7 STEPS
ONE
Make a personal commitment to become a better you! Take a break from your busy life and decompress through hiking at least once a week or 52 times in a year. The challenge is self-directed, which means you plan and go on your hikes on your own. This challenge is about changing your life in a positive way - getting the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual benefits of hiking. We call it nature therapy, and you owe it to yourself to reset and get back to what’s important – YOU! For the math wizards, our 52 Hike Challenge is an average of one hike per week for a year and we're certain anybody can make time for that. This challenge is not a race, but for those who are feeling really enthusiastic, you can hike every day and complete the 52 Hike Challenge in 52 days. We're not too worried about you not missing any of the benefits if you go faster because going outdoors 52 times is still a good amount of time in nature and we think you might be hooked on hiking after that ;)
Please note that the hikes can be as simple as going to the local park, or something a bit more adventurous, but we encourage you to only complete the hikes that you are comfortable with. Remember to increase your mileage slowly and for best results, we strongly encourage you to have a steady workout during the week. Doing smaller weekday hikes or adopting regular exercise 4-5 times a week will help you with weight loss and building stamina, which will also allow you to enjoy those longer weekend adventure hikes!
We have provided everyone with an abundance of resources including:
The 10 essentials you must bring on every hike
Safety Guide
How to find local hiking groups
How to find local 52 Hike Challengers
Hiking blog with great information and articles
However, before starting a fitness regimen you should consult with a physician to make sure you healthy enough for these activities. We don't want anyone getting hurt. Finally, if you still have questions about the challenge, you're probably not alone, please see our FAQ section for the questions others had too
TWO
Now that you have made the personal commitment to yourself, we are asking you to make a commitment to us. By officially signing-up, you are telling us that you are ready to take on a life changing journey - You can easily sign up with the Original 52 Hike Challenge or one of our other challenge series. Be sure to upgrade by purchasing your Finisher Medal and get coupons, along with other perks! Once you are signed up, look out for our Newsletter to keep you updated on upcoming hikes, news, and tips to make your journey more enjoyable. We will never sell you information and you can unsubscribe at any time.
THREE
Share your commitment with your friends and family. This is a critical action as it will make you accountable to finish the challenge – and hopefully encourage some of them to join you in the journey! We encourage you to share our logo on your favorite social media channel with a note on why you are taking the challenge :) Please visit our Local Groups page to connect with hiking groups in your and join our Official Facebook groups for extra motivation.
FOUR
We wanted to make it really easy for you to complete this journey, so we have gathered a plethora of information under "Resources" on our website. Please take a minute to get familiar with everything we have provided so you can have your best chance at successfully finishing the 52 Hike Challenge. In addition, be sure to check out our Frequently Asked Questions before getting started.
FIVE
Get out and HIKE! This may be easier said than done, but with the resources we have provided, we believe you will be making new hiking buddies and enjoying the trails soon. We've made it easy to track your hikes with our downloadable Hiking Logs and hikes check in, which rewards you for every 10 hikes you log.
While you are going through the challenge, be sure to reflect on your journey to help you stay motivated. Having gratitude is the key to happiness, we included some tips on reflecting here.
SIX
Share, Share, Share!
At this point, you will be fully immersed in the hiking lifestyle and you know the greatest thing is sharing your stories and reading inspiring stories from others too. It is through posting on our Facebook page and hashtagging #52HikeChallenge & #52HikeChallenge[YEAR] (i.e. #52HikeChallenge2024) on Instagram, TikTok, or Twitter that you become part of our community, so give some love....you'll get love back too, and most likely will make a new hiking friend!
By taking the challenge, we are all connected and rooting for each other! You can also use hashtag #hike1, #hike2… and so on Instagram to help you keep track of your hikes along with connecting with other challengers too!
Note: Looking up #52HikeChallenge on Facebook does not show everyone's photos because of privacy settings.
SEVEN!
YOU ARE (ALMOST) DONE! Taking on 52 Hikes in a year is quite an accomplishment and you undoubtedly will have friends and family to thank, so we highly encourage you to plan a fun (easy) group celebration hike for #hike52 and invite all of the people who helped you along your journey. We have seen so many happy finishers because of this, so please take this time to thank them, you won't regret it! :) When you are officially done, please fill out the "Finisher Form" At this point you should have completed the 52 Hike Challenge and you are ready to brag! You are welcome to indicate "52 Hike Challenge Finisher" in your social media profile. Your friends and family think you are a pro, you hopefully have become enlightened, and you undoubtedly have already shared the gift of hiking with others as a leader...and we think you're awesome for that!
