About the WTA Hiking Guide

WTA has launched a new and improved Hiking Guide! It’s an online hiking guidebook that allows people like you the opportunity to write descriptions about their favorite hikes and include a variety of other helpful information: driving directions, hiking statistics, user ratings, maps & guidebooks and more. Trip Reports for each hike are also included on the same page.

By John D'Onofrio

The Hiking Guide includes more than 2,000 hikes in Washington – and we need your help to fill in the missing information. Please consider updating hikes that you are familiar with today!

Hiking Guide Features

Here are a few of the features you will find in the Hiking Guide.

• One Stop Shop for Hikes & Trip Reports - Search for a hike and find the Hiking Guide descriptions paired with Trip Reports.
  
• Great Search Features - Our search engine will now allow you to find hikes that meet your expectations for scenery, distance, elevation gain and location. Do note that the most comprehensive results will be for region and hike name until more hike data gets filled in.
• Details You Need for Your Hike - General description of the hike, a photo, location, user ratings, distance and elevation info, trail highlights (rivers, meadows, peaks, etc.), maps & guidebooks, driving directions, maps and most recent conditions as found in our Trip Reports.
  
• YOU as a Hiking Guidebook Editor - When you check out one of the hikes with photos on the Hiking Guide, you will see the power of this new tool. Help us make the Hiking Guide the best online tool available by updating the information on hikes you have taken. You can fill out as little or as much as you want.
  

Answers to Your Questions

Q. The hike I chose to look at doesn't have a description or much information. Why not?

A. The Hiking Guide is a new tool that will grow more powerful as more information gets added by hikers like you. It sounds like your particular hike hasn't been updated yet. Consider returning to the Hiking Guide after your hike and updating this information.

Q. I can't find any information on the hike I want to take. Shouldn't it be there?

A. The Hike database contains basic information for more than 2.300 hikes. Simplify your search by eliminating words like lake, pass or creek from your search or try an alternative name or destination. If your hike is a scramble, it may not yet be in the Guide. If you really can't find the hike, consider proposing a new hike for inclusion in the Hiking Guide. For information on a hike not in the guide, you may find Trip Reports posted prior to 9/10/08 through our Trip Report Search.

Q. I'm updating a hike description but I don't have all of the information you are asking for. What do I do?

A. You can update as little or as much information as you wish.

Q. I just finished updating a hike, but my changes are not yet showing up in Hiking Guide. Why?

A. Unlike Trip Reports, which go live immediately, Hiking Guide updates are reviewed by WTA staff before being published to the website.

Q. I'm not seeing any Trip Reports pop up for the hike I am looking at, and I know there are some Trip Reports for that hike. Where are they?

A. Try the Trip Report Search instead. In our transition to the new system, some Trip Reports didn't get attached to their respective hikes. This will only pertain to Trip Reports posted prior to 9/10/08.

Q. I'd like to update a hike, but I'm not sure how to write the description. Can you give me some tips?

A. Start with a short summary of the hike - where does it go and what are the best highlights? When describing the hike itself, refrain from using the first person or providing details from your own hike - put those details in a Trip Report instead. Keep your paragraphs short for readability. And remember that people may be hiking this trail in a different season than you - either keep it general or try to address the features that people might see at different times of year. Whatever you do, use your own words and don't plagiarize published guidebooks.

We welcome your feedback on our new Hiking Guide, and are continually making changes and improvements based on the feedback we receive. Please email your comments to lace@wta.org.