. (Backcountry permits, lotteries and quotas explained)
• Frontcountry campsites go on a schedule. Recreation.gov releases most US federal sites six months to the day at 10am Eastern; Parks Canada opened 2026 in launches staggered park by park from 20 January to 12 February, with a randomised queue at the busiest ones; the 2027 dates are not published yet (checked 2 October 2026). (How to get a campsite in a popular park, Parks Canada reservations 2027)
• Missed it? On Discovery, $9.99 CAD a month, a camp stop can watch a sold-out recreation.gov campground: Treader checks every half hour and sends a push and an email when a night opens.
• Read what the permit covers. Entry and camping permits are often different things, and some parks require a bear canister. Read the park's page before you leave for the trailhead.

Food, bears and the ground you leave

• Everything with a scent goes in storage, not just food: the locker at the site, and in the backcountry the locker, pole or approved canister the park requires. Cook well away from where you sleep, and carry bear spray on your body, not in the pack. (Being safe in bear country)
• Walk through the mud, not around it, pack out the orange peel, and leave the rock stacks alone. Nearly every rule is arithmetic about how many people follow you. (Leave no trace, without the sanctimony)
• First time in a tent? One night, close to home, at a serviced site, arriving two hours before sunset, with a tent you have pitched in the garden once. (Your first time camping)

Import the trail from a GPX file

A hike is a line, not a point, and a point cannot tell you how long it takes. Export the route from your app or your watch as a GPX or KML file and import it as a stop: the trail draws on the map, and its duration comes from distance and climb (12 minutes a kilometre plus a minute per 10 m of ascent, scaled to the walking pace in your settings). Treader reads the file in your browser, so the file itself never leaves your device; only a simplified line of the trail is saved with the trip, where everyone on it can see it. Between hikes, the legs between stops carry real travel times, so a two-hike day reads as packed before you have booked the second trailhead. (Turn a GPX or KML file into a route-shaped stop, Shape your days)

What to pack for a hiking trip

On Pro, $4.99 CAD a month, the packing list is built from the trip itself: hiking boots and trail snacks appear because a trail you added from the map is on the plan, a tent, sleeping bag and headlamp because a campground is, and the rain shell because the forecast for your dates says so. When two or more people are on the split, shared gear is listed once for the group, and each item reads Unclaimed until someone takes it. (Build a packing list from your trip) For the sleeping mat that decides whether anyone is cold at 3 AM, read What to pack for a camping trip; for the van, Campervan and RV road trips.

Before you lose the signal

• Save the map. On Pro, the trip's map is stored on your phone around every stop and on a line between the stops of each day, with a read-only copy of the plan, so the trip opens at the trailhead. (Save a trip's map for offline)
• Take the plan as one file. On Pro, the offline pack opens in any browser with no signal and no sign-in; on every plan, you can print the trip. (Take the trip offline as one file)
• Save the guides you will need. Bear safety and altitude print cleanly as PDFs, which is the version that works where the signal is not. (Save a guide to read later)
• Tell someone. The route, the return time, and when to call for help if you are not back. Then turn around when you said you would.

Book it and check it

• Recreation.gov lotteries → Every open US permit lottery, with its deadline and results date. https://www.recreation.gov/lottery/available
• Recreation.gov → US federal campsites, most six months to the day at 10am Eastern. https://www.recreation.gov
• Parks Canada reservations → One account for reservable Parks Canada campsites, shuttles and permits. https://reservation.pc.gc.ca
• NPS bear safety → What to do when you meet a bear, and how to carry bear spray, from the US parks. https://www.nps.gov/subjects/bears/safety.htm
• Parks Canada bear safety → Bear spray, food storage and safe travel in the mountain parks. https://parks.canada.ca/pn-np/mtn/ours-bears/securite-safety
• Leave No Trace Center → The seven principles, from the people who wrote them. https://lnt.org/why/7-principles

Guides in this section

• What to pack for a camping trip → Ordered by what ruins a trip when it is missing. /docs/camping-trip-checklist
• How to get a campsite in a popular park → The two booking systems and the cancellation trick. /docs/book-a-campsite-north-america
• Watch a campground for an opening → A push and an email when a sold-out night frees up. Discovery. /docs/watch-a-campground-for-an-opening
• Being safe in bear country → Storage, spray, encounters, and the warnings that hold up. /docs/bear-safety-food-storage
• Your first time camping → The handful of decisions behind a good first night. /docs/first-time-tent-camping
• Campervan and RV road trips → Overnight parking, water and waste, height limits. /docs/campervan-road-trip-basics
• Leave no trace, without the sanctimony → Seven principles and the two everyone gets wrong. /docs/leave-no-trace-basics
• Backcountry permits, lotteries and quotas → How the draws work and how to get a permit without winning. /docs/backcountry-permits-explained
• Altitude, heat and choosing a hike you can finish → Thin air, heat, and judging a trail honestly. /docs/altitude-and-hiking-safety

Common questions

How do I estimate how long a hike will take?

Roughly an hour per 5 km plus an hour per 600 m of climb, then add for altitude, heat and stops. Treader times an imported GPX trail the same way, at 12 minutes a kilometre plus a minute per 10 m of climb.

How far in advance do backcountry permits open?

It depends on the park's system: lotteries take applications months ahead, rolling windows release a fixed period out, often six months to the day, and some trailheads keep a walk-up quota. Put the application date in your calendar the day you have the idea.

Can I import a hike from AllTrails or my watch?

Yes, as a GPX or KML file, up to 10 MB. Export it from the app or the watch, import it as a stop, and the trail draws on the map with a duration from its distance and climb.

Does Treader work with no signal on the trail?

On Pro, yes: the trip's map and a read-only copy of the plan are saved on your phone, and the offline pack is one file that opens anywhere. Editing waits until you are back in range.