Best Day Hiking Checklist: Simple, No Nonsense

What should a beginner take hiking? If you want to get into hiking, but don’t know where to start or what to bring, this Day Hiking Checklist will tell you everything you need to know as a beginner hiker. There is a lot on the internet about all the “essentials” you need to take with you, ranging from emergency thermal blankets to snowshoes. This day hiking checklist only lists the actual essentials, not a bunch of random gear to go buy.

I am here to tell you that hiking is just walking. You don’t need to bring tons of stuff, you don’t need to be super prepared, and you don’t need to overthink it. You are just going for a walk. Of course, the type of clothing you will bring will depend on the weather, and whether or not you need to dress warmly.

If you are new to hiking, camping, and backpacking and need help about how to begin, check out my guides:

Additionally, for my packing list of the gear I personally use and have relied on for 7+ years, check out my Backpacking Gear List.

Day Hiking Checklist
Clothing
Shoes
Hiking Poles
Backpack
Weather-Appropriate Clothing
Sun Protection
Water
Food/ Snacks
Bug Spray
Toiletries (how to go to the bathroom)
Safety Items
Unpopular Opinions – First Aid/ Medical Kits
Summary – Day Hiking Checklist
Additional Hiking Resources

Day Hiking Checklist

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Clothing

To determine what you need to bring hiking, you first need to determine what trail you will hike. This matters for duration, terrain, and the “potential emergencies”. If you are a beginner, someone who is new to hiking, check out my post on Choosing a Hiking Trail for Beginners: 8 Easy Steps.

As a beginner, you should choose a trail that is relatively popular, short (less than 6 miles/ 10km), has a moderate elevation gain, and is well-marked. To hike a relatively popular and short trail for less than 5 hours, you don’t need to bring a bunch of gear with you.

For a day hike, you should be wearing the clothing rather than packing it. Wear something made for exercise, such as yoga pants, running shorts, and an athletic shirt. You don’t need special hiking clothing. Anything that is good for exercising will work great. The goal here is to be comfortable. I prefer yoga pants for colder weather, running shorts when its warm enough, and a dri-fit athletic t-shirt (to keep the sun off my chest and shoulders).

Shoes

You don’t actually need special hiking shoes, either. I prefer to hike in trail running shoes- as a lot of long distance hikers do. They are much lighter than hiking boots, dry faster, and are just more comfortable to wear for many hours every day. However, regular athletic shoes will be just fine. As long as they are comfortable and don’t give you blisters, use what you have and don’t feel the need to go out and buy new shoes.

People will counter that trail running shoes don’t offer ankle support like boots do. While this is technically true, I would argue that you might not be getting the stability you think hiking books provide. Many people have twisted or sprained their ankles while wearing hiking boots. Same goes for trail running shoes. Rolling your ankles is a risk with walking, especially on uneven terrain. Hiking boots won’t save you from that, and often won’t prevent it. The best protection against this is to use hiking poles, which I swear by.

Hiking Poles

I hiked for many years without poles, thinking they were for elderly and disabled people. It wasn’t until someone let me borrow theirs for a few minutes on a hike that I realized Trekking Poles are a GAME CHANGER. They help climb ascents, save your knees on descents, and most importantly, provide stability and prevent falling and injuries.

The biggest advantage I have found is that they take the weight off your legs, so if you do step wrong and roll your ankle, you won’t be stepping down with all your weight, which has saved me from being injured more times than I can count. It’s not stepping wrong that’s the issue, it’s stepping wrong with all your weight on your ankle that is the problem.

That being said, if the hike is relatively flat and easy, hiking poles are unnecessary. Anything under 5 miles and 500 feel of elevation gain isn’t enough for me to bring my poles. But if there’s a steep ascent or descent, I prefer to have them.

Backpack

You will want to bring water and maybe some snacks, as well as your car keys, wallet, phone, etc. so having a small backpack is handy. Ideally, bring a backpack that has a waist belt because it will be much more comfortable. This takes the weight off your shoulders, and also makes you feel more secure and stable.

hiking trail for beginners day hiking checklist

Weather-Appropriate Clothing

Depending on the weather, you might need to bring a few layers just in case. Bring a light jacket, sweater, coat, or a rain jacket. As someone whose body runs cold, I usually always bring a warm layer, just in case some clouds move in and I sit in the shade for a while and get chilly. I also hate being cold- it really detracts from my comfort and overall experience. I would rather have it and not need it, than need it and not have it.

Be sure to check the weather of the location you are going to, the day (the morning) of your hike. Weather, especially in the mountains, can change quickly. The forecast could predict sun, but then some rain could come in the night before and drop the temperature 20 degrees. Read these tips for hiking in the rain to ensure you are prepared for wet weather and still have an enjoyable experience.

If you are hiking in the summer and there is no rain predicted, a sweater or light hoodie will be fine. If there is a chance of rain or cooler temperatures, layers are your best bet. You can put on and take off as needed, allowing you to adapt to all temperatures and conditions. If there is snow, bring a hat, mittens, warm coat, etc.

For more information about layers and the kinds I bring, check out my My Perfected Backpacking Gear Checklist.

Sun Protection

Chances are that you will be in the sun when you are hiking. Bring sunglasses (that block UV rays), sunblock, hat, and a light, long-sleeved shirt to keep the sun off your arms, chest, and back.

Water

This should go without saying, but always bring water with you. Always. No exceptions. And as a rule of thumb, it’s better to bring more than you need than to not bring enough. However, there’s no need to freak out.

If you’re a beginner and are worried about being stuck in the woods dying of thirst, I would encourage you to remember the trail you will be hiking. If you are a beginner and therefore are doing a relatively short and easy hike to start out, you will not end up stranded in the middle of the mountains forced to survive. The worst that happens is that you drink all of your water and are thirsty. Then you hike back to your car thirsty. Not a huge deal.

The amount of water you should bring depends on the length, difficulty, and duration of the hike, as well as the weather. At a minimum, bring at least one large water bottle (1-2 liters) per person for every 3 hours of hiking. Also, keep extra water in your car. This is so handy because you don’t have to carry the extra weight, and also can guzzle as much as you want once the hike is over.

Food/ Snacks

For a day hike, you might not even need to bring lunch. If your hike is 4 hours, you can eat breakfast before you go, and then have lunch when you come back. However, it’s always nice having some snacks. Especially if the hike ends up taking longer than anticipated, it’s nice knowing you have something to eat. I pretty much always bring snacks for hikes longer than 3 hours.

Some good snacks to bring hiking are nuts, dried fruit, apples (whole), and granola bars. For more ideas on food and snacks to bring hiking, check out the Best Healthy & Easy Backpacking Meal Ideas – DIY, Vegan.

Bug Spray

If there are mosquitos, you will want to bring bug spray. Make sure to apply it before you start the hike, and bring it with you to reapply when needed.

Toiletries (how to go to the bathroom)

To go to the bathroom on a hike, there are a few ways to handle it. The easiest way is to just squat (or stand) and then drip dry- no toilet paper, just give yourself a little shake and pull your pants back up. Not a huge deal for a day hike.

You can also bring a little bit of toilet paper and TWO plastic bags- one to keep unused toilet paper in, the other to keep the used toilet paper in (DO NOT LEAVE TOILET PAPER IN THE WOODS! It needs to be packed back out with you. LEAVE NO TRACE). The best method is to use a pee cloth, like this Kula Cloth that I have. It’s made using antimicrobial materials. You simply use it to wipe (pee) and then clip it onto the outside of your backpack. I have used mine on 7-day backpacking trips and it didn’t smell or “get disgusting”. 10/10 highly recommend.

For other stuff, bring a small packet of baby wipes. And again, these need to be placed in a plastic bag and carried out with you. DO NOT LEAVE THEM IN NATURE.

Safety Items

If you are a beginner doing an easy hike for beginners, there should be little to no chance you get lost. After all, if you have chosen a popular trail, it should be well marked and obvious. If you are doing a long-ish hike and there is a chance that you could get lost, the weather could dramatically change for the worse, or some natural disaster could happen, like a wildfire or avalanche, then you might want to consider bringing a few safety items.

Of course, no one expects to get lost in the woods overnight, but if you do, there are a few things that would make your spontaneous adventure more enjoyable/ less scary.

Bring a headlamp. As someone who ended up hiking after dark unintentionally, this was really nice to have. It is brighter than a phone light, allows you full use of your hands (they are worn around your head), and also does not require your phone to have charge.

Bring a warm layer(s), because it gets colder at night. Bring some extra snacks/food and water. If you’re really worried, you can bring a battery bank for your phone. However, if your phone has service, you might not end up lost out there after dark anyway, haha.

Unpopular Opinions – First Aid/ Medical Kits

When you search the internet for things to bring hiking, it’s like everyone is either working for Big Hiking, trying to get you to buy all kinds of shit you don’t need, or a doomsday prepper telling you to be prepared for any emergency imaginable. I understand that with how disconnected we are from nature, that going out into the woods and having to “survive” seems scary. But that’s not what you’re doing, you’re not going into the woods to survive. You’re going for a walk.

I am not saying you should be careless and unaware of the risks. I am not saying nothing bad will never happen to you or anyone else. I am saying that the vast majority of the time, if you choose a suitable hiking trail and have reasonable intelligence and decision making skills, you don’t need to bring a bunch of gear “just in case”.

If you are a beginner, and have chosen a suitable hiking trail for beginners (Choosing a Hiking Trail for Beginners: 8 Easy Steps), then you don’t need to bring a first aid kit, emergency thermal blanket, 5 liters of water, a whistle, bear mace, satellite phone, or ice spikes. Any day hiking checklist that includes these things is trying to sell you stuff. Of course, this is location and weather dependent! If you’re hiking in bear country, YES YOU SHOULD BRING BEAR SPRAY. If your’e doing a popular 3 mile hike to a waterfall that sees 1000 visitors every Saturday, you don’t need a satellite phone.

Advising people not to bring a first aid kit will surely have people screaming at me, and that’s fine. But as someone who is an experienced backpacker, who has spent weeks in mountainous regions around the world, such as the Andes in Patagonia, the Alps, Rocky Mountains, North Cascades, among others, I can count on the number of times I have used my first aid kit, and it’s almost zero. I use it so little that I actually downsized it.

Here’s the thing- what is likely to happen while you are hiking that a first aid kit will help with? Cuts, scrapes, blisters. Bandaids, moleskin, or medical tape will work for this. But if I get a cut or a scrape, I don’t usually put a bandaid on it. I just leave it and it scabs and eventually heals.

If you fall and twist your ankle or break your leg, a first aid kit wont do shit for you. If you are attacked by a rodent, are you really going to put a bunch of ointment all over it and wrap your leg in gauze? No. You’re going to probably end your hike and walk back to your car.

If a real emergency happens, your first aid kit wont make a difference. And anything that’s not a real emergency, like a cut or scrape, doesn’t always need medical attention.

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Summary – Day Hiking Checklist

Here is the Day Hiking Checklist: the (actual) essentials to bring one every hike

Clothing: wear athletic clothing, such as running shorts, yoga pants, and an athletic shirt
Shoes: trail running shoes, athletic shoes, or hiking boots
Small backpack (with waist belt)
Extra layers for weather: sun (hat), cold (hat, mittens), rain, etc.
Hiking poles (if necessary)
Water bottle
Snacks
Sunblock
Sunglasses
Bug spray
Pee cloth/ toilet paper
Headlight (if necessary, just in case)