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I moved to Salt Lake City about 5 years ago and if you told me when I moved that I would be hiking in the winter, let alone enjoying it, I would have laughed at you. But alas, here I am. And I won’t lie, hiking is one of my favorite activities all year-round, including the winter. So what have I learned over the past 5 seasons? Here I will share the best winter hiking tips so you can avoid my mistakes and enjoy the outdoors safely even when it is quite cold.

Hiking in the Winter

I will break these winter hiking tips down by category, starting with the most important – safety. Feel free to skip around to address your specific needs.

How to hike in the winter safely

Hike with the Sun

When you hike in the summer, it’s best to go early in the morning or later in the day and avoid peak sun. It’s hot, crowded, and you are more likely to get dehydrated. However in the winter, hiking in the middle of the day is actually much more ideal. The days are shorter so this helps ensure that you are done with your hike before the sun goes down. The trails in the winter can also be less clear if snow is covering trail signs or cairns. Therefore, hiking when there is the best visibility is ideal.

Check the weather

You should always check the weather in advance of a hike, but in the spring, summer, and fall, nature is usually a little more forgiving if you forget. Sure – you got really wet on your hike, but it might have felt refreshing. In the winter, it is a whole different story. It can be incredibly dangerous to experience an unexpected sudden winter storm. Additionally, the weather at your base location may be incredibly different than that of your hike, especially with a change in elevation. You can find my favorite website to check mountain weather forecasts here.

Layer Up

I will go into more specifics about clothing and gear in the next section, but as staying warm can be paramount to safety, use layers to help you stay warm. Dress like an onion you so you can easily put clothing on and take clothing off with temperature and exertion fluctuations. The best base layers year-round (but especially in the winter) are wool. You can learn more about the best hiking clothes here.

Know your Trail

Research your trail in advance of getting started. How many miles is it? What is the elevation gain? When there is a fork, which way do you go? Being prepared will help keep you safe. Even if you have done the trail previously in a different season, hiking in the winter can be much slower, especially if the trail is slippery.

I use the AllTrails app on my cell phone to make sure I am on track. The app is free. I use it to research the trail in advance, read trip reports and learn about trail conditions. While I am hiking, I use the GPS feature in the Pro (paid) version of AllTrails to track my location along the trail.

Keep in mind that in the winter, cell phone and other electronic batteries are less likely to keep their charge if the temperatures drop significantly. That’s why it is always a good idea to have a hard copy of a map and a compass in addition to your electronic GPS devices. I always carry my portable phone charger in case of emergencies (or in case my phone dies from all the pictures I am taking, let’s be honest here).

Other Safety Equipment

As the days are shorter and hiking in the winter is slower, it is extra important to have a flashlight and/or headlamp with extra batteries. You should also pack an emergency bivy. I hope this suggestion is entirely unnecessary, but no one ever hopes for an unexpected overnight in the backcountry. At just 4.1 oz, this lightweight addition to your pack could end up being life saving if you are unable to get back to your car. A water filter can also be a good idea to pack as well in case you need more water than you were anticipating.

Best Gear for Hiking in the Winter

Clothing

Temperature-regulation is important for safety which is why there was a section on layering above, but I want to get more into the specifics of clothing.

• Headwear: You have probably heard since you were young that the majority of heat loss is through your head. Therefore keeping your head warm is paramount in staying warm outside. I have both a trapper style hat, a wool liner for under my trapper hat, as well as a wool neck buff. The wool items are very small and packable which is nice.

• Upper body: I don’t know what took me so long to get on the wool bandwagon (probably the price), but I’m on board now. Wool is the sh*t. If you are planning to hike in the winter, do yourself a favor and buy some wool clothing. Usually I wear a wool baselayer crew top and potentially a wool midlayer on top of that, depending on weather. The next layer I go with is a packable down jacket such as one of these (here and here). This goes on top of my wool baselayer. Lastly, I pack a shell jacket that is waterproof and helps insulate from the wind. Keep in mind when choosing sizing for these items that they will be layered and you do not want your movement to be restricted. For more help on choosing an appropriate jacket, you can find a list of the best winter jackets for extreme cold here.

• Hands: Since I love taking pictures, my hands are usually the first thing to get cold when I am outside. I have a super warm pair of Black Diamond mittens. I also have glove liners for when I am working with my camera gear or phone so my hands didn’t have to come all of the way out and get exposed to the cold. Additionally, some people prefer to use Hot Hands to keep their hands warm as well. These are hit or miss for me and I often find that I need them to start warming up before I get cold. However, they are pretty inexpensive so probably worth a shot.

• Lower body: There are several approaches you can take to lower body warmth. If you know there will not be a lot of snow on the trail, then you could consider wool baselayer leggings or fleece-lined leggings. If you knew or suspected there was going to be a lot of snow, you could bring a waterproof pant to go over the leggings, or opt for a pair of ski pants.

• Feet: Wool socks are everything. You can layer your socks with a thick pair and a thin pair, but make sure your boots are sized for this. Don’t overdo the socks and try to do more than two layers. Make sure you try on your boots ahead of time and know that they don’t cut off your circulation as you add a second pair of socks. In addition to wool socks, you also should consider waterproof hiking boots or waterproof hiking shoes + gaiters.

Trekking Poles

Hiking in the snow and in slippery conditions can be much more difficult than hiking the rest of the year. Trekking poles can make your hike feel more stable, they can also be used to help determine the depth of snowpack, or in an emergency as a crutch for a twisted ankle. These are the ones that I use.

Microspikes

An insider trick for hiking in the snow is definitely the use of Microspikes. These help with traction on slippery snow and ice. I honestly would not hike in the winter without them. The cool part is that they fit over your regular boot to provide that extra traction, so you can take them on and off as needed. The specific brand by Kahtoola is best due to the specifics of the chains. My husband bought a different (cheaper) brand and regretted it. There was a metal bar in the front that presses into his shoes and pinches his toes on the way down. Don’t be cheap, buy the good ones.

Snowshoes

An area where I am a little less familiar is snowshoeing. If a trail has snow that is not packed down, this would be a great time to switch over to snowshoes. I have some, but normally don’t bring them with me on trails. I usually only plan to go on trails where there is already snowpack and I can use my Microspikes. However, these are something you should consider if you plan to get more intense.

Fueling your Body to Hike in the Winter

Water

While you may not feel like you need water as much as you do in the summertime, it is still very important to stay hydrated in the winter. Dehydration can accelerate hypothermia. Therefore it is a good idea to stay well-hydrated when hiking in the winter. If you regularly use a water bladder in your backpack, consider getting or switching to one with an insulated tube to make sure the water does not freeze. You can also bring your own water filter, such as this one.

Electrolytes

Electrolytes are still important, even if you aren’t sweating as much as you are in the summer. Liquid IV is a favorite (that link should get you a 25% discount). You could also opt for Gatorade, Skratch, or a salty snack.

Food

One of my favorite things about hiking is the snacks. When hiking in the winter, you may want to have options that you don’t force you to stop in order to eat, such as trail mix. As hikes can take more time in the winter, bring more snacks than you think you need.

If your hike is longer, you may want to consider having a warm-meal option. I recently did a ~20 mile overnight trip hiking The Enchantments and during the day when it was incredibly snowy and windy, we pulled out our JetBoil and made a warm meal, hot chocolate, and hot apple cider. This was so energizing. My husband declared the JetBoil the “best purchase of 2020” after that trip alone.

Tips for Hiking in the Winter

Here are a few more tips that are helpful for hiking year-round:

• LEAVE THE TRAIL BETTER THAN YOU FOUND IT – similar to leave no trace, except you can always help make things better. Pick up trash, don’t carve your name into rocks/trees, follow trails (and avoid the “social trails”), and be a good human being.
• Remember that uphill hikers have the right of way
• Always check in with rangers for latest information on trails, road conditions, etc.
• No matter what, make sure someone (who isn’t on the hike with you) knows where you are if you are going on a hike. You likely will not have cell service, so don’t plan on it.
• The “All Trails” app available for both iOS and Android is super helpful for finding hikes. You can also use the routes with your phone on GPS and download trail maps before you leave.

Hopefully this guide has helped you with how to hike in the winter. Have you hiked in the winter before? What tips do you have to share? Let me know in the comments.

You May Also Enjoy These Posts:

• National Parks to Visit in Winter
• 13 Things to do in Salt Lake City in the Winter
• Best Hikes in Utah
• Easy Hikes near Salt Lake City
• Salt Lake City Hiking: 7 Trails you Can’t Miss
• Hiking the Enchantments in Washington State

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