Sometimes you arrive at a new location without a hiking guide, but the surrounding peaks and valleys beg exploration. How do you find out about local trails? You can just wander blindly and stumble upon a trailhead (hey, we’ve done that in the past and discovered amazing areas), but a focused approach guarantees a strike. On a recent trip to the U.S., we ventured off our beaten path and set out to uncover hiking gold in the area. Here’s how we did it.

Start at the information centre – if there is one. Scan the rack(s) of free information for an area visitor’s guide, maps, and if you’re lucky, trails information. Don’t stop there! Check out the wall displays for maps. Line up at the counter and:

1. Ask the staff about hiking (see if they have a flyer outlining many of local hikes).
2. Ask if they have any more detailed information (single sheet with details on one specific hike).
3. Ask if they know of any hiking guides available for purchase.
4. Ask if they know where you can go for further information.

If the area is surrounded by U.S. Forest Service lands, stop in at the ranger station and go through questions 1-4 again. Likewise, if there are any state or national parks in the vicinity stop in at the park office/visitor centre and repeat the process. Stop in at any outdoor/sports stores and talk with the staff, repeating – you guessed it – questions 1-4.

If you are near a computer with internet connection, google the name of the region (try to be as specific as possible to narrow number of responses) along with “hiking” or “hiking trails”. And finally, ask the locals (at the grocery store while picking up trail snacks, at the restaurant while fuelling up on caffeine and burgers, at the gas pumps...). Tip: the more people you talk to and the more focused questions you ask, the more likely to find the perfect hike!

With this approach we uncovered dozens of trails in Northern Idaho’s Priest Lake Area - from the gentle lakeshore “Beach Trail” on the west side of the lake to the stunning vistas on top of ”Lookout Mountain” off to the east. Our main sources of information were the Priest Lake Visitors Guide (three pages outlining hiking adventures in the area), the Priest Lake Ranger District Trails Pamphlet (not available at the Ranger Station when we were there, but found a copy at the Priest Lake Museum/Visitor Centre at Luby Bay), and single sheet trail descriptions from Priest Lake State Park.