Although our site sometimes offers hiking suggestions or regions to explore, there are many online resources for finding a hiking route idea. Many sites pool topographic data, GPS tracks that you can download, or route descriptions. But the choice is so vast that it can be difficult to find your way around. Here is an overview and our advice on choosing your hiking site and finding the right hiking trail for next weekend or your next holiday.
Comparison of the main hiking sites
| Site | Cover | GPS tracks | Key strength |
|---|---|---|---|
| FFRandonnée | France, waymarked trails | No, topoguide reference | Official waymarking reference |
| Visorando | France, extensive coverage in the south-east | Yes, depending on the route sheets | Very detailed descriptions |
| TraceGPS | France | Yes | Extensive database, original routes |
| RandoGPS | France | Yes | High-quality map layers, IGN option |
| Sentiers en France | France, 16,000 hikes | No, PDF sheets | Rural and countryside hikes |
| Altituderando | Mountains, 5,300 routes | Yes, GPX on most route sheets | Search by summit or mountain range |
| Pyrandonnées | Pyrenees only | Yes, GPX, KML and DVE | In-depth mountain range expertise |
| Randozone | France and international | Yes, dedicated section | Reports and gear tests |
| France Rando | France, 88,000 km listed | No | Gîtes and tourism nearby |
| Camptocamp | Mountains, international | Yes | Multi-activity, climbing reference |
| Openrunner | France and international | Yes | Route planner |
The services offered by these platforms change regularly. Check access conditions and track availability directly on each site before using them to prepare an outing.
The advantage of the internet is that you can find everything there, for free. The main drawback is that quality is often uneven, and you risk wasting time on fruitless searches. Or even trusting recommendations that prove unreliable or uninteresting once you are out in the field. That is why we wanted to recommend only sites where you can find reliable routes, documented and tested by other users. We have focused mainly on hikes in France, although some of these sites offer international options.
A hiking site for finding hiking route ideas
Most of the sites we recommend are collaborative platforms. This means that anyone can upload a hiking route and share it with the whole community. Most of the time, you can leave comments or reviews. Over time, you can see which hikes receive positive feedback, a sign of quality, and which ones to avoid. Most of these sites also offer filter options to make your searches easier and, of course, allow you to download GPS tracks or a map for personal use.
Specialist sites
FFRandonnée: the website of the French Hiking Federation allows you to search for waymarked hiking routes in France. You will find all the waymarked trails, with information about the hiking area and the related topoguide. You can also search for hikes using different criteria: length, region and type of environment. This tool is better suited to choosing a hiking idea than obtaining precise route details. You will only find references to the topoguide to buy, not the exact track, but you will at least know its starting point. To decipher trail markings in the field, see our guide to waymarking for walking hiking.
TraceGPS.com: this site has a slightly dated interface, but it is very practical and fully functional, with a huge database of hikes. You can search for a route using multiple criteria: via the map, or by distance, elevation gain, duration or required level.
You can then view the route on a map, see it in 3D on Google Earth or download the GPS track. It is one of the most comprehensive sites available, and the quality of the hikes on offer is genuinely very good. They are often original and far from ordinary, and some cannot be found on other sites.
Visorando: a very interesting hiking site with an excellent library of routes across France, especially in the south-east. You can search by duration, difficulty and type of hiking, on foot, on horseback and more. You can also search directly on the map by your chosen region. The descriptions of each hike are fairly detailed and provide plenty of additional information. Each time, you can download and print the map or use a GPS track if one has been uploaded.
It is also worth noting that this site has a tool to find the corresponding IGN maps for a given location, as well as a built-in route-planning tool. We explain how it works in our guide on how to use the Visorando app.
Randozone: another very comprehensive site listing hikes and treks in France and around the world. You can search for a hike using various criteria, such as location, town or map reference. The site also offers In-depth reports and Gear tests sections to help you plan your next outdoor outing. You will also find IGN maps for the best hikes, as well as a Services section with, for example, lists of mountain huts and practical information.
Worth highlighting: Randozone hosts an entire section dedicated to GPS tracks, classified by department and mountain range, available for free download in GPX format. Anyone can share their own tracks there.
RandoGPS : this site also features a large route database. You are sure to find something that suits you. The map display is very clear: if you have an IGN pack, you can activate it and view your route on an IGN map layer. But even without it, the map layer is genuinely very good and allows high-quality printouts for navigation. Naturally, GPS tracks are also available. However, descriptions are often brief, depending on the authors, and the information provided can sometimes be confusing.
Pyrandonnées: as its name suggests, this site offers routes in the Pyrenees only. That said, you will find a considerable number of them, with genuinely high-quality information. What is more, it is clear that experienced hikers have created or commented on these routes. Each route is available in three track formats: GPX for GPS devices, KML for Google Earth and DVE for the elevation profile. The site also offers a forum and plenty of other information about the Pyrenean range. Worth checking if you plan to spend time walking in the Pyrenees.
Altituderando: a modern site offering more than 5,300 hiking routes. You can search for one using the map or other criteria. You can also search by a specific summit or by mountain range. These are particularly useful features for those used to mountain hiking. Most route sheets offer a downloadable track, while a few remain in an older format that the site is gradually converting. Overall, the comments and advice provided for each route are very comprehensive and detailed. It is clear they have been written by genuine enthusiasts, with a strong focus on safety and mountains. Many summit ascents are described in great detail, with valuable reviews and sound advice.
Sentiers en France: this is an exceptional site. Fairly discreet online, but packed with more than 16,000 hikes across France. Each route comes with a very well-designed PDF sheet featuring an introduction, a hike description and a map. This site offers both free and paid content, but the work done is remarkable. It is worth noting that this is a great site for those who enjoy rural France and the countryside, as it gives pride of place to straightforward hikes and is less focused on long-distance hiking or mountains, although it includes many routes in mountain ranges.
France rando: this site is also aimed at those who want to hike in every department of France. Its advantage is that you can find route ideas, with maps and elevation profiles but no GPS track, and find a selection of gîtes and things to see and do nearby. More clearly geared towards tourist hiking than sport hiking, this site still offers an interesting, user-friendly interface and lists more than 88,000 kilometres of hiking routes.
More general-purpose sites or sites open to other activities
Camptocamp: a hiking site that is not limited to hiking. You will find thousands of pieces of information and activity ideas of all kinds for mountains around the world. Walking hiking is not the main focus, but there are plenty of routes. Route sheets include their GPX track, available to download page by page. Note that for climbing fans, this site is a real treasure trove, with a wealth of extensively described routes.
Finally, this site has a very comprehensive documentation section under the topoguide heading, where you will find plenty of information. For example, if you search for the calanques, you will find a very detailed page on the Marseille calanques, packed with useful information. A real encyclopaedia with maps, photos and plenty of advice.
I-trekkings: this site is not strictly a route site, but rather a collection of trekking reports from different regions around the world. Its international dimension is quite strong, but you will still find more than a hundred reports covering routes in France.
Tracerando: another comprehensive site with a specific category for walking hiking routes, as well as snowshoeing and mountain biking. The selection is not huge and the interface may seem dated, but everything works very well. You will find a good variety of possible hikes, including a good proportion of culturally themed routes that are less sport-focused.
Openrunner: this is more of a multi-purpose GPS track-sharing site than a hiking site. However, you should be able to find a route there quite easily. Easy to use, it has the advantage of being a popular platform where many enthusiasts share their discoveries. On the other hand, many people share all sorts of things there, so you will find a lower concentration of genuinely high-quality hikes.
Routeyou : an interesting general-purpose GPS track-sharing site, with the advantage of growing popularity and plenty of hiking routes. The route presentation is well designed and information-rich, with lots of photos and tourist information. The Routeyou community is quite active, and the comments are useful for getting a clear idea of the quality of the proposed hike.
Other resources for finding a hiking trail
Beyond these fairly general sharing sites, you can also find more specialist sites. Some are the work of tourism boards or departments, while others are run by individuals, such as Nous randonnons, launched in 2019 by enthusiasts of hiking, treks and outdoor adventures.
Another example is the blog Trace Ta Route, run since 2013 by three outdoor and travel enthusiasts, Edouard, Julie and Tristan. Other bloggers have joined them since. What makes them distinctive? Each has their own character and perspective, allowing them to explore the world through different approaches. Listing them all here would take far too long; you can search using the name of your chosen region followed by the phrase hiking route. Not all are particularly rich or comprehensive, but you can often find good material.
Institutional websites are often those with plenty of information to share. For example, if you are planning to visit a national park, you can find many hikes on the park’s website. In the case of Mercantour, you will find an official dedicated website listing high-quality hikes. Very comprehensive and well written, each route is described in detail, with all the information needed to prepare your outing.
Finally, you can also find plenty of information and route suggestions on specialist forums. Many hiking sites have forum sections where users can share and exchange information. Users often post comprehensive reports of their hikes, with GPS tracks, maps and other information. This can be a real goldmine for finding an original, little-known route.
You will also find this kind of information on travel websites, where forums also allow hikes to be shared. This is especially true of sites dedicated to travel abroad, where some hikers gather local information, translate it and share routes and advice in specialist sections by country or theme.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best site for finding a hike?
There is no single answer: it all depends on your terrain. Visorando and TraceGPS cover all of France well with GPS tracks. Altituderando is more relevant in the mountains, Pyrandonnées in the Pyrenees, and FFRandonnée remains the reference for officially waymarked trails.
Where can you download hiking GPS tracks for free?
Visorando, TraceGPS, RandoGPS, Altituderando, Randozone and Openrunner offer downloadable GPX tracks, free for most of their catalogue. Pyrandonnées also adds KML and DVE formats. Some reserve IGN map layers or advanced features for paid subscriptions.
How can you tell whether an online route is reliable?
Always cross-check sources and read comments from other users, as they are the best indicator of quality. Check the date of the latest feedback: a trail may have been changed or closed. And compare the route with an IGN map before setting off.
One final tip: never set off without a paper map
Whatever the case, the web makes it possible to find countless routes. However, you need to stay cautious and check sources or cross-reference information. Comments from other users are a good indicator of route quality, so do not jump on the first hike you find without doing some research yourself.
Finally, whatever information or GPS tracks you collect, it is advisable to hike with a paper map. It is first and foremost a real aid and a valuable source of information, but it is also a safety measure, as electronics can fail. It is also the best way to learn how to read an IGN map and build your navigation skills.
Photo credit: Delphine Daniélou
