Hiking Tips For Couples
Hiking as a couple is a great way to stay active together and explore the great outdoors.
Often, when you’re on a hiking trail, you’ll bump into couples, and they will look 1 of 2 ways - like they’re having the best time and do this every week, or they look miserable and are teetering on the edge of a breakup.
The aim of this article is to make sure every couple has the first experience and thrives while hiking together.
We outline some practical hiking tips for couples and provide tips for planning your next hiking adventure together.
So, let’s dive into: Hiking Tips for Couples
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Hiking Tips for Couples: Quick Introduction
Hiking as a couple can be an incredibly rewarding experience, allowing you to connect with nature and each other on a whole new level. Whether you're new to hiking or seasoned veterans, there's always something new to learn about hitting the trails as a pair.
In this article we are going to guide you through essential hiking gear choices for couples, offer you tips for choosing the perfect hiking trail together, and explore what makes excellent communication and teamwork while hiking.
Some couples wouldn’t dream of hiking together; perhaps you’re even a part of one of those relationships. Hopefully, after reading this article, you’ll be inspired to tie up those bootlaces and head for the nearest trail together.
Going hiking abroad as a couple? Make sure you get affordable travel insurance that covers outdoor adventures like hiking and trekking.
Benefits of Hiking as a Couple
As avid hikers and adventurers, we are often asked ‘what makes you want to hike together?’ Well, underneath, we have tried to highlight just a few of the main benefits we find of hiking together as a couple:
Spend quality time together: we start with the most significant benefit of all - hiking as a couple is a surefire way to strengthen your relationship by spending some much-needed quality time together. Hiking gets you outdoors, gives you a rush of dopamine, and allows you to spend 1-on-1 quality time together.
Hiking helps you be more present: in an age where couples spend the majority of time together on their phones or looking at a screen, hiking offers that increasingly rare opportunity to hang out together with nothing getting in the way.
When was the last time you spent 12 hours without looking at a screen? Completing a full-day hike with your partner is the perfect time to do this.
You get the chance to have meaningful conversations on the trail: some of our most significant life decisions have been on hiking trails around the world. Granted, our life decisions usually come in the form of ‘what country do you want to visit next?’, but these are still important decisions to make for us.
Walking along the hiking trail allows you to chat away and potentially plan more of your future together.
Hiking Devil’s Thumb high above Lake Louise
Challenges of Hiking as a Couple
Hiking does, of course, come with some challenges; it isn’t always picturesque views and hot chocolate at the summit. Underneath, we have highlighted some of the main challenges we often face when hiking as a couple:
Becoming tired and impatient while hiking together
This is probably the most common challenge faced by couples while hiking or doing an adventurous activity, for that matter. Hiking can be physically demanding, and you can often get tired and impatient with each other.
How to overcome this challenge?
To overcome this, we recommend using many of the same tactics we highlight in our road trip tips for couples - bringing plenty of snacks, taking lots of breaks and learning to be comfortable with silence now and then to give each other a chance to recharge socially.
Differing Fitness Levels
As with any shared physical activity, you will notice that you may have different fitness levels. Sometimes, this causes tension because one person needs to constantly take breaks, whereas the other rushes to the top without a second thought for what's going on behind them.
How to overcome this challenge?
Set a comfortable pace that is manageable for both halves of the couple. If the person is generally fitter and wants to go faster, then decide on the point of the trail where you’re going to meet up again so you aren’t just solo hiking for the entire adventure.
Overpacking or Underpacking
Both of these scenarios are very frustrating when hiking. Carrying a heavy backpack around for a 4-hour trip because you want to ‘cover all eventualities’ isn’t recommended. While only bringing 500ml of water on a 9-hour hike with a steep incline because you ‘don’t want to carry the extra weight’ is also not very sensible.
How to overcome this challenge?
Make sure you pack wisely and appropriately based on what kind of hiking trail you are going to attempt. In general, it’s best to bring slightly more water than you think you’ll need, just to be sure, but any other heavy items can probably be left behind. At the end of this article, we have outlined some recommendations for essential hiking gear for couples to give you an idea of where to start.
Hiking in Seoraksan National Park - South Korea
Tips for Planning your Hiking Adventure together
In order to hike successfully as a couple, we recommend coming up with a great plan that suits you both. It doesn’t matter if you’re attempting a 3-day overnight hike or a short 4-hour out-and-back trail; it’s still a good idea to have a basic plan in place.
Here are a few of our trusty hiking tips to get you started:
Select the Perfect Trail
Consider your fitness levels: before attempting to choose a trail, try to ascertain your fitness levels. If you’re a couple that has never hiked before, we don’t suggest jumping straight into a 3-day overnight expedition to summit a mountain. Picking something that suits both of your fitness levels seems like a reasonable place to start.
Scenic or challenging trails?: something else to consider before choosing a hiking trail as a couple is what you want to get out of the hike. If it’s a leisurely stroll with great views you’re after, then we suggest choosing a trail that is relatively flat - perhaps a nice loop around a lake. If you feel as though you want to push yourselves and work up a bit of a sweat, then it’s best to opt for a hike with an incline and maybe quite a bit of elevation gain.
Researching trail conditions: a great hiking tip that pertains to hiking as a couple or when solo hiking is always to research the trail conditions. One of the best apps we recommend for travelling is AllTrails, as this is our favourite app for researching trails. It has plenty of important information like the length of the trail, an estimated time to complete the hike and the expected elevation gain of the route.
Set Expectations
Discussing hiking goals: what do you actually want to get out of the hike together? As we mentioned earlier, if you want to get a bit of a sweat on, then you should establish that beforehand. If it’s just a leisurely stroll you’re after, that’s also ok. The key to a successful hike together is to establish the goals before beginning so you’re both on the same page.
Establishing a pace: there’s nothing worse than going on a hike with your significant other, and within a minute, you’re out of breath and already struggling to keep up. It’s important when hiking as a couple to set a realistic pace that both of you can manage. If it is the case that one of you wants to go particularly quickly, then perhaps set a marker in the distance where you can reconvene once the other one catches up.
Good Communication and Teamwork
Importance of communication: it’s important to keep checking in with each other on the trail. Are you tired? Is this a good pace? Are you hungry? All these little questions go a long way to creating a successful hike together.
Encouragement and motivation: for one of you, the hike you’ve chosen might be a complete breeze, whereas the other half of the couple may be really struggling. In any relationship, it is vital to encourage and motivate each other, but this is even more important when hiking as a couple.
Deal with challenges together: you never know what will happen on a hiking trail, but it’s important to work together as a team to overcome any obstacles. The weather might suddenly change, you may get lost, and one of you might pick up an injury. Any number of scenarios can happen when hiking, but be sure to work out the solution together.
Iguazu Falls Viewpoint Hike - Brazil
Safety Tips for Hiking as a Couple
It’s very important to remain safe when hiking, so underneath, we have listed a few of our best tips for staying safe on the trails:
Know Your Limits
Assess the altitude and weather conditions: please don’t overdo it! Always know your limits when it comes to pushing yourself on the trail. Hiking is all about overcoming challenges, but know that testing those boundaries in really bad weather or at altitude can be very dangerous.
Be okay with turning back: we’ve been on 1 or 2 hikes in the past where we’ve got half way, looked at each other, and thought it was a good decision to turn around. Sometimes, you can do all the planning in the world, and once you get to the trail, the conditions just aren’t at all what you expected. It’s much better to turn around and try again another day than push yourselves and risk putting each other in danger.
First Aid Knowledge
Carry a First Aid Kit: knowing at least a little first aid when hiking together is always good. Carrying a simple first aid kit like this one is a very useful first step, but make sure that you both know the basics in case anything happens while on the trail.
Hiking in the beautiful Soča Valley - Slovenia
Fun Hiking Date Ideas for Couples
We personally think that hikes make the best dates. They’re a great way to connect and spend a bit of time alone without anybody else bothering you.
It is worth noting that for hiking dates, you should probably choose a relatively easy trail. Being sweaty and gross during a date is never a good look.
So, with that in mind, here are a few suggestions for fun hiking date ideas:
Romantic Sunset Hike
There is nothing more romantic than a sunset, and often, the best sunsets can be found at the top of a hill or at an amazing viewpoint.
Bring a bottle of wine to share and soak up the incredible natural views together. We also suggest bringing a blanket to sit on to make it even more cosy and memorable.
Casual Stroll around a Lake
Walking around a lake can be super peaceful and relaxing and makes for a lovely, creative date. If you’re lucky, you can even time your lake walk with that evening’s sunset to make it even more magical.
When we enjoyed working a ski season in Canada, we would often go for evening walks around Lake Louise. We always felt so privileged to be able to have such a stunning location right on our doorstep.
Picnic on top of a Mountain
Perhaps the most creative suggestion on our fun hiking date ideas for couples is planning to picnic on top of a mountain.
When we say a mountain, we’re not suggesting you try bringing some crackers and cheese to the top of Kilimanjaro, but a blanket, snacks and a nice bottle of wine to the top of a viewpoint is a great way to spend a date.
Our picnic date on top of Big Beehive in Lake Louise
Essential Hiking Gear for Couples
It would be impossible to provide you with a full hiking set-up without knowing which trail you were attempting, what the conditions were like, how long you are planning to go hiking etc.
So instead, we have highlighted 5 of the most essential things you need to pack to go hiking as a couple, alongside 4 items we recommend wearing when attempting a hike together.
We hope these essential hiking items for couples help you get the most out of your next hike together!
Packing Essentials for Hiking as a Couple
Choose the right backpack for the hike - if you’re going for a one-day hike, then we recommend using the Osprey Unisex Daylite Plus because it’s lightweight and features breathable material on the back so you don’t get as sweaty. For a longer (more than 1-day) hike, we recommend taking the Osprey Renn 50L. We particularly love the pocketed hip straps and the adjustable back panel on this bag.
LifeStraw Water Bottle - we know these are quite expensive for a water bottle, but they really are game-changing when it comes to hiking. You can fill the water bottle up at any stream or lake, and it will filter the water, making it safe to drink. This means you don’t have to carry 3 heavy litres on the trail with you anymore!
Plenty of high-energy snacks - we always take bananas and trail mix with us when we go hiking together. Another great option is granola or energy bars; our favourites are Clif Bars
Spare layers - it’s essential to be prepared for things to go slightly wrong, so bringing an extra, lightweight layer or two is an excellent way to cover all bases.
Mini, lightweight, travel-sized First Aid Kit - you never know when you’re going to need a first aid kit, so bringing a lightweight, non-bulky one with you hiking is always recommended
Essential items to wear while hiking as a couple
Sturdy, reliable, waterproof shoes - probably the most important item of all, so be sure that your shoes/boots are comfortable and waterproof. Make sure to test them out on trial walks/hikes before attempting anything too strenuous though.
Waterproof Outer Layer - it’s essential to wear a waterproof outer layer when hiking, just in case the weather turns dramatically. Our favourite brand of jackets is definitely RAB, but any reliable, waterproof jacket will do the trick nicely.
Hiking Socks - please don’t make the common hiking mistake of wearing trainer socks or an old pair with a hole in them. Wear proper, hiking-appropriate socks like these Merino Wool Hiking Socks to keep your feet warm, dry and blister-free.
Lightweight, comfortable hiking trousers - on your bottom half, you want to be wearing something light but appropriate to the conditions. We personally love using hiking trousers that zip on or off to become shorts; that way, you have all seasons covered. Colombia has excellent examples of Convertible Hiking Trousers that turn into shorts.
Fairview Lookout Hiking Trail - Canada
Some of our favourite Hikes over the years
While we have been fortunate enough to embark on many hikes during our adventures around the globe, we have managed to narrow it down to just a few to provide you with some couples hiking inspiration:
Ulsanbawi Hike (South Korea) - an incredible hike in Seoraksan National Park in South Korea, infamous for its 800+ metal steps bolted into the side of the mountain face.
Kozjak Waterfall Hike (Slovenia) - a short, brisk hike to the Kozjak Waterfall in the heart of the Soča Valley in Slovenia
Hike to the Starigrad Fortress in Omis (Croatia) - one of our favourite hikes in the Balkans. The views from the fortress over the town of Omis and the surrounding bay are just spectacular.
Hikes, Walks and Strolls in Lake Louise (Canada) - we found it impossible to write about just one of the many incredible hikes in Lake Louise, so we decided to highlight all of them instead. If you love hiking, Alberta is definitely the place to be!
Acatenango Volcano Overnight Hike (Guatemala) - our most recent, and certainly most challenging, hike. The Acatenango hike in Guatemala requires taking a 30lb backpack up the side of a volcano, sleeping overnight at base camp, and then summiting for sunrise the following morning. Simply the most unforgettable hike we’ve ever attempted!
Acatenango Volcano Overnight Hike - Guatemala
Hiking Tips for Couples: Conclusion
There we have it, folks, a conclusive round-up of all the hiking tips for couples that we have discovered and learned over the years. Hiking together is a great way to strengthen your relationship by learning to overcome barriers and challenges together.
Hiking is, of course, also an excellent way for couples to stay active and healthy together in the great outdoors.
We hope this article encourages you to strap up your bootlaces and head to a hiking trail near you very shortly.
