Why This Place, a travel destination website, recently had travel experts analyze five factors that are believed to contribute to optimal hiking experiences. From there, each of the 50 states in the U.S. were ranked in order to create a hiking index.
The number of hiking trails and waterfalls relative to the state, the percentage of each state that is covered by national and state parks, and the average yearly temperature and rainfall were all factors that were analyzed within the index.
Through this study, the top 10 states were discovered. Utah itself made the top 10, coming in at number nine with a score of 61.22, resting just above Rhode Island at 60.65. The top eight rankings were Connecticut (73.98), Massachusetts (72.31), Hawaii (72.09), California (70.79), New Jersey (69.49), Arizona (64.25), Washington (62.45) and New Hampshire (61.55).
These scores were out of 100 and Connecticut came in as the best state as it boasts an impressive number of hiking trails that are in proportion to the size of the state.
The Beehive State offers 87 hiking trails per 1,000 square miles as well as a 1.86% state and national park coverage. Though the state is landlocked, there is one waterfall per 1,000 miles. Utah also boasts the third-lowest annual rainfall at an average of 13.5 inches.
The state of Utah features a great amount of parks with a myriad of activities such as fishing, hiking, camping, golfing and dark sky opportunities. Safe recreating is always a necessity whether on foot, ATV or OHV, or using other means of exploration. More information on recreating in Utah can be found here.