We’ve all seen the images: A rugged hiker standing atop a jagged peak, sweat-drenched and triumphant, looking like they just finished filming a high-budget energy drink commercial. This image does not feel like an invitation to me at all. I find that image intimidating, and it hurts my knees and hips to look at it. It also misses the point of venturing outside (amidst the bugs) in the first place.
Enter “soft hiking.”
This fitness trend took the world by storm recently, but don’t let its name deceive you. It’s an activity anyone — perhaps especially those of us over 50 — to move our bodies, protect our joints, and rediscover the simple joy of a walk in the woods (with apologies to Bill Bryson).
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What is soft hiking?
Let me define it before I extol its virtues. If traditional hiking’s purpose is to get from point A to point B, soft hiking is 100% focused on the journey. Is it hiking? Yes. Is it gentle? Absolutely. What characterizes this low-impact walking activity, which happens in nature rather than in a gym on a treadmill, is its moderate pace, sensory attention, and total absence of performance targets.
You mean I don’t have to track how many calories I’ve burned in a 30-minute walk? Sign me up.
There are no leaderboards with soft hiking. No one cares about your personal best time or how many vertical feet you climbed. If you fall in with a group of Appalachian thru-hikers (as I sometimes do), you won’t be comparing notes on how you navigated one of Pennsylvania’s notorious evil boulder fields in under an hour to beat an oncoming storm.
A soft hike might be a wandering stroll through a local park where you stop at each bench to watch the birds. It could be a three-hour trek where you spend one of those hours sitting on a mossy log, eyes closed and basking in the sunlight like a turtle.
The philosophy? Simple: Be soft with yourself. Listen to your body. If you see a particularly interesting tree, or a fiddle fern just pushing through last year’s fallen leafy detritus, stop and look at it. If you get a little short of breath, slow down. Don’t worry about any ‘failure’ — by wandering out on the paths, you’ve already succeeded at living.
The roommates who started the movement
We have two friends from Manchester, UK, to thank for giving us this name. Lucy Hird and Emily Thornton were living together during the pandemic. They realized they were hiking “all wrong.” They found themselves rushing through landscapes on a mission to finish the route, obsessed with checking their watches and not enjoying the scenery.
They hit pause, pivoted, and launched Soft Girls Who Hike, a TikTok movement that’s attracted billions of views. As Thornton said, they wanted to enjoy the experience, not just “survive” and mark a “workout completed” box. Their guide to a soft hike is super simple:
- Eat well. Have a good breakfast and pack a lunch you’ll look forward to eating.
- Take breaks. Stop because you want to, and because something has piqued your interest.
- Ditch the ego. Don’t push yourself to the point of pain.
- Choose curiosity over cardio. Stop to read that historical plaque, listen to birdsong, or identify a wildflower.
A brilliant option for 50+ wellness
While soft sounds easy (and with apologies to allergy sufferers), the health benefits of soft hiking are surprisingly good. For those of us keeping an eye on long-term health, this rambling, moseying exercise hits the sweet spot for movement.
The brain-body connection
Research published in Nature Medicine suggests that hitting a threshold of 5,000 to 7,500 steps a day, at any pace, is associated with slowing cognitive decline. Even better? Low-intensity walking can increase the volume of your hippocampus, the brain region responsible for memory.
Nature’s stress relief
If you’ve heard of (and pooh-poohed) forest bathing, the science backs it up. Spending 20 to 30 minutes in a natural environment significantly lowers your cortisol levels (the stress hormone). When we walk outside, the positive distraction from the trees, wind, and birds actually reduces our perceived exertion. In plain English, walking three miles in the woods feels much easier than walking three miles on a treadmill.
Better balance, happier knees
Unlike walking on a flat sidewalk, the slightly uneven terrain of a trail engages the small stabilizer muscles in your ankles and hips. We’re not talking Hawk Mountain’s River of Rocks or a similar extra-rocky trail, just one that might require you to glance down periodically to confirm your footing. A study in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine found that seniors who ambled on trails weekly improved their balance by 21% in just a few months. Because soft hiking encourages a slower pace and frequent rests, you get these benefits without the jarring impact of a high-speed power walk.
The soft way to get started
Ready to give it a try? You don’t need a $200 pair of technical boots or a GPS device. I will say that last year, knowing my teen and I were headed on a couple of vacations where I would be doing a ton of walking, I splurged on a good pair of Hoka sneakers. Life-changing. My legs ached after logging an average of 25,000 steps each day in Alaska, but my feet never hurt. Ever. These sneakers replaced my other, incredibly disreputable pair I’d been wearing for probably 15 years. If you’re in the same boat? Splurge on a new, well-fitted pair of sneakers.
If your shoe situation’s in good shape, you can embrace the soft life by:
- Lowering the bar. Look for trails classified as easy or family-friendly and routes with an elevation gain of fewer than 300 feet.
- Following the 70% rule. Try to keep your phone in your pocket for at least 70% of your ambling. Use the other 30% to take pics of things that make you smile (or bring a camera), but stay present in the environment for the rest. Resist the urge to check emails and phone messages.
- Packing for comfort. Bring a light backpack with water, a windbreaker, bug spray, sunscreen, and — most importantly — a snack you love. (When my dad took me hiking as a kid, we always brought Cheese-its and peanut butter swirl bars along as part of lunch.) Remember, soft hiking is 40% walking and 60% being a person who loves a sandwich (or brownie) in the woods or park.
- Embracing benches and bloom. Plan your route around landmarks. Instead of saying, “I’m going to walk four miles,” say, “I’m going to walk to that lake, sit for a bit and watch the swans, and see if the bluebells are out.”
I probably sound like my grandparents and parents when I mutter that our world’s become obsessed with more, faster, better. For me and millions of others, soft hiking has become a quiet rebellion. It reminds us that our value isn’t measured by a heart rate or mile split. I’ve spent decades rushing (with more to go), and soft hiking reminds me and everyone else who’s also spent decades on the rat race treadmill to slow down.
Do you hear the trails whispering? They’re inviting you to come wander. Grab a friend. Pick a path. Go be soft with yourself.
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