Even though the heat has hit the low-lying areas, isolated snowfall continues in the mountains. Here’s how to evaluate your favorite route and prepare for an early season hike.
(Photo: Connor Boschert)
Published June 17, 2026 11:29 am
Trail conditions change rapidly this time of year. Even when the skies are blue and the days are long and warm, early hiking season is fraught with its own dangers: creeks can swell, trails can be muddy, frozen sections can be slick in the morning, and postholing in porous snow can lead to injuries. Furthermore, conditions on one trail can be quite different from those on the next drainage, and the valley floor rarely tells what is happening on the ridgetop. As a result, early season hikes require a little more planning than those in later summer.
Feeling like going alpine, but not sure what to get? Here’s how to determine if your favorite trail is dry and how to prepare yourself for successful hiking in the early season.
Know the area.
When it comes to assessing trail conditions nothing beats experience; Following weather patterns and trends over the course of several years will give you a good idea of when your favorite trip will be back in season. Every year is different, he said. The route you hiked last June may look very different this year due to the changing weather. South-facing slopes will dry out faster than shady northern slopes. Also consider elevation when choosing an early season hike. When in doubt, talk to someone who knows the area best: ranger stations can provide current information, and some local guiding companies may even offer the latest beta.
Read the trail report.
Local trail organizations, hiking forums, and online groups can be excellent resources for the latest information on trail conditions. With some online browsing, you may be able to read reports from other hikers who have recently visited your desired destination. Look for snow coverage, blizzard conditions and tall trees, trail access and road conditions. Keep in mind that these reports can be subjective, so keep an open mind when using them when making plans.
Use satellite imagery.
In lieu of recent reports from other hikers, aerial imagery can provide a useful picture of snow coverage in a given area. Constantly updated images from the European Space Agency’s Sentinel satellites are available for free on various platforms; You can view them as map layers on your favorite mapping app, like this “fresh saturday – freshlayer in Gaia GPS, or the Sentinel Weekly layer in Caltopo (some free and base subscriptions do not include satellite layers). Overlaying satellite images with trail maps can help you get an idea of conditions on the ground. Be aware that not all satellite imagery layers in digital mapping platforms show current conditions – make sure you are choosing an up-to-date resource when evaluating aerial images. (Live and frequently updated layers will often display the date the image was captured.) And take what you see with a grain of salt – satellite imagery is useful, but resolution is limited and may not give a clear picture of conditions on the ground.
Prepare for the worst.
No matter how much research you do ahead of time, there is no substitute for observations made on the ground. Be prepared for early season conditions that are worse than you expected, such as frequent snowstorms and storms. take traction like microspikes And use caution when crossing ice and water. Download maps of the area rather than relying on being able to see the entire path. If you’re not confident in your early season skills, choose lower elevation hikes until it gets warmer.
